Sergio Garcia thinks Jon Rahm “should thank” a number of LIV Golf players since they took the heat in leaving the PGA Tour for the Saudi-bankrolled circuit before he did this season.
Garcia, 44, spoke about his Spanish compatriot Rahm, 29, in an exclusive interview with The Standard.
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.
Leaked: a player that will end up on Rahm’s team in 2024
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.
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.
Rahm, however, still can as he remains a DP World Tour member – albeit now faces heavy fines for joining LIV Golf.
“It would be nice for Jon to be a bridge to join the DP World Tour and be a member again, play a few tournaments and be eligible to have at least a chance of playing the Ryder Cup,” said Garcia.
“I was going to [reapply for membership] this year – I talked to my managers, I talked to my wife. was ready to do it.
“But after seeing that players here in LIV stayed as members and got a one-year ban, obviously it’s not worth it.”
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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