Jon Rahm gives LIV Golf talking points speech eliciting angry reactions

Jon Rahm made it official Thursday night. Rahm signed with LIV Golf, leaving the PGA Tour and his integrity behind.

Just over a year ago, Rahm pledged his loyalty to the PGA Tour publicly. Earlier this year, he trashed LIV for its format and made it clear that even $400 million wouldn’t change his mind.

Well, apparently around $500 million did.

Rumors had swirled this would come to fruition. Unlike in the past, Rahm’s camp never shot them down. So, the writing was on the wall.

But even I was surprised when I heard what the reigning Masters champion had to say to Fox News upon the official announcement.

“Obviously the past two years there’s been a lot of evolving on the game of golf, things have changed a lot and so have I,” Rahm said. “Seeing the growth of LIV Golf, seeing the evolution of LIV Golf and innovation is something that has really captured my attention.

“I think the growth that I’ve seen and how it’s become a global business, right, and how we can impact golf globally, and in a much meaningful way, is something that’s been very enticing.”

He is right about one thing, he has changed. He went from being a firm supporter and believer in the PGA Tour to joining LIV. But beyond that, his reaction sounds like LIV Golf talking points off a teleprompter, including his own social media.

“I am proud to join LIV Golf and be part of something new that is bringing growth to the sport. I have no doubt that this is a great opportunity for me and my family and am very excited for the future,” he posted to X, formerly Twitter.

All of this talk about LIV Golf growing the game, LIV’s evolution. What is he talking about?

Television viewership has been atrocious since the beginning and has gained zero traction. That’s why it’s aired on the CW Network, which even DirecTV and other cable providers ditched. In other words, tens millions of homes literally cannot watch LIV Golf even if they wanted to.

As for the LIV evolving, has it changed since its inception? The rules are essentially the same. The team format is the same outside of trades, which is obviously ridiculous. It’s practically impossible to take the team concept of LIV Golf seriously. Just look at the Talor Gooch trade earlier Thursday.

They clearly don’t even take it seriously themselves.

I would have had so much more respect for Rahm had he come out and just said ‘Hey, they offered a half billion dollars. Would you turn it down?’ But he didn’t do that. He simply said live on Fox News that it was a lot of money but was a “private matter.”

I’m not alone either.

Before anyone gets on me about ‘hey, you would take $500 million, so be quiet,’ I have a retort.

If I were one of the best golfers in the world and had a pulse, I’d be aware that LIV would eventually approach me with an offer.

So I wouldn’t have put myself in this position by pledging my allegiance to the Tour, or spoken at length about how my legacy was going to built on Tour.

But that’s just me.

You are correct though. I would have made the same decision to take the money and anyone who says they wouldn’t are lying or crazy. You can take care of your family for generations.

But that’s not what this article is about.

Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor at SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social media platforms.