World No. 2 Jon Rahm has told Golfweek that he will not join the proposed Premier Golf League splinter tour, a rejection that almost certainly condemns the controversial scheme to failure. He joins world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and world No. 3 Brooks Koepka in declaring himself out.
“I think what I’m going to do is focus on just the PGA Tour,” Rahm told Golfweek on Thursday. “At the end of the day I’m a competitor. I’m a PGA Tour member and I’m going to stay that way.”
Last month McIlroy became the first player to declare himself out on the League concept, which would have seen 48 chosen players pitted against each other in team and individual play around the world in lucrative events with guaranteed money. McIlroy said he was uncomfortable with a requirement to play 18 events and that he didn’t like where the money was coming from. The League is partly financed by the investment arm of the Saudi Arabian government.
Koepka followed suit on Sunday, telling the Associated Press he too was out. “I am out of the PGL. I’m going with the PGA Tour,” he said. “I have a hard time believing golf should be about just 48 players.”
Rahm, 25, stiff-arming the concept means the top three players in the world — all young, all with lengthy competitive careers ahead of them — have sided with the PGA Tour.
“I’m a young player. The PGA Tour has been doing things extremely well,” Rahm said. “Hopefully I have a long career ahead on the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour has done such a great job with what we have and I’m really thankful for what they’ve done.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan made clear to his players in January that anyone who committed to the League would no longer be able to play the Tour.