Jon Rahm makes controversial LIV switch

Over the past few years, few golfers on the planet have been as talismanic as Spaniard Jon Rahm. 

A larger than life character, who transcends the sport, Rahm – along with his contemporaries Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have dominated world golf over the past few years, making him a banker with many international betting sites. 

The lure of the LIV Golf Series however has seemingly proved to be too much for Rahm, who is arguably the biggest coup for the Saudi-backed project so far.  

Having held a strong monopoly on the world of golf for the past century, it would appear that the cracks are starting to show on the PGA Tour. 
 
With some questionable governance and growing player unrest, 2023 has been a tough year for all linked with the competition. 
 
It has now been compounded by the fact that star player Jon Rahm has announced his intention to join the LIV Golf Series from 2024 onwards, bringing the respective world golfing tours under an even sharper focus. 
 
Rahm opting to LIV a little 

Hailing from Spain and transitioning from the European Tour to the PGA Tour, Jon Rahm has followed in the footsteps of other Spanish greats such as Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal to become a world golfing icon. 
 
With two majors to his name, including the 2023 Masters, Rahm’s consistency at the top of the golfing pyramid has seen him become a sporting superstar. 
 
However, his relationship with the PGA Tour has long been strained and when they opted to go back on their opposition to the LIV Golf Series and create a merger of sorts, Rahm seized his opportunity to move across. 
 
As one of the best players in the world, Rahm will always be a key contender in the majors with all golfing betting apps and it will be fascinating to see how he performs on the LIV Golf Tour. 
 
Trouble on the PGA Tour 

Whilst 2023 had undoubtedly been a challenging year for the PGA Tour, the news that Jon Rahm was to be parting ways with them would have been the final nail in the coffin. 
 
With players becoming increasingly discontented at rules surrounding tournament prize money and the importance of a social media presence, those in charge of the PGA Tour are increasingly finding themselves under the pump. 
 
There will always be a place for the PGA Tour in the world of golf and there are a whole host of world class golfers who currently ply their trade on the tour moving into 2024. 
 
However, with the likes of Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson all having made the big switch in recent years, the door is very much open for players to leave the PGA Tour should they wish. 
 
Who could move next? 

Inevitably, as a big name player like Jon Rahm makes a seismic move within the golfing structure, punters with online betting sites are left wondering as to which players may switch next. 
 
European players tend to have less ties to the PGA Tour and the likes of Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland have long been linked with a transfer to the LIV Golf Series. 
 
Elsewhere, Japanese superstar Hideki Matsuyama could also be on the way to LIV – with his global profile seemingly big enough to fit the brief for the Saudi Arabian public investment fund. 

Few sports have endured the shakeup in recent years that international golf has, and the LIV Golf Series is seriously making a splash. 

Two-time major winner Jon Rahm is the latest golfing superstar to leave the traditional PGA

Tour and join the LIV Golf Series and with plenty of other players rumoured to be doing the same in the future, the game of golf is at a fascinating crossroads.