It is getting impossible to ignore the whispers that Jon Rahm is leaving the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
The American Express PGA Tour event announced its field for next month, and Rahm, the tournament’s defending champion, is conspicuous in his absence.
Noticing the omission, CBS Sports golf writer Kyle Porter tweeted: “I think we have now reached the ‘it would actually be more surprising if he stayed than if he went’ part of the process with Rahm.”
Last month, Phil Mickelson, who is the face of LIV Golf and who also shares an agent with Rahm, was said by his biographer Alan Shipnuck to be telling confidantes that Rahm joining LIV Golf was a “done deal”.
Mickelson denied having said anything privately about Rahm joining LIV, and continued his years-long feud with Shipnuck by calling him “the worst liar and a pathetic human.”
Rahm, 29, has won two majors, including this year’s Masters, and 11 PGA Tour tournaments.
The Spaniard’s first curious move was pulling out of TGL — the technology-driven league being run by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy that is connected to the PGA Tour — in early November.
Last week, Jordan Spieth was asked about the rumors that Rahm could be joining LIV Golf.
“We really hope that he’s continuing with us,” Spieth said at the time.
“I know there’s been some guys that have talked to him. I know he’s maybe weighing some decisions, maybe not. I really don’t know, so I don’t want to insult him and say he’s weighing decisions if he already knows he’s not or he is. You know, that’s somewhat out of my control in a way.”
This past June, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf announced plans to merge, which was stunning given the vitriol that had been lobbed by both sides of the rival golf tours.
However, the proposed merger is not a “gimme” to get approved by the federal government, and there have been talks of other investors swooping in and purchasing a stake in the PGA Tour.