Rahm eyes 'a way back' to play PGA Tour events

LAS VEGAS — Jon Rahm on Tuesday lamented missing out on recent PGA Tour events at Torrey Pines and Palm Springs, but he is hopeful that he can compete in those events down the road and doesn’t regret his decision to jump to the LIV Golf League.

“I’m hoping that in the near future I can be back playing some of those events,” Rahm told reporters Tuesday at Las Vegas Country Club, the site of this week’s LIV Golf event. “I would certainly love to go back and play some of them.

“If there’s ever a way back and a way where we can play, even if it’s as an invite, I will take it. There’s certain events that are special to me that I would still love to support.”

Rahm’s first PGA Tour win in 2017 was at Torrey Pines, which is also where he won his first major, the U.S. Open, in 2021.

He was banned from competing in those PGA events once he jumped ship, but he is hopeful things could change, especially if the PGA merges with LIV Golf, which has been speculated upon as negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund continue.

“It was a lot harder to be at home not competing and know that those events were going on,” Rahm said. “Palm Springs and Torrey, those weeks were hard. I’ve explained so many times how important Torrey is for me.”

As the No. 3 player in the world and the top box-office draw for LIV Golf, Rahm reportedly received more than $300 million to join the circuit. This week, however, he is missing the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, just a few miles from his home.

“Driving by Phoenix as often as I had to and knowing that I wasn’t going to play there, it’s definitely emotional,” Rahm said. “That’s one of the things that I’m going to miss.”

Memories aside, Rahm is focused on his second LIV Golf event — and his first on U.S. soil.

“I’m not typically a person that’s going to regret any decisions,” Rahm said. “I made as educated a decision as I could with the full support of the people around me, and [I’m] confident that it was the right thing for me. So I’m not going to regret it.”

Rahm said he thoroughly enjoyed his first LIV Golf event last week at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, His team, Legion XIII, picked up the team victory, while individually he finished in a tie for third.

“It’s definitely different,” Rahm said. “For people watching, the atmosphere, the music, it’s different, but I think it’s very entertaining. It gives the crowd a level of engagement that I wasn’t expecting. Everybody seemed really into the music and into the golf, and it was really fun to play before a crowd that was enjoying it so much.”

Field Level Media contributed to this report.