Sergio Garcia believes his Spanish compatriot and new LIV Golf League signing Jon Rahm should thank a number of players on the circuit.
Since several LIV Golf players took the fall for Jon Rahm’s decision to leave the PGA Tour for the Saudi Arabian circuit before he did this season, Sergio Garcia believes that Jon Rahm “should thank” them.
In a special interview with The Standard, Garcia, 44, discussed his 29-year-old Spanish national Rahm.
Rahm became LIV Golf’s biggest signing to date when he made the shock move to LIV Golf at the end of 2023.
LIV Golf had previously attracted a number of PGA Tour stars including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and Garcia.
Rahm reportedly accepted a fee in the region of £450m and he will become the captain of his own team, Legion XIII.
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It was the largest deal in LIV Golf League history, and now makes Rahm the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2024.
Rahm’s team has yet to be determined with just two weeks remaining until the start of the 2024 LIV Golf League season, which gets underway at former PGA Tour stop Mayakoba in Mexico from 2-4 February.
Sergio Garcia thinks Jon Rahm “should thank” a number of LIV Golf players
Garcia might be delighted to have Rahm on board at LIV Golf, but he does think he should thank a number of players for believing in the product in the first place and taking plenty of criticism for leaving the PGA Tour.
“It shows we’re here to stay for a long time,” Garcia told The Standard when pressed on what Rahm’s signature means for LIV Golf.
“People were thinking this is going to be two or three years and then gone. You’re seeing guys sign through to late 2020s and maybe even the 2030s
“Jon should probably thank us a little bit for that – we knew being the first ones we would take some heat.
“We believed in the product, we believed in how good LIV is and it can become even better. We just had to ride the wave of criticism, but now people are starting to see the reality of it.”
Garcia also told The Standard why he will not be reapplying for his membership of the DP World Tour having terminated it last season alongside a number of other European LIV Golf players such as Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.
As that decision stands, it means Garcia, Poulter and Westwood – among others – cannot be involved in the Ryder Cup.
Rahm, however, still can as he remains a DP World Tour member – albeit now faces heavy fines for joining LIV Golf.
Garcia expressed his desire for Jon to be able to return to the DP World Tour as a bridge player, play in a few tournaments, and potentially qualify for the Ryder Cup.
“I discussed my plans to [reapply for membership] with my wife and managers this year. was prepared to take action.
However, it’s evidently not worth it after observing that players in LIV continued to be members despite receiving a one-year ban.
Garcia, who is the record points scorer in Ryder Cup history with 28.5 points, added: “I love the Ryder Cup – I have that engraved in my heart and I can’t take that away.”
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