Eamon Lynch has revealed that a number of his sources at the PGA Tour have insisted that there are no talks going on between those at Ponte Vedra and Jon Rahm about a return.
Rahm’s future with LIV Golf appears to be in serious doubt. Of course, the league will hold their final event of the season this week after finally announcing the cancellation of their tournament in Michigan later this month.
It remains to be seen whether LIV will be able to continue into 2027. However, it does appear that the league is preparing to lose its best player.
The PGA Tour are yet to open talks with Jon Rahm over a potential return
Reports have suggested that LIV are resigned to Rahm leaving at the end of the season. Should he depart, the question will then be where will he end up playing the majority of his golf in 2027?
The DP World Tour would surely love to have Rahm back for a full year. And there are no guarantees that the PGA Tour will allow Rahm to come back on anything like the terms that led to Brooks Koepka‘s return earlier this season.
Interestingly, reports on social media this week claimed that Rahm had agreed a deal with the PGA Tour. It was suggested that he was set to pay $25 million to charity as a fine, while he would also have to qualify for signature events.
But speaking on the Golf Channel, Lynch explained why there are unlikely to be any discussions going on at the moment.
“What you’re seeing now is exit planning going on, and particularly these rumours going around about Jon Rahm, which is very obviously, the people around him just chumming the waters, trying to create a narrative that Jon Rahm has options,” he said.
“I’ve talked to multiple sources at the PGA Tour. There is no conversation with Jon Rahm. That would have to start between Jon Rahm and Brian Rolapp, and Jon Rahm is contractually obligated to LIV Golf right now. And if LIV does file for bankruptcy, that doesn’t necessarily void Jon Rahm’s contract. It may make him one of their larger creditors, but it might not automatically free him from his contractual obligations. And the PGA Tour is not going to set itself up for a tortious interference claim from LIV Golf at this point in the proceedings, Jon Rahm has a problem. Brian Rolapp does not have a problem right now.”
How Jon Rahm would be received if he returned to the PGA Tour
The PGA Tour had to be strong with the likes of Koepka and Patrick Reed once they left LIV. There was a lot of resentment towards those who left for LIV. And opening up a clear pathway back would have upset a lot of the membership.
They also had to be wary of giving their own players reason to make the jump. So not punishing those coming back would have been a terrible move.
But with LIV almost completely irrelevant now, there is less need for the PGA Tour to make an example of anyone who returns in future.
Nevertheless, when Lynch was asked whether Rahm could expect a positive reception from players if he did come back, he suggested that the jury is still out.
“It’s possible, because there’s a tremendous amount of respect for Rahm, as a player, and as a competitor, but a lot of folks in the locker room haven’t forgotten that Jon Rahm left for LIV right after the framework agreement was signed. He willingly became a leverage point in negotiations for the Saudis, and then claimed afterwards that he thought he would be the catalyst to reunite the tours, that somehow, the shock of Jon Rahm leaving would bring everyone to their senses, which is a certain preening self regard, and that kind of statement,” he said.
“He’s never sued the PGA Tour, unlike Bryson, who was the last man standing in the litigation. So, Rahm has that going for him. But I think there’s a sense out there that they’re not going to roll out the welcome mat for Jon Rahm too quickly. I do think he would be beneficial to the PGA Tour if he was back, in the same way that Koepka is. I think Brian Rolapp would probably think that he’s good for business, but it would require expending a lot of political capital to make that happen. And right now, I’m not necessarily sure that Brian Rolapp’s all that incentivised to do so.”
It is definitely the PGA Tour that holds all of the cards right now. So if they want to make life very difficult for Rahm should he seek a return, there is very little that can stop them.