Jon Rahm makes feelings known as Tiger Woods takes part in LIV Golf and PGA Tour talks

Jon Rahm has urged the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to bring the sport’s best players back together in light of discussions between the two organizations featuring Tiger Woods. Amid an ongoing tussle between the two tours, Rahm has emphasized the need for top professional golf players to unite. Last December saw Rahm make headlines by becoming the most high-profile signing for LIV, in a deal reportedly worth £450 million alongside Greg Norman and others. But following the likes of Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson brought its own problems as Rahm was banned from playing on the PGA Tour.

In a surprise twist, the Tour announced last June that it had reached an initial agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) with the aim to resolve the dispute between the competing circuits. However, nine months later, there’s still no finalized deal, leaving players unable to compete on either tour. Rahm, though, is hopeful for a resolution soon. “I think there’s a way of co-existing,” he shared.

“I don’t know what it looks like, but I just want to be able to see the best in the world compete against each other… I think there’s room for the game of golf to get to the next level. Right now, it might not be the friendliest group but, if there’s some type of peace achieved, I think it can actually push the game forward.” On Monday, representatives from the PGA Tour and PIF met in the Bahamas for peace talks. The likes of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay, the Players Directors on the PGA Tour, were there. But, the biggest star to show up was Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods is part of the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. Reports say that he spoke with PIF boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan on the golf course about the future of professional golf. Webb Simpson, another Player Director, talked about what happened on Monday. He said that Tiger Woods, who has won 82 times on the PGA Tour, was “very engaged”. Webb Simpson said to Sports Illustrated: “Outside of our meeting he’s been super engaged along the way. He’s a great leader and I really think he’s taken the position of our leader and we rely on him a lot.”

Just like Rahm, Simpson also wants to see the best players in the world come together every week, not just at the four major tournaments. “Ultimately, I want us all to play together more than just the majors,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be just the PGA Tour. That’s why we all love sports. Best teams in the Super Bowl. Best teams in NBA Finals. I do think it’s a while until we get there. I didn’t walk away with a much clearer understanding of what the future holds. But I definitely walked away thinking I’m glad we did that. Glad we met him. Glad we had a very friendly meeting. It was never tense. It was a long day but a good day.”