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LIV Golf has a virtually unlimited amount of money at its disposal, and its business model has largely revolved around dipping into Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to lure in players with absolutely massive bags of cash. However, it appears there’s a limit to how much they’re willing to spend based on new information regarding Jon Rahm.
When you consider LIV Golf reportedly offered Tiger Woods close to a billion dollars to join the league, it’s pretty clear money is virtually no object when it comes to its quest to secure the talents of the best players on the planet.
It’s safe to say Jon Rahm fits that description, as the 28-year-old Spaniard currently occupies the third spot in the Official World Golf Rankings and secured the first green jacket of his career at The Masters earlier this year.
He’s previously said he doesn’t really see the appeal of the organization that’s tentatively set to merge with the PGA Tour, but he also doesn’t seem to be fundamentally offended by the sheer existence of the circuit (as opposed to Rory McIlroy and many other vocal critics in the golf world).
That group of detractors certainly includes Eddie Pepperell, who’s repeatedly gone out of his way to fire shots in LIV’s direction over the past couple of years.
During a recent episode of The Chipping Forecast, the Englishman dropped an intriguing piece of information that made its way through the golf grapevine while discussing the organization’s efforts to continue to target notable names, saying:
“I heard that LIV had approached 15 players this year asking them for a rough figure as to what would get them across and I was told that Rahm’s figure was so prohibitively large that LIV rejected it.
So, make of that what you want.”
Rahm racked up more than $20 million in earnings over the course of 2023, and when you consider Phil Mickelson reportedly got $200 million to defect, it’s not a stretch to assume Rahm’s request was north of that number.
It’s safe to assume Rahm floated a number he essentially knew LIV Golf wouldn’t accept, and while it’s still kind of hard to imagine there’s any sum they’d balk at, it appears he managed to find it.