A Window Into Jon Rahm

I do not know what is in Jon Rahm’s heart. None of us do, outside (maybe) his family. But I will go to my grave believing he thought when he signed with LIV Golf in 2024, he would be the catalyst that united the PGA Tour with LIV, and ushered in a new era of professional golf.

When Rahm showed up on Fox News in a LIV Golf letterman jacket, it seemed to pass as conventional wisdom that the PGA Tour was going to have to welcome LIV into the fold. I believed it, Rory McIlroy believed it, even Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan seemed to believe it. Rahm felt like such an important figure in the game, it made sense to believe the PGA Tour would be damaged without him. It was time to cut a deal. Rahm was going to have his cake and eat it, too.

That it didn’t work out that way still feels a bit of an upset.

Two years later, it does not feel like Rahm played a winning hand, unless you are his agent or his financial advisor. He is among the richest golfers in the world, certainly. But it also feels like he is trapped in a prison of his own making. With the Saudi PIF announcing it will no longer fund the league after the 2026 season, LIV’s future is uncertain, and Rahm’s potential return to the PGA Tour seems even more uncertain. During last week’s LIV event near Washington D.C., Rahm seemed almost resigned to the idea that he would be involved with LIV as long as the league continues, even if it evolves in some diminished capacity.

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“Right now, I have several years in my contract left,” Rahm said. “I’m pretty sure they did a pretty good job when they drafted that so I don’t see many ways out.”

What has emerged, in light of recent developments, is a bit of theater between Rahm and the golf press. He seems to know his options are limited, but he also isn’t willing to concede he might have some regrets. He knows we’re going to ask questions about how all of this has played out, and he engages in a dance where he tries to answer them without really answering them. His Tuesday press conference at the PGA Championship was the latest example of this. Shane Ryan of Golf Digest asked Rahm if he had a crystal ball if he would have done anything differently.

Rahm insisted at first that he does not engage in that kind of hindsight.

“I would also say I've made a lot of decisions in my life, and I've never gone back thinking, Oh, had I known this again, I would do X and Y differently,” he said. “I could do that on about 15 different golf shots on the golf course every single day. If I lived my life like that as a golfer, I would be a very pessimistic person.”

A minute later, he conceded that it’s human nature to look backward.

“Well, we all go back,” Rahm said. “We all think what could have been and what couldn't have been. It's inevitable.”

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Even if it didn’t play out as you’d hoped, there is no sense in regretting your decision.

“If you made all the decisions, whatever decision you've made or choice is thought through and made for the reasons that you think are proper reasons, there's no sense in dwelling on it,” Rahm said. “In fact, you shouldn't really be unhappy about it. At least there's nothing that you regret. If the terms change afterward, like it's happened with LIV that things changed a little bit, it's an afterthought, not a problem from the choice. I would say that elements have changed a little bit. That's it.”

The entire presser was a good window into Rahm, and what makes him such a compelling figure in the game. He was not angry or defensive. It felt like he was trying to be as honest with his answers as he could, with everyone in the room aware he was not going to criticize his current employer. He also didn’t fake a ton of enthusiasm for LIV, or suggest he might be part of the solution that saves the league.

“There are some things that are out of my control,” Rahm said. “Out of the few talents I have in my life, fixing a business is not one of them. I might be the worst person for that.”

In what felt like the press conference’s most revealing moment, Rahm was asked what he felt like he’d learned from his decision to join LIV. He paused for several seconds, then offered up a wry smile.

“That is for me to know,” he said. “And that’s about that.”