Jon Rahm’s decision to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf sent shockwaves throughout the game leading to a host of opinions on both sides.
On Sunday morning’s editions of SportsCenter on ESPN, Rahm revealed that he got two very different responses from two of golf’s biggest names, who also happen to be two of LIV’s biggest critics.
“Rory has been supportive publicly of my decision and he was privately as well,” Rahm told ESPN’s Marty Smith in a pre-produced piece.
Rahm’s comments allude to McIlroy’s statements in the wake of Rahm’s shocking December decision. Shortly after Rahm’s announcement, McIlroy called for the Ryder Cup eligibility rules to be changed to make sure Rahm would still be on the team in 2025.
Then in January, he walked back some of his harshest critiques of players who defected to the breakaway, Saudi-backed league.
“I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start,” he said on Gary Neville’s The Overlap. “I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realize that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods’ position.”
By the end of the month, he was even saying LIV players should be allowed back on the PGA Tour, a statement one could have never imagined him saying before Rahm’s departure.
However, Tiger Woods, the player McIlroy mentioned as being in a similar position as he was in making judgments of LIV, has not shown the same support for Rahm.
“Tiger? No, not really,” Rahm said when Smith asked if he had heard from both McIlroy and Woods. “I mean, Tiger, I texted him and the people that try to reach out, you know, the process, when I signed and I just let him know, ‘Hey, you know, this is a personal decision.'”
Rahm didn’t elaborate any further on what he said when he reached out to Woods.
Since Rahm’s departure, Woods has made very few public appearances. He was asked twice during the PNC Championship about Rahm and didn’t offer much insight on their relationship.
“Well, there’s been a lot of talk over the years of certain players going, and it was speculation until it happened because there’s been rumours of names going and not going, and whether they materialized or not,” Woods said at the PNC. “So we assumed it was just speculation till it happened.”
He wasn’t asked about Rahm at all during last week’s Genesis Invitational before he withdrew from the tournament with the flu.
Woods, however, isn’t the only big name from the PGA Tour Rahm hasn’t spoken with since his jump to LIV Golf. He also told Smith he has not talked to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, despite his desire to continue playing PGA and DP World Tour events.
“I think he’s [too] busy enough to be talking to me,” Rahm said.
