The two-time major champion and PGA Tour absconder on the different environment that LIV Golf offers, the ever-evolving Open Championship and his quest for the career Grand Slam.

When Jon Rahm joined LIV Golf in December last year, it was reported that the reigning Masters champion received a signing bonus in the ballpark of £450 million ($A876 million). The two-time major winner faced some criticism for leaving the PGA Tour – where he’d won 11 times and established a legacy as Spain’s next great player – to join the lucrative LIV league. However, as he told us in a recent sit-down interview, he is enjoying much more than just the $US25 million purses on LIV. Rahm, who won the LIV Golf UK event and who has not finished outside the top 10 in any LIV start since joining, described how it’s the return to a team environment he finds most thrilling – something he thrived on as a star amateur at Arizona State University.

Australian Golf Digest spoke to the man who hails from Spain’s Basque Country right before the Olympic men’s golf tournament at Le Golf National near Paris – the same Versailles course where, six years earlier, Rahm defeated Tiger Woods in singles to help Europe win the 2018 Ryder Cup. Rahm charged to a four-shot lead on the back nine at the Olympic event, only to collapse in the final eight holes, which he played in five-over. He tumbled from being the gold medal frontrunner to outside a medal of any colour – finishing T-5.

“I don’t remember the last time I played a tournament and I felt this,” Rahm said at Le Golf National. “I not only feel like I let myself down but to just not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it’s a lot more painful than I would like it to be. By losing today, I’m getting a much deeper appreciation of what this tournament means to me.” It was clear from his remarks in Paris, and in our interview, that enormous sums of money from LIV, and even from the PGA Tour before his move, have not affected Rahm’s desire to win majors, compete on a world stage for Spain and for Europe at the Ryder Cup.

▶ ▶ ▶

Coming over to LIV Golf, I really enjoy the team aspect. To come to a tournament and have three teammates – people to socialise with – is fantastic. The day-to-day life, from what I’ve experienced, with your team and caddies, you create your own little [work] family. It’s very fun to be a part of that, and it makes it more enjoyable than a regular event. Obviously, golf is an individual sport and when we compete, we’re still individuals, but to be able to share your successes, or your losses, with people I think makes it even better.

▶ ▶ ▶

Now that I’m on LIV [which has a schedule of 14 tournaments featuring 54-hole events], I wouldn’t say I have that much more time [than when I was on the PGA Tour]. I will have played 18 events this year, including the four majors, plus the Olympics. That’s 19, and I want to play some European tour events, if everything’s resolved properly (in terms of Rahm’s fines for playing LIV Golf events that are held the same week as DP World Tour tournaments). My overall schedule will still be 22 events. It’s just a different schedule; we do have some time off (there’s a four-month offseason from October to February).

▶ ▶ ▶

I would hope LIV Golf has a links golf event in its future. I’m pushing for it. I would say it’s undeniable how much it helps to play on a links golf course the week before the Open Championship. There’s so much that goes into adjusting to links golf – getting used to the greens and the way the ball reacts on the ground. I didn’t think about it until after The Open (where Rahm finished T-7 at Royal Troon). I don’t know if it’ll be next year, but it could be something we see in the future. It’s not as easy as it sounds to just say, “Well, let’s do this.” It might be something to discuss with a few players before I bring it up.

▶ ▶ ▶

One day, I’d love to win the Open Championship. I also tied for second [behind Brian Harman at Royal Liverpool] last year. I hope something special is coming. I love links golf and I love the Open Championship. It’s quickly becoming a very special event for me, and the player experience is so much better than at my first Open, which was eight years ago at Troon. I’m looking forward to giving myself a better chance. Last year on Sunday at Hoylake, I started six back and it was a tricky day [with rain and wind]. I played good but not good enough. This year, same thing, I started a little bit too far back to really have a chance, especially with how [winner] Xander [Schauffele] played on the final day. I’ve won two [Irish Opens] on links golf [courses]. I won at Lahinch and Portstewart. I’ve had quite a few top-five and top-10 finishes at the Open Championship in recent years. I’m hoping that there is something there. It’s an event I really want to win.

▶ ▶ ▶

We’ve had so many great players from Spain, like recently Sergio Garcia and José María Olazabal, but no player has won The Open since Seve Ballesteros [in 1988]. It’s surprising because both Ollie and Sergio have had success on links golf courses outside of The Open; Ollie won the Irish Open on a links course [in 1990 at Portmarnock in Dublin] and Sergio won the Boys Amateur Championship and has two career runner-up results at the Open Championship. I think if I were to win, it would mean a lot to the country of Spain.

▶ ▶ ▶

I’ve really enjoyed this one, weather aside. I think this is what makes the Open, to have to go through the hardship of that weather. Just because of how good they’ve become organising the event – the player pavilion, lounge facilities – I think this past one might be one of my favourites. I love Troon. I think it’s very underrated. When you think about the iconic venues [on the Open rota] you think of Birkdale, St Andrews and Carnoustie, but I think Troon is just as good. For some reason, it does not get talked about [as much]. There have been some worthy champions and some great finishes
at Troon.

▶ ▶ ▶

I dream of one day winning the career Grand Slam – I do. But I would also be more concerned about the majors count than getting the Grand Slam. If I could choose between winning six majors but not the Grand Slam, or four majors with a Grand Slam, I think I’d choose six majors. I know that’s speaking hypothetically because I’m not there yet. I guess it’s a question for somebody like Phil [Mickelson]. Would he give two [of his six] majors away for a US Open to complete the career slam? I don’t know, but my guess is he’d say no.

▶ ▶ ▶

Another event that means the world to me is the Ryder Cup. I want to be on the European team for Bethpage in 2025 so badly. It has the potential to be an incredible Ryder Cup. North-east fans in the United States are very passionate, and it will be a really incredible atmosphere. Obviously, it might be a little bit of a more intense Ryder Cup for a European, but that’s how it should be, right? You’re on their home turf and that’s how fans usually act at big events, which is really fun.

▶ ▶ ▶

In terms of the framework agreement [between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf’s financiers, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund], I don’t know what the ideal outcome is, or how it would work. I’m not in charge. But [if the three tours came together], there’d be some PGA Tour events I’d still go and play, like Torrey Pines and Phoenix. Obviously, if I’m allowed to do that, there would need to be a way for PGA Tour pros to maybe play LIV Golf events, too.

▶ ▶ ▶

We’ve heard the idea of a world tour being discussed. We’ve heard Rory [McIlroy] and Dustin [Johnson] mention that. I think the idea of all of us competing in something similar could be beneficial for everybody. But as of right now, I have a hard time imagining what that would look like with [LIV] having the teams and the league and being independent. That’s the part I don’t know how it would fall into line. 

Feature Image: Asanka Ratnayake/ getty images