Jon Rahm Is Headed To LIV Golf, And The PGA Tour Is In A State Of Chaos With Some Players Working Frantically To "Save The PGA Tour"

Oisin Keniry. Getty Images.

Jon Rahm is set to sign with LIV Golf for a jaw-dropping sum of money, and there is a sense of chaos in PGA Tour circles. 

The long-rumored Rahm move is expected to be made official imminently according to multiple reports, one from the Wall Street Journal and one from Golf Channel. The deal is reportedly in the $500 million range, and it comes just weeks before the Dec. 31 deadline for the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund bankrolling LIV, to turn their June. 6 "framework agreement" into a concrete deal that would reshape the future of professional golf. That deal is in jeopardy.

Multiple sources have described the behind-the-scenes happenings at the PGA Tour as "a mess." Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy, the two men who chiefly negotiated the framework agreement, have not been involved in a single negotiation since June after significant player pushback. Many tour members were irate that Dunne and Herlihy acted without the membership's knowledge, which has led to players gaining more control of the governance structure. 

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"I think Jay (Monahan) has been a part of the direction, he understands what happened prior to that can't happen again and won't happen again," Tiger Woods said at last week's Hero World Challenge. Woods serves as a player director on the PGA Tour policy board along with Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffman and Jordan Spieth. Rory McIlroy resigned from the board last month, just a few weeks after told the Irish Independent that “My relationship with Cantlay is average at best. We don’t have a ton in common and see the world quite differently…Joe LaCava used to be a nice guy when he was caddieing for Tiger, and now he’s caddieing for that d*ck he’s turned into a …’ I still wasn’t in a great headspace."

There is significant doubt that a deal with the PIF will come to fruition. A segment of the PGA Tour policy board favors a deal with a private-equity group Acorn Growth Companies over a deal with the PIF—that includes player director Patrick Cantlay, who sources described as "the one calling the shots for the PGA Tour." One player also said he believes a deal with the PIF would be nullified by the Department of Justice even if the two sides did come to an agreement. The Rahm move, then, would seem to suggest the PIF is preparing for a future with no deal and re-focusing their efforts on building their own tour and putting themselves in a position of strength. 

One player on the PGA Tour policy board disputed that notion that Cantlay is in charge and suggested that the six player directors are acting as a united front. "We're working our asses off to get this done," the player said.

Multiple players have expressed deep concern for the future of the PGA Tour should the Acorn deal go through. It's widely believed that an American private equity company would "trim the fat" of the PGA Tour, perhaps by cutting the membership down significantly, or cost-cutting through changes to the developmental tour ecosystem, or both. One player described the plans as "essentially creating LIV Golf on the PGA Tour" and said a group of players have been working frantically in recent days to try to "save the PGA Tour."

Losing Rahm would be a major blow to the Tour. A two-time major winner, in the prime of his career at 29 years old, the reigning Masters champion and a very well-liked player both by his peers and by fans. The move, given Rahm's past statement about LIV, can also be seen as a sign of the general uneasiness about the direction of the PGA Tour. 

“Would my lifestyle change if I got $400 million? No. It would not change one bit,” Rahm told reporters at last year's U.S. Open. “Truth be told, I could retire right now with what I’ve made and live a very happy life and not play golf again. I’ve never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I’ve always been interested in history and legacy and right now, the PGA Tour has that.”