In defeat, PGA proves a big week for Rahm

Runner-up was a strong sign of bigger things to come regardless of LIV's future

Jon Rahm had only positive thoughts leaving Aronimink (Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)

Whether he admits it or not, Jon Rahm needed that performance at last week’s PGA Championship. So, too, did LIV Golf.

Rahm didn’t leave Aronimink with the Wanamaker Trophy, upstaged by Englishman Aaron Rai, whose major victory was special in its own right.

No, Rahm’s tie for second was more about personal redemption for him. And attempting — at least for a little while — to shift all the negativity hovering over LIV Golf’s future. (Good luck with that: Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that LIV Golf is considering filing for bankruptcy protection at the end of this season).

The last several weeks have been nothing short of calamity for LIV, which played two events against the backdrop that it is on the verge of collapse. The breakaway league — if it survives — is destined for considerable changes ahead as the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund has withdrawn its backing.

Rahm was always going to be fine from a financial standpoint. If the league falters or alters its contract with him, he’ll have the legal remedy to attempt a return to the PGA Tour. He’s already cleared a deal that will see him regain his DP World Tour membership.

But the “LIV hurts play in the majors” narrative has been difficult to downplay, and Rahm’s runner-up finish as well as quality performances from other LIV golfers at Aronimink helped to quell the chatter.

“I mean, obviously I performed well last week,” Rahm said of his performance at LIV Golf Virginia after he had won the prior event in Mexico City. “I did really well in Mexico. After the Masters I’ve been playing good. I just — when the pressure is the highest in majors, some of those things you’re working on, those weak links can damage the foundation, right?

“Just happy that all those things I felt like I could have done better at Augusta ended up working out this week.”

Rahm’s tie for 28th at the Masters coupled with Bryson DeChambeau’s missed cut raised the debate again about LIV’s preparing players for majors.

LIV’s five-event international schedule prior to the majors — including a ridiculous three-week stretch that ended just two weeks prior to the Masters which saw them flying from Hong Kong to Singapore to South Africa — didn’t help.

Yet Tyrrell Hatton finished third at the Masters and DeChambeau had consecutive top-six finishes at Augusta prior to this year and won the 2024 U.S. Open. When he was playing for LIV Golf, Brooks Koepka was runner-up in the Masters before winning the 2023 PGA Championship — although he hasn’t had a top-10 in a major since that victory.

You can argue this from either side, perferred agendas ruling the day.

But pro golfers should be able to find a way to prepare themselves for the biggest events, regardless of schedule or level of competition.

“The margin, even though it’s three shots, it can be so small honestly,” Rahm said in the aftermath of Rai’s three-shot win over him and Alex Smalley in the PGA. “I feel like I’m playing really good golf and definitely played good enough this week to give myself a chance to win. So keep doing what I’ve been doing well.

“I still need to give myself some time to think about what I could have done better this week. Right now I’m really still fresh on just today, but I did miss two putts from about four feet (Saturday). So that’s two shots right there. It’s easy to focus on today because I’m sure I can find three shots that in the length of the week could have been better.

“I still need to assess the entire week to be able to pick and choose what I need to change or what I need to improve on.”

After a poor 2024 in the majors, Rahm has three top-eight finishes in his last five. He contended at last year’s PGA until late on the final day and tied for eighth then finished seventh a month later in the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

He’s also been by far LIV Golf’s best and most consistent player, finishing in the top 10 in 31 of 32 LIV events. This year, he has two victories, three runner-ups and six top-fives in seven events.

Overall at Aronimink, it was a respectable week on the course for LIV golfers. Seven of the 11 in the field made the cut. Cam Smith snapped his major streak of six straight missed cuts with a tie for seventh. David Puig’s T18th along with Joaquin Niemann was good enough to move Puig into the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking, allowing him to qualify for the U.S. Open. Dustin Johnson, a somewhat surprising invite, made the cut and tied for 44th.

Johnson, perhaps more than anyone, has been the high-profile example cited for LIV’s impact on major performance. He’s just 41, still more than capable, and yet has posted just two top-10s in majors since leaving the PGA Tour in 2022, less than two years after winning the November Masters. His last tie for 10th came at the 2023 U.S. Open. He’s missed six cuts over the past three years.

Smith has been accused of mailing it in while enjoying the good life but it’s hard to fathom that talking point given his comments on the matter. He recently fired for the only coach he’s worked with for 23 years since he was 9, instead going to Claude Harmon III who breathed a little life in his game.

This could simply have been an inevitable falloff after winning the Players Championship and the British Open in 2022 before jumping to LIV Golf. Before those six straight missed cuts, Smtih did post three top-10s in majors. His tie for seventh at the PGA on Sunday is his best finish since he tied for sixth at the 2024 Masters.

“I mean, it feels great to play nice,” said Smith. “You don’t work hard to play crap, and it’s frustrating, and the last couple of years have been frustrating. I feel like I’ve been putting in the work and not really getting anything out of it.

“I made a swing coach switch a couple weeks ago now to Claude, and we’ve just managed to clean up a few things that were perhaps a little bit off, and I feel like I’ve got a lot more confidence in my swing.

“Even out there today, under the pressure I felt like I was able to trust it already. So lots of positive signs.”

Smith’s struggles have also been apparent on LIV Golf. He’s not won since 2023. Through last year’s Australian PGA Championship, he had missed seven consecutive cuts in events that had a 36-hole cut. Then he finished second at the Australian Open in December. Now he’s got a good result in a major.

“I feel like I’ve thrived in major championships my whole career,” Smith said. “I feel like I’ve been able to play my best golf in major championships, and that kind of fell off. And like I mentioned before, I don’t think it was from a lack of hard work. I just think you lose a little bit of confidence in your swing and maybe in your brain, and it can all happen so quickly.

“That’s why I needed a fresh voice in the head and kind of almost a restart and like I said, it’s felt good so far.”

LIV’s schedule doesn’t get any easier the rest of the summer. Next week it’s on to South Korea, followed immediately by a long trip to Spain. Not exactly conducive to tuning up for major championship, with the U.S. Open looming just a week after that conclusion of those tournaments.

By then, the questions are still likely to be prevalent. Depending on how you view it, the same narratives are bound to return.