Jon Rahm Shuts Down Rumors Of Being Unhappy Since Joining LIV Golf, Blames Media For Creating Narrative
Jon Rahm's first season with LIV Golf has been a strange one, but that was always going to be the case. The Spaniard opened himself up for criticism the moment he made the surprising move to the Saudi-backed circuit, and after a mostly underwhelming campaign coupled with some viral moments on the course, the criticism was only amplified.
Rahm had a monster 2023 season on the PGA Tour picking up four wins, including the Masters, which made expectations of winning multiple times during this season rather lofty.
His results in his three major championship appearances this season - he skipped out on the U.S. Open due to injury - Rahm finished T-45 at the Masters, missed the cut at the PGA Championship, and managed a T-7 finish at The Open. He's finished 10th or better in all 12 of his starts on LIV, including one win and four other Top 3 finishes, but hasn't exactly looked happy along the way.
In June he yelled at some "fuc-king drones" in the middle of a tournament and later in the summer he and his caddie lashed out at a disruptive fan, who his caddie referred to as a "dic-head."
A few outbursts coupled with an underwhelming year in major championships, the narrative of Rahm having a bit of buyer's remorse since joining LIV on a reported $300 million deal ramped up throughout the season, but he says he's happy with his move.
"A lot of people beat around the bush [when I’m asked if I like LIV]. And I’m going to say yes, yeah," Rahm told Fox News.
"We’ve all seen the rumors. I don’t know why some people keep insisting and trying to make this happen," he added. "They did that with Brooks [Koepka] last season. They have to come up with somebody being unhappy, and the truth is, we’re all extremely happy."
"Do I have buyer’s remorse? No. I don’t have buyer’s remorse. It’s been a really fun ride. I’ve had bad years in majors before – before that, they blamed it on me not being able to control my emotions, they would compare me to something else. Matter of fact is, I just played bad, plain and simple. I don’t know what else to tell you. I think a lot of people are letting themselves pick and choose and judging my year based on three events. Yeah, Masters, not good, PGA, not good. Really, it was two weeks, because the U.S. Open, I couldn’t play."
Some golf fans, specifically anti-LIV ones, will refuse to believe Rahm's comments even with him owning up to the fact that he had a not-so-great year in major championships.
The reality is that if Rahm hadn't won four times in 2023 on his way out the door to LIV, expectations wouldn't be anywhere close to what they are today. It was him being in such great form, then going months without picking up his first win on LIV that drove the narrative that he may regret his move to the PGA Tour's rival circuit.