The completely predictable yet strangely heartening capitulation of LIV Golf has left a few player’s careers in the balance. Many of the mid to low-tier players will struggle to reinvigorate their careers (former LIV players are generally subject to a one-year suspension before they can even apply to play on the PGA Tour).
The global superstars of the game have it somewhat easier. The likes of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed got out while the getting was good, plotting their respective paths back towards golfing respectability just before the ship started to sink. Now we wait and see what will happen to the likes of DeChambeau and Rahm.
Rahm wins 6th Rolex Series event
Spanish two-time major champ Rahm just sent a timely reminder of his value to the PGA Tour, claiming his first post-LIV triumph with a two-shot victory at the Abu Dhabi Championship. It was a statement win and his post non-LIV triumph since the 2023 Masters. Rahm hasn’t looked at his imperious best on this year’s DP World Tour, virtually finishing last when cut at the recent BMW PGA Championship. But winning in the way he did at Yas Links- where he held off a charging McIlroy and Hatton despite losing the lead at one stage in the final round- was the perfect advertisement for an expedited reinstatement on the tour. The win was also his 6th Rolex Series crown, moving him one clear of fellow LIV rebel Tyrell Hatton to become the new Rolex Series king (quite impressive when you have barely played on the DP World Tour for three years). Rahm catapulted from 51st to 6th in the Race to Dubai standings, keeping the chances of a 4th season-ending crown alive. There’s just something about seeing those twin names- Rahm and McIlroy- on a DP World Tour leaderboard. It feels like home.
The weight of history
It must also be nice to finally win a golfing tournament that carries some weight. Five years from now, is anyone ever going to mention Tyrell Hatton’s LIV Golf triumphs at Nashville and Valderrama? The LIV Golf ‘adventure’ is going to be spoken about in the same hushed tones that Voldemort is discussed in the Harry Potter universe. Rahm’s three successive individual titles are just not going to matter. He doesn’t have the Cameron Smith, laissez faire approach to his place in the history books. Rahm is an avowed student of the game who is conscious of his place in the pantheon. It must have irked him to watch players win tournaments in respected events while he was running around in shorts as a member of the Legion XIII team. He’s got the bag (kind of), now it’s time to get himself back into the real golfing conversation.
Too big to fail
I know there are some who believe that you if do the crime, you do the crime. Rahm should be made to pay for what he did, etc (though he did walk away from upwards of $100 million in future owed revenue). But what is happening in world golf right now isn’t too far removed from what happens every day in the corporate world: some entities are just too big to fail. Rahm and DeChambeau are simply too commercially attractive to operate in the golfing hinterlands for any extended period.
Personality goes a long way
And let’s face it, the PGA Tour could do with a little more personality. The current bigwigs on the PGA Tour- Wyndham Clark notwithstanding- are vanilla at best. Scottie Scheffler- one of the most gifted golfers I have ever seen- gives Chartered Accountant energy. The likes of Matt Fitzpatrick, Cam Young and Russell Henley are similarly excitement adverse. Rory can rev up a crowd like few others but how many events is he even going to play next year? He will go into witness protection two months before the Masters and then require a one-month cooling-off period regardless of what happens at Augusta. The tour is crying out for combustible, big personalities like DeChambeau and Rahm.
Future looking brighter
I guess I’m just glad that the whole LIV experiment has failed (there seems to be a lot of big, gaudy movements that have been strongly rebuked in recent weeks). Rahm’s return to the DP World Tour winner’s circle feels like his first real step towards a stress-free transition back to PGA Tour life. I think the severing of connections with LIV will increase his chances of winning a major in 2027 by about 50%.
