Golf icon Tiger Woods has admitted his surprise after speculation emerged that Masters winner Jon Rahm may about to turn his back on the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf.
The Spanish star's withdrawal from Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL indoor golf league at the beginning of November first sparked speculation about his future. The two-time major championship victor cited time commitments as the reason behind him pulling out of its first season.
Following on from this, widespread reports have suggested that Rahm could be set to become the first major coup for the breakaway Saudi Arabian circuit since 2022. Household names such as Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson were among those who jumped ship to the lucrative tour in the Gulf State last year.
Although any switch has not been confirmed, rumours have abounded that the 29-year-old is set to put pen to paper on a bumper deal $600million. It has also been mooted that Rahm would land a $300million signing fee, alongside being named as a LIV team captain until 2029.
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Now, 15-time major championships winner Woods has given his verdict on the rumours that his fellow Masters champion could be set to defect. Speaking as he returned to action following a seven-month absence, Woods said: "Hypothetically would it surprise me? Yes.
"But there’s so many different things that have happened in the last, as you said, 48 hours but also in the last few weeks," Woods acknowledged when asked about the prospect of another big name move to the lucrative tour, saying: "Things have changed and will continue to change."
"Our deadline’s coming up here soon, so there’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of different things are happening very quickly because we know, you know, I think today’s the first day in December, we don’t have a whole lot of time."
Jordan Spieth joined Tiger Woods in urging golf's biggest names to resist the pull of the LIV Tour"Nothing has really surprised me other than the fact that there’s so many different things that have happened so fast," he continued, giving as he responded in line with his role as a player-director on PGA Tour's policy board.
He asserted: "That’s one of the things that all of us as player directors we’ve been working on, just that everything is now at a time crunch. It’s 24 hours a day just trying to figure it out."
Jordan Spieth also gave his verdict on the reports as he refused to be drawn on the specific details regarding any hypothetical defection to the LIV Golf circuit on Rahm's part. He admitted: "If it were me, and I don’t even know if I ever got an offer, but I like the way that I play four rounds of stroke play the same way we play the majors.
"I believe that we’re playing against the best players in the world, and it’s what I’ve always wanted to do is to play out here and try and catch PGA Tour wins, catch the legends of the game," he added as he talked up the heritage of the PGA Tour as a major pull factor for the world's best to stay put, adding: "It’s a history thing, and the money’s a bonus."
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