LOS ANGELES – Masters champion John Rahm says some PGA Tour players are feeling “a little betrayed by management” in the wake of the announced alliance of the tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“It has come to a point where you want to have faith in management,” Ram said during a press conference at the US Open on Tuesday. “I want to believe that this is the best case for us, but that’s clearly not the consensus.”
The world No. 2 ranked player said he was looking after his children when he learned of the deal and was as surprised as anyone about the development.
“It’s not easy as a player to wake up and see this bomb,” Ram said.
When asked if he feels as if the PGA Tour took player opinion into account when embarking on a deal that could theoretically change the nature of the game, Ram made clear his frustration.
“I think, to some extent, they value the players’ opinion,” he said. “They certainly heard us throughout the entire process on some of the issues.
“But we are certainly in a place in time where there is a big question mark. We don’t have the answers we would like. It’s hard to say.”
As players come to this year’s US Open, they haven’t been shy about expressing their surprise and lack of knowledge when it comes to the latest developments in golf’s evolution. The party line appears to be that they do not have enough information about the proposed framework deal to comment on its merits, but they do comment on the communication gap between the Tour’s leadership and its members without specifying PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
“We want to know why,” said Colin Morikawa. “I think there are a lot of different parties involved and a lot of answers to really put it in one basic umbrella of the cause, because I think what I’ve seen from the players versus what I’ve seen maybe from our commissioner versus the board versus Yasir [Al-Rumayyan] LIV VS VS – There are a lot of parties involved. Everyone has kind of a different answer and a different reaction to all of this.”
Ram co-signed that sentiment, adding that it’s still tougher that this is a debate in the midst of a discipline that it’s trying to win.
“I really know as much as you guys do, to be honest,” said Open Championship winner Cam Smith, a LIV player. “I haven’t been told much at all. I just take it as it is.”
LIV players on the site also expressed a certain level of surprise at the alliance news. Smith said he found out 10 minutes before the interview between Monahan and Al-Rumayyan, which aired on CNBC. Others, like Dustin Johnson, seem to have more concrete answers. The 2016 US Open winner said in an interview with Golf Channel that he believes not only will LIV remain under the new partnership but the schedule will not change this season or next.
“That’s the plan,” Johnson said, “I’ve talked to the guys.” “I just hope we can get all the best players in the world playing at the same time in tournament golf. There’s clearly a little split now.”
Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka said on Tuesday that he has taken a different approach, completely ignoring the uncertainty. The 2023 PGA Championship winner, who learned of the news while at Grove XXIII – Michael Jordan’s golf course – says he doesn’t think about what’s happening outside the bubble of the major championships. Instead, he thinks about how to win his sixth major.
“I’m not going to waste any time with the news that happened last week,” Koepka said.
When asked if he felt justified, Koepka shrugged. “It just wasn’t a big deal for me. Like I said, I’m trying to focus on this week. I think that’s why I’ve been really good in the majors, honestly.”
Ram, on his part, is trying to do the same. As he made clear on Tuesday, he’s reached a point where he doesn’t necessarily have a strong opinion about where the proposed deal takes the game. He just wants to get there.
“A lot has happened,” said Ram. “I think, like everybody else, we just want some answers and basically know what the future looks like, and that’s about it. I just want to know what it’s going to look like, and that’s about it.”