Bubba Watson hints LIV Golf could give into Jon Rahm demands after £450m move

Jon Rahm has openly criticised LIV Golf’s 54-hole, shotgun start format on a number of occasions prior to his move, and the Spaniard’s wish for a change in the rules could well be granted

Bubba Watson has revealed LIV Golf could switch up their format in the coming years, after new signing Jon Rahm called on the breakaway league to make changes to the way they operate on the back of his recent move.

Rahm made LIV Golf history last week, turning into the Saudi-upheld association’s most generously compensated player, after supposedly marking a £450 million with the circuit. The move came as a shock to many, after the Bosses champion had rubbished his opportunities to at any point do the Saudi switch on various events.

The greatest obstacle Rahm referred to while proclaiming his indifference for the LIV association was the circuit’s organization, which witnesses every occasion played more than 54 openings, with a shotgun start and no cut line.

On the back of his move though the Spaniard did admit he would be calling on the league’s bosses to make some changes further down the line. “For all those things I like about this movement, there are always going to be things that are not perfect. That’s something I can live with,” he admitted last week.

“It’s an ever-growing and ever-changing machine. I hope the leaders of LIV Golf might listen to my advice and see some changes in the future that are better for the future of the game.” And it appears Rahm may well get his way, with fellow LIV star and Masters champion Watson also more than an open to the idea.

Speaking about potential changes to the Fore Play Podcast, Watson said: “The league was started from scratch, we can do what we want.” With negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), it remains to be seen what the future holds for the LIV setup, and professional golf as a whole

,There are hopes that a merger between the two rival tours will come out of the pending framework agreement, allowing players from both to compete across the two as they please. Arguably LIV’s biggest success since its inception last summer has been the team aspect to its competition.

As a result, Watson believes that the end goal for the Saudi-backed series is to be a team-only circuit. “The long-term vision is going all-team, and then you can do some fun events like that, where it’s two on two, it’s maybe an alternate shot, and maybe scrambled, whatever, right? because it’s open air.”

There maybe some obstacles for new man Rahm to overcome though, if the league is to move away from its 54-hole plan. LIV’s 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch appears to oppose the idea, with the American claiming that the three-round events are integral to the breakaway circuit’s brand.

“We haven’t had an open gathering conversation with every one of the players, yet you get the two sides,” Gooch told Golf Summary as to a potential organization change. “Folks who might welcome (changing to 72 openings) and a few people who are against it.

“Conversations will be had and it’ll be intriguing to see what happens to it. I think LIV Golf was intended to be something else. I believe it shouldn’t be a duplicate of the remainder of expert golf. I incline towards keeping it at 54 openings. Part of it, as well, from my experience on the PGA Visit, was Thursdays are only unimportant according to a fan point of view (with the exception) two or three times each year.”