Rahm to LIV, Scottie is BACK

Sup Groove Golfing Family! Apologies it has been awhile, work got the best of me and, to be honest, I was not able to watch a lot of golf. However, the silver lining is that usually golf is slow at this time of year due to the tournaments that happen before the new year. We saw a solid win from Morikawa that comes after he struggled with some back injuries and a very lackluster season last year, Ludvig Aberg continuing to dominate, and we will get to Scottie in a second (one of the golfers we will follow into war), but first - wow! Some RARE big golf news happening in December as Jon Rahm officially leaves the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Let's talk.

It's tough to stomach this one, as Rahm is currently 3rd in the world golf rankings, but even more so because of his previous statements where he declared his fealty to the PGA Tour. He bashed the team format, the shotgun start, how it's only 54 holes instead of 72, and so on. Soly from No Laying Up said on their Emergency Podcast that at a tournament one time, Rahm pulled him aside and pretty much told him to stop asking about LIV. Over the course of the last two years, Rahm has said that no amount of money will change his opinion. But suddenly, in the last couple weeks when this rumor started picking up steam, something clearly changed. Sure. this is a major major loss for the TOUR, but are we that upset about it after all?

Yes, Rahm is a staple on the PGA Tour. He has been dominant for years and is currently the defending Masters champion, while also having a 2021 US Open under his belt too. He is a well-spoken and eloquent player that tends to be a fan favorite, but he also has a fiery side that comes out occasionally when he's not playing well or is bothered by some outside factor. He never seemed to cause controversy and, in my opinion, kept his comments focused on himself and his game. On the course, though, I personally was never dying for the camera to go to Rahm unless he was making a run in a big tournament.

Personality wise, Rahm is not someone that many fans feel like they "know personally". To me, that list of players includes Max Homa, Jordan Spieth, Rory, Keegan Bradley, Tyrell Hatton, Finau. Brooks, etc. All guys who interact more on social media and have on-course conversations that are not strictly golf related. They are more chatty in their interviews and typically tend to stray away from cookie-cutter golf responses which I think a lot of players do just to get out of the interview. Some may disagree. I am sure there are people who love to see Rahm absolutely crushing it every weekend. To me, the excitement behind Rahm (besides his raw skill) just isn't really there for me. It will be nice seeing him in every major but I really don't think I will be too affected in the weekly TOURnaments.

Another major aspect of this situation is what this means for the PGA Tour/LIV merger, with the background characters like PIF & NewCo. What happens now?! According to a source familiar with the deal who asked to be granted anonymity to speak due to the privacy of the situation, the merger deal has always been in jeopardy and this might be proof of that. Rahm started becoming a critic of PGA leadership over the last several months and this is a huge blow to Commissioner Monahan and his team. Quick side note, I cannot believe Monahan still has his job to begin with. Where do we draw the line?! Anyways. I think both sides have an argument here. Rahm to LIV shows that maybe he doesn't trust the future of PGA Tour golf and maybe he truly does think LIV is the future. OR, the other side of that coin is that he does believe the merger will happen and he just got paid roughly $600 million (we think) to "go to LIV" just so he can be merged back onto the PGA Tour next year. Remember, the merger is supposed to be finalized in the next 23 days. Would be the heist of a lifetime if the merger goes through and you see Rahm tee it up at the Waste Management Open in his backyard of Scottsdale in February.

Who is the real loser here? Let's backaway from talking about both leagues for a second and talk about who is suffering the most: the fans. We have incredible players on both tours, but fans who want to watch Rahm, Brooks, Phil, or Groove Golfing's very own Dustin Johnson play golf, they have to either hunt down the CW channel on TV or pull up YouTube to watch the live stream. Want to watch Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas at the same time? Well, for 3 days in a row the PGA Tour and LIV will overlap so good luck there. I am more than positive we will see more TOUR players go to LIV, which will continuously cause the normal TOUR events to become less and less exciting, almost useless. To me, getting a randomly fun tournament on a random weekend was viewed as a little treat to make the weekend more enjoyable. Watch Max Homa surge at the Farmers Insurance Open in his home state to take home a win? Sure! Keegan Bradley dominate at the Traveler's Championship, a newly elevated event? Why not! But what now? The more players leave the TOUR and the more the big names are split between the two leagues, the less fun the weekly tournaments become. Sad face.

Reminder: Rahm has 4 tournaments he is the defending champ of coming up in 2024, with only one of them being a major. It will be interesting to watch those trophy ceremonies!

I know we have some fans of the blog that are not heavy golf fans (much love to you all), so I won't go on much longer. I will just say this as a brief way of switching gears: after a brutal Ryder Cup Performance, Scottie Scheffler is fully back. It seems like everytime I log onto Twitter I see a video of Meredith Scheffler hugging Scottie as he walks towards a winners circle to claim another trophy. We love the Schefflers on this blog too. America's couple. Scottie is going to win a different major this year (maybe two) as I predict he grabs the Grand Slam very very soon. And I am already putting Scottie in the winner's circle for the WM Phoenix Open as he goes back to back to back. 3-peat Scheffy.

F it. Put Rahmbo and Scottie #InTheGroove. Put them all the way in. #OutOfTheGroove? Coward Commish Monahan. Sorry not sorry,

Enjoy the weekend and be safe fam.