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The rumors appear to be true; Rahm is headed to LIV Golf, and fans were all over the place on social media.
The news broke Thursday of Jon Rahm’s departure for LIV Golf. While rumors have been floating around for weeks, it appears the deal is all but done.
Not surprisingly, this development has caused ‘Jon Rahm’ to trend on Twitter.
Those who support LIV Golf are understandably excited, while many who oppose LIV don’t realize just how big of a loss this is for the PGA Tour. Social media was just in a frenzy over the golf ball rollback news.
Now they have to process one of the best players on the PGA Tour leaving for the Saudi-backed tour.
Jon Rahm was #2 on the PGA Tour money list last year.
He is leaving for LIV.
For context that would be like Scherzer, Degrom, or Cole leaving MLB for another league.
Wild to think about.
— Jacob Turner (@TheJacobTurner) December 7, 2023
It may be too early to say but with Jon Rahm moving to #LIVGolf it is starting to feel like the PGA tour may soon look a Triple A or Korn Ferry tour product.
— Mr. Positivity (@FireBlogger) December 7, 2023
But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t tons of fans who are unaffected.
Jon Rahm can go to LIV, and so can Scottie or Rickie or anyone and I still won’t watch it because it looks like a joke of a “tournament” and isn’t pleasing to watch. Go get paid, who cares. I’ll watch the PGA Tour Sunday afternoon and enjoy it no matter who is playing
— Brandon (@the_dowjones) December 7, 2023
Wow, Jon Rahm has 2 majors and all of a sudden he’s the greatest golfer of all time. Live sucks, I’d rather watch no names at the John Deere classic.
— turdinit (@AndTurds) December 7, 2023
LIV had Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cam Smith and Bryson DeChambeau and couldnt generate any ratings.
But Jon Rahm will make the difference?? Go get your bag Rahm; you’ve earned it. But LIV will still fail.
— Rudy (@rudykyle) December 7, 2023
Imo there is only ONE thing that’s going to change tv ratings for LIV golf & it’s not adding Jon Rahm.. when the golf media & the podcast bros tell the sheep it’s okay to watch LIV then we’ll see a huge ratings spike
— 4th & 31 (@sportsinfive) December 7, 2023
Of course, not everyone has such a serious tone. Some people prefer to take a comedic approach to the developing story.
Will Rory McIlroy be shocked by this news? Perhaps not. This decision from the reigning Masters champion may be one of the reasons Rahm dropped out of TGL.
In reality, seeing the No. 3 ranked player in the world leave for LIV is quite the blow for the PGA Tour. Rahm previously spoke out on multiple occasions about his dislike for LIV Golf’s format, and it seemed like he would be one of the last to jump ship.
Yet, here we are with the news breaking of his multi-year contract worth more than a half billion dollars.
It may technically be the offseason for golf, but this week will be one of the most influential moments in 2023.
Losing Rahm is a big deal. Could he be the first of the next wave of players who will leave the PGA Tour?
How do you feel about Rahm leaving for LIV Golf? Please give us your thoughts in the comments below.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
