Xander Schauffele knows he’s a big deal in the grand scheme of professional golf. But he also isn’t one to spend too much time focusing on things out of his control. So when Jon Rahm’s lawyers announced earlier this week that utthe two-time major winner did not participate in LIV Golf 2.0 because he found the terms “unacceptable”, Schauffele did not think much. Golf’s civil conflict is overand those who left the PGA Tour for large sums of guaranteed money will now be looking for new homes.
Self-preservation has been the underlying theme of professional golf over the past four years. Everyone just went their own way.
“He clearly did what was best for himself, as did all of us,” Schauffele said of Rahm LIV’s departure after the third round of the Baycurrent Classic in Japan. “I’m sure he’ll only play DP (World Tour), it’s my guess, DP World Tour. I don’t know if the (PGA Tour) offered him a place like they had that window before. Yes, he’s just doing what he thinks is best for himself; it’s kind of like that.”
But Rahm’s LIV exit also brings the PGA Tour’s big unanswered question to light.
In January, the PGA Tour offered Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Rahm a return ticket via the “Returning Member Program.” Koepka he was the only one to take the deal before the deadline, and PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp he has been consistent in his messaging about the potential of that route to return as LIV going through its bankruptcy process.
“No, there is currently no current plan for (the) Returning Members Program as you saw earlier this year,” Rolapp said at the Tour Championship in August. Rolapp repeated that message in September, emphasizing the importance of rules and accountability within a member organization.
But Rolapp and the PGA Tour still don’t need to have clear answers on a path back for the shortcomings at that time. LIV had just entered bankruptcy proceedings, and all the players in the league were still under contract, so there was no immediate need for Rolapp to have a concrete plan for how or to return.
“Anyone who is interested in coming to the PGA Tour needs to demonstrate that they are released from their contractual obligations or any tail obligations they may have in that legacy model,” Rolapp said in August.
Two months later, The bankruptcy case of LIV it moves through the courts. Sergio Garcia asked the court for clarification on his contract status in a filing last week, and received an official notice this week that his contract. the contract was terminated. Rahm’s attorney announced his exit from the league on Wednesday. Adrian Meronk and David Puig followed.
With a LIV exodus underway, Schauffele knows questions of if, how and when LIVers can return are on the horizon. But those answers will be difficult to find because, as Schauffele notes, every player affected by the LIV emergency and golf’s civil conflict has a different opinion about, well, everything, including what should be the fate of Rahm and others — and those opinions will vary according to each player who left for the league that was supported by Saudi Arabia.
“I have no idea,” Schauffele said when asked if Rahm and others leaving LIV would return to the PGA Tour. “There are 225 guys with Tour cards, and if you sit down and interview them all, you’ll get probably three or four boxes of how the guys feel. Some guys don’t care, some guys are really marked, some want them to have a huge fine, some would let them back tomorrow. Where I stand in those boxes, I’m really in mind. own business most of the time.”
Back in August, when LIV was faltering but still had hopes of keeping Rahm and others, Rolapp made it clear that there would be no red carpet for LIV returnees. The deal that the PGA Tour gave Koepka will not materialize again. Whatever path comes next – it should be one – would be much harder.
“When it comes to LIV players or anyone who wants to be on the Tour. One, the Tour is built on meritocracy. Every player, whether they are already there or trying to be there, they have to earn a place based on their performance and their success. It’s a core principle of the sport, and certainly it is of the PGA Tour” Rol said. “Two, the Tour is a membership organization. It has rules. These rules exist for many reasons, for fair and competitive reasons. They exist so that we can really create the Tour as we know it. Rules matter. Three, rules only matter if they are enforced. So accountability and discipline are essential for any organization, and certainly for the integrity of the Tour and for the game, especially for the integrity of the rules and the game.
“Those are guiding principles for us. The rules matter. Again, I’ve been very public that I want to do what’s best for the PGA Tour, and that’s still my guiding principle. Whatever happens, those will be the guiding principles.”
Now, with Rahm out and others to follow, Rolapp and the PGA Tour will have to answer the biggest question that remains. The one that can close the book on a fractured era in professional golf.
What is the way to be healthy?
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