Fact or Fiction: Jon Rahm's Legacy Is Now All About the Ryder Cup, Not LIV Golf

SI Golf’s writers and editors debate the significance of December's match between PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars, and if the U.S. Solheim Cup team will end its drought this week.

Jon Rahm won three points for victorious Team Europe at last year's Ryder Cup in Rome. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where we'll put new batteries in the remote for this weekend's football, Solheim Cup and PGA Tour fall golf. Once we find it.

Once again, we’re here to debate a series of statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also (occasionally) be “Neutral” since there's a lot of gray area in golf.

Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X account.

The next installment of “The Match” is set for December: Scottie and Rory against Brooks and Bryson. This is a significant moment in the ongoing PGA Tour/LIV Golf quest for unity.

Bob Harig: FACT. But only in the sense that it is calling attention to the ongoing strife in the game. Four of the most prominent players are competing. Two from each side. With Rory making it known publicly before the PGA Tour could give its official blessing. That is the significance. An 18-hole match in the desert by itself means absolutely zero. It won’t prove anything.

John Pluym: FACT. I’m sure the golfers will downplay it but there’s no doubt it’s significant. Scheffler and McIlroy are going to want to prove that the PGA Tour is where the best golfers in the world should play and that LIV has no place in it. On the other hand, DeChambeau had a huge year and Koepka always brings his “A” game in big tournaments and matches. I’ll even go one step further and predict that Scheffler and McIlroy win big.

Jeff Ritter: FACT. Have to hand it to the match-makers on this one: they’ve set up a competition that will draw interest (and presumably some eyeballs). The winning duo can claim some bragging rights. The potential bigger impact: showing how badly fans want to see Tour and LIV players competing together could maybe spur the endless, clandestine conversations between the two sides.

John Schwarb: NEUTRAL. Bob and Michael Rosenberg wrote last week that this was a player-driven idea—specifically Rory’s—while the PGA Tour has been oddly silent about the match on its website and social channels. Do the bosses in Ponte Vedra really approve of this? Do they fear their guys losing? I don’t know if this gets the game closer to unity, but I am all for stirring the pot.

The U.S. team hasn’t won the Solheim Cup since 2017 but will get it back this week on home soil at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. 

Bob Harig: FACT. Don’t necessarily think it will be easy but last year’s result had to sting and the players get the rare opportunity to avenge it relatively quickly. Playing at home should also help.

John Pluym: FACT. The Americans have three-peated twice in the history of the Solheim Cup, but now Europe has a chance to make it four in a row. U.S. captain Stacy Lewis has been saying her team has “unfinished business.” Well, they better take care of business outside D.C. this weekend, especially world No. 1 Nelly Korda, who needs to be the leader along with Lexi Thompson. If Korda plays big, the U.S. has an excellent chance to win the Cup back.

Jeff Ritter: FACT. Korda and Lilia Vu give the U.S. the two best players in the event, and Rose Zhang is emerging. The intangibles also favor the U.S.—several players are desperate to erase the sting of last year’s defeat, and a home crowd always helps. Everything is pointing red, white and blue, and in the spirit of the season I’ll take the U.S. by a touchdown, 17-11.

John Schwarb: FACT. The U.S. team is stacked with Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Rose Zhang and the hottest player in the game right now (and UVA product) Lauren Coughlin. Of course, stacked teams have lost before in team competitions but last year’s tie is fresh in the Americans’ mind and on a quick turnaround, at home, the U.S. should leave no doubt this time. 

This week’s Procore Championship begins an eight-event fall series for the PGA Tour, where 2025 signature event berths and full Tour cards are at stake. This is the second year of such a setup and it works for “offseason” golf. 

Bob Harig: FACT. As great as it would be to see something different, this is the Tour’s concession to the “rank-and-file.” By cutting back the regular season, it had to give some opportunities elsewhere. To make it different, I’ve suggested a few 54-hole events for television purposes, Tuesday or Wednesday starts, maybe even match play. But it could still be done with the idea of players having an opportunity to improve their position.

John Pluym: FACT. I like it. Plenty of incentive for golfers to earn money, plus full Tour cards. And we have some of the best players competing just to stay fresh for the President’s Cup.

Jeff Ritter: FICTION. I like the incentives that are on the line, but wish the Tour experimented with new formats in the fall. How about two-man scrambles? A co-ed mixed event? Match play? It’s the offseason and most of America is watching football—why not have a little more fun with these events?

John Schwarb: FACT. It works for the member organization, with players down the points list needing playing opportunities given the signature event schedule, and in the end that still matters more than what fans want. But let's be honest, most fans want to watch football now. 

Bob Harig’s Teed Up notebook this week detailed how Jon Rahm may win a LIV title but will need to keep playing to become Ryder Cup-eligible. He will be remembered as a Spanish legend based on Ryder Cup success if he keeps playing and winning, even if he never returns to the PGA Tour.

Bob Harig: FACT. Being a big factor in the Ryder Cup helped cement the legacy of Seve Ballesteros and should for Sergio Garcia—the all-time points leader. Missing Ryder Cups in the prime of his career would be the unfortunate fallout of all of this, and would certainly cloud how his career is viewed.

John Pluym: FACT. Rahm is going to have to play lights-out in the Ryder Cup to be considered in the same breath as Seve Ballesteros. In eight appearances, Ballesteros won an astounding 22.5 out of 37 possible points (60.81%). But Rahm’s path to the Ryder Cup won’t be easy now as a member of LIV. He can either keep playing or he can pay the fines to become eligible. Either way, legends are made at the Ryder Cup. And playing on LIV will never make him a legend.

Jeff Ritter: FACT. Continued Ryder Cup appearances would certainly help his legacy. He’s already a Hall of Famer, but he as much as anyone would stand to benefit if the tours come together to reunite the game, given that he’s still in his career prime.

John Schwarb: FACT. Rahm, still two months from turning 30, already has a Hall of Fame resume with two majors and nine other PGA Tour wins including some big ‘uns (Genesis, Memorial). So one could argue it’s all gravy from here, but the Ryder Cup remains the North Star for European players. As long as Rahm can still make teams and succeed for a decade, while the European Team wins more often than not, he’ll be remembered for that alongside Seve, Ollie and Sergio.