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And yeah, I wrote that headline. No editor to blame it on now that I’m independent.
And I said it in the same way a parent tells his child, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.”
We’ll get to all that in a bit.
Name drops today: Jon Rahm, Minkyu Kim, Brian Harman and Jesse Cole.
Speaking of parents and their kids!
It’s getting close to take your kids to the range and pray for everyone within three bays of where they’re hitting SZN. And if you are someone who participates, you should absolutely check out Charlie Golf Co. and their collection of clubs and bags.
Events like the Players (and other majors or not majors) always get me and the kids giddy to get out and hit a little bit, and there’s no better way to do it than getting them into some Charlie Golf Co. gear.
Anger and disappointment not included (but almost certain to be present!).
OK, now onto the news.
1. Jon Rahm won LIV Hong Kong last weekend and is now ranked No. 2 in the Data Golf rankings, one spot ahead of Rory McIlroy. Obviously this is not the most notable thing that has happened with Jon Rahm over the last week.
Many of you have seen the clip of him talking about how the European Tour is extorting (!!) LIV players by forcing them to play six events to retain European Tour membership when non-LIV players only have to play four events. Eight of the nine LIV golfers who were offered this deal accepted it.
I don't know what game they're trying to play right now, but it just seems like in a way they're using us to -- they're using our impact in tournaments and fining us and trying to benefit both ways from what we have to offer, and it's just in a way they're extorting players like myself and young players that have nothing to do with the politics of the game.
Jon Rahm
Rory got involved by first saying that this is a good opportunity for the Europeans to prove they meant what they said when they said they would pay to play in the Ryder Cup. Then when the Euro Tour said it would drop all future fines but require the six events to be played, Rory said that sounded like a generous deal and there’s a reason that eight of the nine players took it.
2. This is all quite a mess and it means we’re one step closer to coming full circle on this Phil quote from the 2014 Ryder Cup.
Rory also took a swing at Rahm and LIV’s journey to South Africa next week.
Which isn't a heavy lift. I mean, to retain your membership is four events on the DP World Tour outside of the major championships. And that to me doesn't seem -- yes, okay, maybe, you know, maybe the European Tour gets to have a say in where those two events are, but I mean, I'm sure Jon doesn't want to go to South Africa next week, but he's going there.
Rory McIlroy
LIV responded by posting a video of Rahm saying he’s excited about South Africa. I cannot believe I’m writing all of this out. In the video, Rahm says the following.
You have to think of a LIV event a little bit less like a golf tournament ...
Jon Rahm
He was talking about the fan experience, sure, but this entire thing — all of it, the whole situation — got me thinking about Rahm and what specifically is bothering me these days as it relates to his career.
This post will continue below for Normal Club members and includes the rest of my thoughts on Rahm as well as a Brooks take and a look at the best TPC Sawgrass players since the event moved back to March.
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