LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has hit back at a report that Jon Rahm, one of the biggest stars of his breakaway, is already regretting his defection from the PGA Tour.
The Spaniard shocked the golf world when he abandoned the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed circuit on a reported $500million deal in December 2023.
However, just over eight months later, a ‘veteran Tour insider’ claimed to Golf Digest that the two-time major winner is already having second thoughts about his nine-figure defection.
‘I am 100 percent positive that if Jon could give the money back to the Saudis and come back to the tour, he couldn’t write the check fast enough,’ the unnamed source claimed.
But the breakaway’s chief was swift to shut down those claims during the second round of LIV Golf Greenbrier Saturday.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman (L) has hit back at a report that Jon Rahm (R) regrets his defection
‘I read an article yesterday about how Jon is so unhappy here [LIV Golf] and that he wants to give back his money,’ Norman said via Golf Magic. ‘It’s just not true.
‘You speak to Jon’s general manager, it’s like laughable. I just truly don’t get it. I truly don’t get the divide.’
‘The division is still there when we are actually showing how we do work within the ecosystem and how the ecosystem is accepting us and how the people are speaking out there,’ the Australian continued.
‘I just don’t understand why it is this way. It tells you there is some deep seeded something there, but we are going to keep ploughing through it and stay true to ourselves.’
The insider also hinted that the lack of exposure was a source of frustration for Rahm, adding: ‘Now there are only four times a year when he’s playing that anybody is remotely interested.
A ‘veteran Tour insider’ claimed the Spaniard would return his $500m fee to leave the circuit
‘He thought his stature in the game was secure no matter where he was playing, and it was a bad miscalculation.’
Rahm’s major championship campaign has been far from ideal this year, playing in only three of golf’s biggest tournaments.
He endured an unsuccessful Masters title defense in April, finishing in a tie for 45th at Augusta National before missing the cut a month later at the PGA Championship.
A mysterious infection to his left foot forced him to withdraw from the US Open at Pinehurst in May just two days before the tournament kicked off.
He did look to turn his season with a three-under tied-seventh finish at The Open Championship before heading to Paris to represent Spain at the Olympics.
During the final round at Le Golf National, Rahm, the overnight co-leader, held a four-shot lead after going five-under-par through the opening nine holes.
Rahm won his first event on the Saudi-backed breakaway last month at LIV Golf UK by JCB
But the LIV rebel then hit four bogeys and a double bogey down the stretch of his fourth round to finish four shots behind Scottie Scheffler.
His collapse was savaged by analyst Brandel Chamblee, who likened it to Rory McIlroy’s final-round implosion at the US Open earlier this year.
‘(He) shoots 29, Jon Rahm shoots 39. I’m going to put that down as one of the biggest collapses (and) chokes of the year – probably right up there with Rory McIlroy coming down the stretch at the US Open,’ Chamblee said.
Meanwhile, back on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, Rahm sits second in the individual rankings after clinging on to win his first title on the circuit at LIV Golf UK by JCB last month, while his team, Legion XIII, also occupies second place in the team standings.
