US Open: “A lot” Of PGA Tour Players ‘Feel Betrayal’ Over Tour-PIF Merger Plans Says Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm says players feel betrayed over PGA Tour-PIF merger plans

“A lot” of PGA Tour players “feel betrayal from management” following last week’s announcement of the proposed merger with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, says Jon Rahm.

The world number two was only alerted to the news by text messages.

“I thought my phone was going to catch on fire at one point,” said Rahm.

“At one point I told [my wife] Kelley I’m going to throw my phone in the drawer and not look at it for four hours because I can’t deal with this.”

A week on from the news shocking the golfing world – players and media alike, little more is known about the PGA Tour’s plans, or what will happen to LIV Golf – the PIF-funded start-up that has caused so much division in the game since holding its first event a year ago, at Centurion Golf Club, near London.

However, the deal, which also includes Europe’s DP World Tour, is being investigated by the US Senate because “PIF’s role as an arm of the Saudi government and the PGA Tour’s sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf raises serious questions”.

Rahm acknowledged the PGA Tour had “heard [the players] throughout the whole process” over the past 12 months, but added “we’re certainly in a spot in time where there’s a big question mark – we don’t have any of the answers we’d like”.

The Spaniard, who turned down a reported $200m (£159m) to join LIV, continued: “I think it gets to a point where you want to have faith in management, and I want to have faith that this is the best thing for all of us, but it’s clear that that’s not the consensus.

“The general feeling is that a lot of people feel a bit of betrayal from management.”

Rahm also said he understood the need for secrecy, so the news was not leaked to the media, but pointed out the “bombshell” has led to “a state of uncertainty that we don’t love”.

However, the reigning Masters champion, who is in Los Angeles this week trying to add to his 2021 US Open title, added: “I’m not a business expert. Some of those guys on the board and involved in this are.

“So I’d like to think they’re going to make a better decision than I would, but I don’t know. We’ll see. There’s still too many questions to be answered.”

Two-time US Open winner Brooks Koepka said the issue was no clearer on the LIV side of the fence.

“We didn’t hear anything about it,” he said. “I think that’s the one thing that shocked everybody the most.

“I ran into Rickie [Fowler] and JT [Justin Thomas] after watching the whole thing and I asked if they knew, and they said they didn’t know, either.

“They were kind of learning about it. They were on the back of the range, so I probably saw them 30 minutes after the news broke.”

Koepka, winner of this event in 2017 and 2018, announced his move to the fledgling LIV Golf circuit a week after last year’s US Open, despite telling reporters in the week of the championship they were “throwing a black cloud” over one of his “favourite events” by asking him if he was switching.

The American has looked back to his best form this year, finishing runner-up at the Masters in April and then winning his third US PGA Championship last month to take his major tally to five.

“Double digits, that’s what I’m trying to get to,” Koepka said. “I don’t think it’s out of the question. I think the way I’ve prepared, the way I’ve kind of suited my game for these things is going to help me.

“That’s what you’re judged on. It’s major championships. I’m only 33, so I’ve definitely got quite a bit of time.”

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy cancelled his news conference which had been scheduled for 09:00 local time (17:00 BST) on Tuesday. He is not scheduled to speak to the media on Wednesday.

The world number three addressed the proposed merger at a news conference before last week’s Canadian Open where he said he felt like a “sacrificial lamb” and declared he still “hated” LIV Golf.

Following his first round in Toronto, McIlroy said that interview was “the most uncomfortable I’ve felt in the past 12 months”.