Jon Rahm Explained How LIV Golf Helped Fix PGA Tour’s ‘Ludicrous’ Fall Schedule

Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, has never shied away from voicing his opinion on the state of professional golf. Earlier this year at the Players Championship, the world No. 1 said if it weren’t for the emergence of LIV Golf, the PGA Tour’s recent structure transformation would not have materialized. 

On Friday, the new Masters champion brought an especially honest tone to his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, where he opened up about the rigors of travel on the PGA Tour and the difficulties of the old fall tournament structure. 

“I don’t think a lot of people understand the lifestyle that a professional golfer has,” Rahm said. “We travel a lot, but all we see is the inside of airports and airlines, and then hotel rooms and that’s about it. Because Wednesday through Sunday you spend a lot of time on the golf course. Monday and Tuesday maybe you have time to go out to a dinner in between. But you don’t really have much time, especially if your family is there with you.” 

After he disclosed that he’ll be taking a two-week break after next week’s Mexico Open—meaning he will miss the next designated event, the Wells Fargo Championship—Rahm delved into the motivation behind the PGA Tour’s new schedule. 

Starting this fall, the Tour will not begin a new season just two weeks after the FedEx Cup playoffs like it has in years prior. Instead, the fall schedule will consist of seven events that give players outside of the top 50 in the FedEx Cup an opportunity to improve their status for the 2024 season, which will officially begin in January.

“That’s one of the things that the schedule is changing,” Rahm said. “Honestly one of the things that LIV Golf allowed us to push for, which was less golf in the fall. Before that—this is the ludicrous thing about the PGA Tour—before that you would finish the FedEx Cup, finish the season, announce your champion and literally 10 days later there’s a new season started with a new leader—10 days later.” 

Rahm’s commentary was not only refreshing, but provided additional context to the Tour’s sweeping changes set for 2024.