Jon Rahm is already in Las Vegas to compete in the second tournament of the LIV Golf season. It starts on Thursday. It is held at Las Vegas Country Club, an urban course in the heart of Sin City. The course has caught the eye of the golfer from Barrika. It’s charming and the greens are impeccable. “One of the best I’ve played in my career,” he assures.
Rahm has just arrived at LIV and, in a way, everything is new to him. Not only what he has found in the Saudi league, the format and setup of the tournaments, but also how he feels about those PGA Tour tournaments that he has stopped playing due to the decision he made. The Spanish player admits that he missed not being at Torrey Pines and Palm Springs, as well as missing this week’s appointment in Phoenix, five minutes from his home.
“It was much harder to watch on TV at home the American Express and the Farmers. It was hard not to be competing and knowing that those tournaments were being held. Palm Springs and Torrey were tough weeks. I have explained many times how important Torrey is to me (I won there the Farmers and the US Open and also won in Palm Springs). Likewise, passing through Phoenix so often because it is close to my home and knowing that I was not going to play there, it is definitely emotional. It is one of the things I am going to miss,” he assured this morning in his appearance before the media in the preview of the Las Vegas tournament.
However, Jon makes it clear that, for now, there is no feeling of remorse or regret. “No. I don’t usually regret any decision. I made it with all the information I could and with the full support of the people around me and with the confidence that it was the right thing for me, so no, I’m not going to regret it,” he concludes.
Be that as it may, he does miss the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour and continues to insist on his desire to play tournaments from both circuits again. “I have hopes. That’s all I can say on my part. In the DP World Tour we have already seen examples of people playing in events. It is certainly a possibility. I would love, if they allow me and it does not conflict with a LIV tournament, to go play the Spanish Open. A tournament that both Tyrrell and I are going to miss a lot is Wentworth (unless the LIV Golf final, which has not yet been announced, is played on that date, they could play it right now). If I qualify, I would love to go play in Dubai, the DP World TOUR Championship. There are definitely events that I would like to play. And on the PGA TOUR, we’ll see. If there is ever a way to return and play, even if invited, I will do it. As I said, there are certain events that are special to me and that I would love to play,” he points out.
Similarly, Rahm was asked about LIV’s situation with the world ranking and the fact that it does not receive points. The Barrika player did not want to delve too much, but he did show hope that one day this will change, especially thinking about the Majors. “It’s a bit sad, but it’s to be expected that we’ll see a change in the future, opening a way for LIV Golf players to qualify for the Majors or, perhaps, a change in the World Ranking, whatever, because there are definitely a lot of players here who are more than capable of competing and winning Majors and they are not going to have the opportunity in the near future. I hope it changes. The ideal to be the best in the world is to beat the best in the world, period. It’s not that there’s going to be an asterisk in the Majors where there are no LIV players, but that Joaco Niemann, for example, is not there is definitely a step back in the level of the participants,” he explains.
Jon also addressed other issues:
His first impression of a LIV Golf tournament compared to his preconceived idea… “We have a game among friends on Fridays at Silverleaf that is a shotgun start around noon. The last time we were 120 people. That is basically a group of amateurs warming up at the same time, drinking and going in and out of the stalls to hit balls, until suddenly we all get on the buggies, go to the tee and start. It’s something like that but a little more organized and with some of the best in the world. It’s different. I think it’s very entertaining. It gives the public a level of closeness that I didn’t expect. Everyone seemed very committed to the music and golf”.
Las Vegas Country Club, this week’s course… “It’s the first time I’ve seen it. At first glance, it reminds me a bit of Phoenix Country Club, a more urban, smaller, perhaps a bit more traditional golf course. That’s something I usually quite like. It’s very different from last week. It’s not the longest, but it’s more about placing the ball. I think I’m going to enjoy this golf course. Also, I’ve heard that the greens are some of the best they’ve played on. Tom Pernice told me that”.
The story of Hatton with Caleb Surratt to check in at the hotel in Las Vegas (Hatton tells it)… “When I checked in I kept looking at Caleb and he was looking quite nervous, so once I finished checking in, I went over to make sure he was okay, and when I got there, the receptionist told me that she needed someone over 21 to be on the reservation to give him the room. I had to hand over my driving license to make sure he had a bed for the night”.
