The current top player in golf, Jon Rahm, believes LIV Golf forced the legendary PGA Tour to fix one of the most ridiculous parts of their yearly schedule.
Over the last year-plus, the ongoing war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has dominated the headlines in the sport. The upstart league backed by an arm of the Saudi Arabian government has been able to compete with the PGA because of the large sums of money they have been able to offer players.
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LIV Golf can pay elite players up-front signing bonuses and give their roster record-breaking individual and team winnings at each tournament. Another element that has made LIV Golf a legitimate threat to the PGA Tour, and made stars like Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson head to the league, is the limited schedule it offers.
Even for superstar players like Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, the PGA schedule can be quite grueling. Fortunately for the Tour, they have been able to hold on to those elite players by increasing winnings and adjusting their schedule to make it more favorable for professional golfers.
Jon Rahm world golf ranking: Ranked No. 1
That latter change is something Jon Rahm spoke about during a Friday appearance on Pat McAfee Show. As the 2023 Masters champion explained how difficult the life of a golfer can be, and gave credit to LIV for forcing the PGA to change a part of their schedule he felt was “ludicrous.”
“I don’t think a lot of people understand the lifestyle that a professional golfer has. We travel a lot, but all we see is the inside of airports and airlines, and then hotel rooms and that’s about it. Because Wednesday through Sunday you spend a lot of time on the golf course. Monday and Tuesday maybe you have time to go out to dinner in between. But you don’t really have much time, especially if your family is there with you.”
“That’s one of the things that [is better is] the schedule is changing. Honestly, one of the things that LIV Golf allowed us to push for, was less golf in the fall. Before that — this is the ludicrous thing about the PGA Tour –before that you would finish the FedEx Cup, finish the season, announce your champion, and literally 10 days later there’s a new season started with a new leader — 10 days later.”
– Jon Rahm
While LIV player Jed Morgan complained about the limited schedule last week, two top stars and PGA Tour veterans, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, praised LIV for their yearly slate which increased to 14 tournaments in 2023.