Jon Rahm plays starting this Friday third tournament at LIV Golf within Royal Greens of King Abdullah Economic City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Basque gave an interview to the ESPN program ‘Sports Center’ where he talks about the changes in his life after leaving the PGA Tour through Super Leaguethe reasons that led him to make that controversial decision and the opinion on this ‘movement’ of players like Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods.
Jon was asked about the contract (talked of more than 300 million over three years for playing LIV Golf) with the Arabs, a big step in his career and his answer: “Well, it’s a change, right? The best way to explain it is that LIV Golf wasn’t a possibility for us when we were little. The PGA Tour is the pinnacle of golf, right? It’s a big change and I don’t want to skip this point because it doesn’t have makes sense. A big change in the way golfers get paid. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a big factor. In other words, I get paid more to play the same sport and have more time. I don’t know about most people, but I think it’s great.”
Regarding his outstanding commitment to the PGA Tour that he repeatedly promised two years ago, Barrika explained: “Some circumstances have changed. When the PGA Tour and the FIP reached this agreement and agreed to work together in the future, I guess I thought maybe I was a little bit closed off and maybe I should give it a chance. As an athlete, I think I owe it to myself to listen to the other side. And that’s what I did.”
Jon acknowledges that one of the big concerns, if not the most, when making this decision “is a little negative reaction in the media. I have the right to do what I believe is best for me and my family. And period. I’ve said it before. As a father and as a husband, I have a duty to fix my family as much as possible. Not that we haven’t been. We’re very privileged people. I’m aware of that. But it’s my duty ,” the Spanish player assured ESPN.
When asked what his teammates told him about the change, particularly if he had a response from Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods… Rahm said clearly: “Rory has publicly supported me in my decision. And in private, too. Tigre…no, not really. I texted him and the people who tried to get some feel for the process when I signed. I just let them know, ‘hey, it’s a personal decision, I have nothing against anyone.’ I want to make one thing clear. If you allow me, I will continue to support the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. I will not resign. And there are still events I want to play. I have no doubt. If my schedule, I’ll play. “I think he’s too busy to talk to me.”
Finally, did you think about being the Masters champion that it doesn’t matter what might happen because you have achieved the most important victory possible?, the journalist asked, and the player responded: “Well, I don’t want to see it. there. Like I said, I’m very hopeful that there’s a way back to all of those things. But I can say with confidence that if I don’t win the Masters in 2023, I don’t know if I will. It really put me in a position where it was easier to make that change. And if I hadn’t won a major, I don’t know if I would have done it.”
Source: La Verdad
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