Jon Rahm’s first LIV Golf season comes to end with WD

LIV Golf signed Jon Rahm with the intention of the two-time major winner becoming one of the league’s biggest draws for its individual and team championships for years to come.

While Rahm got the job done at LIV’s individual championship last week, the same won’t be said for this week’s LIV Golf Team Championship in Texas.

Shortly before his Legion XIII squad was set to see their first action of the event Saturday, the team announced Rahm, it’s captain, will not play this weekend due to “severe flu symptoms.”

“Jon has been experiencing severe flu symptoms the last few days,” the team said in a statement posted to social media. “In the best interest of his team and under the advise of his medical team, he will not be playing this week. He will continue to provide full support to his team.”

The team also announced John Catlin, an American 3-time DP World Tour Tour winner who has been a LIV reserve player this season, would take Rahm’s place in the semifinal matches Saturday and the finale on Sunday.

Legion XIII earned a bye through Friday’s quarterfinal matches thanks to finishing second during the regular season. The opened action on Saturday in the semifinal matches, which the four winners of will then match up in the finals, Sunday, which reverts to stroke play, the team with the lowest combined score of all four players taking the title.

The LIV Team Championship has a prize pool of $50 million with $14 million being divided up among the winning team.

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Rahm has had an up-and-down season after signing a reported $300 million deal to join the breakaway PGA Tour rival for its third season. The 29-year-old just edged out Joaquin Niemann for the overall LIV Individual title by winning LIV Chicago, his second win in three starts and of the season and didn’t finish worse than T10 in any LIV start, except for a WD at LIV Houston.

But the 2023 Masters winner underperformed in the first three majors of the year, finishing T45 in his title defense at Augusta National before missing the cut at the PGA Championship and withdrawing early in the week at the U.S. Open due to the same foot injury that forced him to retire at LIV Houston.

He rebounded late in the year, winning his first two LIV events, finishing T7 at the year’s final major, the Open Championship and contending at for a medal at the Open Championship before a final nine collapse saw him finish T5.

Rahm is also involved in the debate surrounding his DP World Tour membership. He needs to maintain his membership to retain eligibility to compete for Europe in the 2025 Ryder Cup, but was suspended by the Tour, like he was by the PGA Tour, when he joined LIV. He could regain standing by paying his fines and serving the suspension but he is currently appealing the suspension — allowing him to play the Tour in the meantime — and has thus far indicated he will not pay the fines.