PGA Tour director responds to Jon Rahm’s ‘shocking’ LIV decision
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PGA Tour winner and current player director Joe Ogilvie says Jon Rahm’s “shocking” move to LIV Golf felt like a “shot across the bow” during the sport’s civil war.
When Rahm made his rumoured £450million move to the LIV Golf League last December, the Spaniard insinuated that his deal could prove a catalyst for a peace deal between the game’s warring factions.
Rahm’s defection came six months after the PGA Tour announced a “framework agreement” with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which solely funds the LIV enterprise.
Yet six months on, the elite male game remains in a state of flux as negotiations continue to stall between those in charge of the rival tours.
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And in a wide-ranging interview with Golfweek, former PGA Tour pro turned investment advisor Ogilvie agreed that Rahm’s move doesn’t appear to have expedited talks at all.
“It doesn’t. It was certainly shocking,” said Ogilvie, who is on the board of the new commercially-driven PGA Tour Enterprises.”It was a negotiating tactic to take a player like Jon, and for Jon to go. That was definitely a shot across the bow.”
In the same interview, Ogilvie also addressed talk of Patrick Cantlay’s burgeoning influence in the PGA Tour’s corridors of power.
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“Patrick’s obviously a voice,” Ogilvie added. “When he speaks, and he doesn’t speak very often, he carries a lot of weight. But I’ve only been on the board since March 9. Patrick is incredibly detail-oriented.
“I joked with him one time that if he wasn’t a professional golfer he could be a distressed debt investor and probably make more money. He remembers facts and he’s a bulldog. He has strong opinions.
“I’ve read what’s been said, about he’s controlling the board and all that kind of stuff. I don’t want to say it’s wildly inaccurate, but I would say it’s very inaccurate.”
Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.
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