Jon Rahm insists his three-year stay with LIV Golf was not the reason for a drop-off in his performance at golf’s major championships.
Rahm, who is leaving behind LIV to play a full DP World Tour schedule in 2027, said he is tired of what some media members “insinuate” is a connection between playing a lighter, less competitive schedule and being less prepared for the majors.
LIV is set to wind down operations after plans to come out of bankruptcy with a so-called “LIV 2.0” model fell through. Rahm was among the many players who opted not to join LIV 2.0 before the formerly Saudi-backed league had to call it quits.
Ahead of the DP World Tour Championship this week in Dubai, Rahm was asked whether playing more regularly on the top tour in Europe and eventually the PGA Tour would “be the start of a new golden era” for the Spaniard.
“We’ve got to stop blaming LIV for me playing poorly at the majors,” Rahm said. “I know what you are all trying to insinuate. It’s not because of LIV. It’s my own (fault). Because I did have a chance to win the PGA the last two years we played it, right. It’s my own doing and my own, let’s say, golf swing problems.
“… So I hope that what I’m working on recently can be something that makes me more consistent on the biggest stages.”
Rahm was coming off his second major championship, the 2023 Masters, and tied for second at The Open Championship that year when he stunned the golf world by joining LIV ahead of the 2024 season.
While Rahm won the LIV individual title all three years he was there, he missed two cuts at the majors and settled for four top-10 finishes. His closest chance at a third major victory came last May at the PGA Championship, where he wound up tied for second behind Englishman Aaron Rai after leading for parts of the tournament.
The PGA was an outlier for Rahm’s 2026 major scorecard. He tied for 38th at the Masters, missed the cut at the U.S. Open and settled for a T46 at The Open.
“I’ve played really good golf this year. It’s just that unfortunately some of my not-so-good weeks happen to be in the majors, right?” Rahm said. “Besides the PGA where I had a decent chance of winning, the other three majors, I didn’t do a good enough job.
“Overall really good, but those tournaments matter so much to all of us that, you know, kicking myself a little bit over that.”
–Field Level Media
