1-time PGA Tour winner claims he is a "better golfer than Jon Rahm" based on recent OWGR rankings

Jon Rahm recently received slight criticism from pro-golfer Michael Kim after the former lost his previous rank in the OWGR. Through a post on his official X profile, Kim claimed that he is better than Rahm while sharing an image of the renewed ranking list.

The 31-year-old golfer is having a good season in 2025 so far. Kim has started eight times in the PGA Tour so far, missing the cut only two times. His recent results include a fourth-place finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational 2025. Kim shared a tweet while showing himself ranking above Rahm on X.

"I’m currently a better golfer than Jon Rahm ... OFFICIAL world golf rankings," Kim wrote on X.

Kim also tied for the runner-up's place at the 2025 WM Phoenix Open, finishing 17-under 267 at the event. Soon after his post about Jon Rahm, Kim clarified his stand. He further tweeted:

"Can’t wait for the LIV bots. It’s obviously tongue in cheek everyone."

Even if Kim had a hilarious take on Rahm, his post once again reminded golf fans about the ongoing debate between LIV and OWGR. LIV Golfers are yet to be officially recognised by the Official World Golf Rankings. As a result, they don't receive exemptions for the golf majors as well.

Before Jon Rahm joined the Saudi PIF-backed league, he was dominating the third place on the OWGR. Even after he won the LIV Golf Individual title in 2024, Rahm's ranking went down to 59.

Due to LIV's zero access to World Ranking points, Joaquin Niemann fell back to 81st rank, and PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka is 100 places below him.

Jon Rahm also shared his thoughts on LIV players not getting world rankings.

"I think at this point to not give LIV World Ranking points and the credibility it deserves, I think is wrong. I understand we’ve all made a decision, and it’s not as easy as it sounds, but to say that LIV players don’t deserve some spots in major championships, I think, is wrong," Rahm said via Bunkered.

Jon Rahm talks about his goal in 2025

Rahm recently participated in the Hero Dubau Desert Classic 2025. After the first round at the DP World Tour event, he gave his fans a peek into his vision for the new season.

While giving fans a hint at his vision for 2025, in the post-round conference, Jon Rahm said (quoted by ASAP Sports):

"I would like to do a lot of the same of what I did last year. I was very consistent. I had gotten into some habits in my swing that were just not producing the results that I wanted."

"I clearly was able to play good throughout the year but not in the majors, the pressure was a little higher. I tried to get rid of that in the off-season and go back to what I feel more comfortable doing on the golf course."

Jon Rahm debuted in LIV Golf last year and won the Individual titles by defeating Joaquin Niemann twice. Rahm won the LIV Golf UK event, finishing 13-under 200. He also secured a win at the LIV Golf Chicago event, finishing 11-under 199. Rahm secured his name in the top-10 list 11 times in the 2024 season of LIV Golf.