Rory McIlroy and PGA stars ‘betrayed’ claims Jon Rahm as gamers left baffled

The PGA Tour’s bombshell announcement that it’s to merge with LIV Golf has upset “a lot” of gamers in keeping with Joh Rahm. And the world No. 2 says that PGA Tour loyalists “feel betrayal from management”.

Headline names corresponding to Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have been fierce opponents of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Tour and rejected the chance to affix the breakaway league regardless of the inducement of huge sums of cash on provide. LIV is backed by Saudia Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF), which is an element that does not sit simply with many gamers and golf followers alike.

But The Masters champion Rahm has confirmed that he solely turned conscious of the PGA’s settlement to successfully head into coalition with LIV by way of two check messages.

He mentioned: “I thought my phone was going to catch on fire at one point. I told [my wife] Kelley I’m going to throw my phone in the drawer and not look at it for four hours because I can’t deal with this anymore.”

Rahm is in Los Angles this week getting ready to sort out the US Open the place he’ll look to seize his second Major championship of the 12 months, however it’s the first occasion the place gamers from each the PGA Tour LIV Golf will compete with one another for the reason that two excursions introduced that they’d agreed to kind into one singular entity alongside Europe’s DP World Tour.

Exactly how such an association will work could be very a lot nonetheless up within the air with little element but supplied in regards to the logistics of such a merger. But such is the controversy surrounding the settlement that the US Senate is already investigating the plans as a result of it believes “PIF’s role as an arm of the Saudi government and the PGA Tour’s sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf raises serious questions”.

Speaking forward of the US Open, which will get underway on Thursday, Rahm accepted that the PGA Tour had “heard [the players] throughout the whole process” as discussions with LIV Golf performed out, but in addition mentioned that “we’re certainly in a spot in time where there’s a big question mark – we don’t have any of the answers we’d like”.

According to BBC Sport, Rahm reportedly turned down £159m to affix the LIV Tour however now finds himself going through the prospect of enjoying on the identical circuit because the insurgent gamers who took the cash.

The Spaniard mentioned: “The general feeling is that a lot of people feel a bit of betrayal from management. I’d like to think they’re going to make a better decision than I would, but I don’t know. We’ll see. There are still too many questions to be answered.”

World No. 1 Scottie Sheffler conceded he too was simply as a lot at the hours of darkness as his counterpart Rham. Sheffler mentioned: “I didn’t really know what was going on, still don’t really have a clue. I don’t really know what’s going to happen but I’m interested to see. Things are barely starting to take form with that whole deal, so I really just don’t know.”