Jon Rahm is hoping to see some sort of links golf added to the LIV Golf schedule in the future, with the Spaniard keen to discuss the potential change with his fellow players
Jon Rahm has expressed his desire to see links golf incorporated into the LIV Golf schedule. Rahm, who became the star signing for LIV ahead of the 2024 season with a whopping $600 million deal, has been struggling to regain his top form since his switch from the PGA Tour.
However, his performance at The Open Championship last week marked a significant turnaround. Despite challenging conditions, Rahm managed a tied-seventh finish at Royal Troon.
Following this strenuous Scottish test, he revealed his wish to include links golf in the LIV schedule to better prepare players for the year’s final major. “I’m pushing for [links golf],” he confessed to Golf Digest prior to this week’s LIV event in the UK.
“There’s so much that goes into adjusting to links golf; getting used to the greens and the ball reacting on the ground. I didn’t think about it until after [Troon], but it’s undeniable how much it helps to play a links golf course the week before the Open.”
LIV has already laid out plans for the 2025 schedule, meaning Rahm have to bide his time before realising his dream of playing on the links. However, Rahm is eager to push his idea forward and is looking to gauge interest from his fellow players on the Saudi-backed circuit.
“Obviously, LIV management has contracts in place with some venues and plans in the future,” he added. “It’s not as easy as it sounds to just say, ‘Well, let’s do this.’ It’d be something I would like to talk to other players [on LIV] about because that way, there’s strength in numbers if five, six or 10 solid players [agree]. I think a lot of people might agree with it.”
Jon Rahm played last week’s Open ( Image: R&A via Getty Images)
The iconic Troon course showed its true colours during the third round of The Open last Saturday, as players battled against relentless rain and fierce winds. Rahm found himself in the midst of the tumultuous conditions halfway through his round, taken aback by the severity of the wind and rain.
“I didn’t know that it was going to turn as difficult as it did,” he confessed after the event last weekend. “I thought, from what I saw in the [ weather ] app — it’s hard to do, right — if the rain came, it wasn’t going to be too windy. Man, did it turn quickly?”.
A day later, Rahm tried his best to fight his way into contention in the final round. The two-time major winner got off to a flying start, birdieing his first three holes and adding another on the seventh to go four-under-par for the day.
However, he couldn’t maintain this momentum into the back-nine, finishing the week eight shots behind Xander Schauffele, who clinched the Claret Jug with a final round six-under 65.