“We should be thankful that LIV happened” – Jon Rahm praises rebel series for changes in the PGA Tour

Jon Rahm, who recently topped the Hero World Challenge rankings, has now come out to thank LIV Golf. The Spaniard on Wednesday acknowledged that the founding of the Saudi-backed series brought changes to the PGA Tour and thus made life better for his fellow golfers.

Rahm is a PGA Tour golfer who has continually attacked LIV. The golfer has pointed out on multiple occasions that he is happy on the American tour. He has now lauded the rebel series for allowing him to “earn more.”

Speaking to the media at the Hero World Challenge in Albany, Jon Rahm said:

“I think on this side of things we should be thankful that LIV happened… I don’t know if those changes would have happened if LIV wasn’t in the picture. So to an extent, yeah, we should be thankful."

The comment came only moments after he emphasized the good run he’s been having.

Rahm said:

“This is a clear moment, very clear… The second I won the U.S. Open apparently I got all the credibility I needed. Before that, nobody cared. I got COVID, Memorial happened, then I win the U.S. Open and all of a sudden my opinion matters, that’s kind of how it went.”

He added:

“I’m in a very, very, very, very privileged position in life. I’m no one to be thinking about money… Luckily, I’ve played really good golf and I’ve had the opportunity to earn more money than I need.”

It was then Jon Rahm went on to thank LIV Golf for forcing changes on the PGA Tour. It is pertinent to note that he joined a list of golfers who had lauded the existential threat the Saudi-backed series created for the American tour.

The Spaniard echoed the emotions of Phil Mickelson, who had claimed the PGA wouldn’t have raised its prize purses or increased the Player Impact Program money if LIV wasn’t paying hefty sums to its players.

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Jon Rahm says he is not impressed by money

It is pertinent to note that Jon Rahm finished fifth in the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program. The Spanish golfer bagged $6 million in prizes for the positive impact on the Tour’s business. Addressing the same, the golfer said that he wasn’t surprised by the result.

Rahm said:

“I’m not surprised I was in fifth place, pretty much to be expected. It’s not something I spend much time thinking about, right? I’m not going to change how I operate today to go any higher or lower on the PIP, that’s just not who I am. I’m here to win golf tournaments and I’m not going to be doing anything extra to change that."

He added:

"I know in the social media aspect of things I might be a little or quite a bit behind a lot of people, but if you play good golf, things usually take care of themselves.”

He went on to add that he didn’t care much about hefty paychecks. Rahm stated that he didn’t start playing golf for money.

He said:

“It’s not why I started playing, it’s not the reason why I play. So when I’m doing my schedule, when I’m practicing and I’m getting my things done, money is not really on my mind. If it was, I probably might have gone to LIV, right? If money is your goal, that’s clearly the path to go down. Every decision I make when it comes to golf is to become the best player I can become.”

It is also noteworthy that Jon Rahm’s positive comments on LIV Golf come only days after he slammed the Official Golf World Rankings. The Spaniard had called it “laughable” while pointing out the disparity of points between events.