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Jim Souhan: Masters champ Jon Rahm should pair red face with green jacket

Jim Souhan, Star Tribune on

Published in Golf

On Feb. 22, 2022, Rahm said this: "This is my official, my one and only time I'll talk about this, where I am declaring my fealty to the PGA Tour. I don't do this for the money, which is the only reason to go over there. They throw money at you. I'm in this game for the love of golf.''

He also criticized LIV's 54-hole, no-cut tournaments.

Last December, Rahm joined LIV for a reported $350 million.

On March 19, he said he would like LIV to begin playing 72-hole tournaments, and said of his departure from the PGA Tour, "I'm not going to lie, for everybody who said this would be easy, some things have been, but not being able to defend some titles that mean a lot to me hasn't."

On Tuesday, Rahm admitted that he misses playing in certain PGA Tour tournaments, and positioned himself as someone who hoped his departure would speed a reunion.

"I understood that it could be, what I hoped, a step towards some kind of agreement, yes," he said. "Or more of an agreement or expedited agreement. But, unfortunately, it's not up to me. But I would hope it would be something that would help expedite that process. But at the end of the day, I still did what I thought was best for myself."

 

Debates over sportswashing can become murky. Here's a clear way to look at it: If the survivors of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks are against you, you're probably not on the right side of history.

Rahm seemed to be a champion in deed and reputation a year ago. He was still with the PGA Tour, and he earned a spot in the final pairing at The Masters with leader Brooks Koepka, an LIV star. Rahm beat him soundly that Sunday to win his first green jacket.

"I still love the PGA Tour," Rahm said on Tuesday. "I still hope for the best, and I still hope that at some point I can compete there again."

A previous Rahm quote distills the decision he and his LIV compatriots made: "I still did what I thought was best for myself."


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