Golf legend Jon Rahm’s recent move to LIV Golf has raised eyebrows – including those of his fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, who’s worried the switch might hurt Rahm’s chances of making history in the sport.
“I was surprised because Jon had been very clear in his words and he had an extraordinary future,” Olazabal told El Pais. “He had the opportunity to make history in this sport, to write golden pages of golf. And I don’t know if he’ll be able to do it now.”
The money’s hard to ignore. LIV Golf put an eye-watering amount on the table for Rahm in December 2023, reportedly worth hundreds of millions.
But Olazabal, who’s won the Masters twice himself, isn’t convinced it’s the right move for Rahm’s game.
The numbers from Rahm’s first LIV season tell an interesting story. While he grabbed the individual title, his major tournament results were all over the place – a decent T7 at the Open, a disappointing T45 defending his Masters title, a missed cut at the PGA Championship, and a withdrawal from the US Open due to injury.
Here’s the thing about LIV Golf: it’s different. Really different. Players compete in 54-hole tournaments with just 54 players and no cuts. There’s even music playing during the rounds.
“I don’t know if playing LIV is the best preparation,” Olazabal explained. “Above all it can hurt him in terms of competitiveness. Playing 12 or 14 tournaments without a cut, with 54 players, it’s not the same as playing against 150 and knowing that you can go home.”
Not everyone’s struggling with the format though. Bryson DeChambeau proved you can play LIV and still dominate the majors, winning the US Open and nearly grabbing the PGA Championship last year.
At 59, Olazabal admits he’s more old school about golf. The shotgun starts and pumping music aren’t his style. But he gets why young players might jump at the chance.
“If you had put a check in front of me with a bunch of zeroes on it, I might have done it, too,” he confessed. “But it’s a shame that money has destroyed in such a short time what had been built up over so many years.”
The divide in golf keeps getting wider, and even legends like Olazabal can’t help but feel a bit sad about it.
“It makes me sad that money has divided golf,” he said. “It’s because of money, there’s no doubt about it.”
