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The Peter Cowen Column: ‘Jon Rahm is off to LIV Golf, so what happens next?’

These sure are unusual times in the world of golf and all the parties must keep talking and stay at the table for the good of the game

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Peter Cowen puts Jon Rahm move to LIV Golf.into context. - Supplied photo

By Peter Cowen

Published: Fri 8 Dec 2023, 6:36 PM

As I pick up plugged balls on my driving range in Rotherham, as it is too wet for our Range Buggy, it feels a million miles away from international golf tournaments being played in sunny climates all over the world.

So, all the noise over the last few weeks was true and Jon Rahm, the number three player in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) has confirmed he is moving over to LIV Golf.

We all believed that this has all been on the cards for a short while, but it is still quite a shock when it actually becomes public.

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On a personal level, we all wish him and his family all the best. He will certainly be welcomed by all the LIV Golf Teams and players.

Jon is The Masters champion, so he is better placed than most with access to all the Majors over the next few years –the US Open up to 2031, The Masters for life and the other two Majors, The Open and US PGA Championship, for the next five years.

And after seeing what has happened in the last 18 months in global golf who can even imagine where we will be in the next 12 weeks, let alone in the next five years?

Jon will presumably want three players to be part of his Team Rahm on LIV Golf as it is perhaps expected that he will be Captain of a 13th LIV Golf Team.

Rumours abound on whether more golfers and which golfers will perhaps move over to LIV Golf, but that is fueled by social media these days. I read stuff every day in the media, facts and figures about me, as a mere Teaching Pro at a Driving Range in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, that is one hundred per cent incorrect – but if they are repeated again and again – someone will believe it.

What can we do to swim against the tide?

The question is, is Rahm’s move to LIV Golf a game-changer for golf?

It, at least, moves the needle as the saying goes.

It certainly focuses the mind of all the parties in the conversations all around the PGA Tour, DP World Tour – LIV Golf Framework agreement that has a few weeks to decide where it is going.

My opinion, for what that is worth, is that all the parties must keep talking and stay at the table for the good of the game.

More and more money is flooding into the game of golf at the top, and by its very nature, there should be a natural flow down the pyramid of global golf. Whether that is to tournament golf, the amateur game, or the golf industry through increased participation at all levels and, hopefully, to include my Driving Range in Rotherham and my golf academies in Dubai.

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We can do nothing more than watch and wait for the next step and announcements.

These sure are unusual times in the world of golf.

Peter Cowen is 72 years old and is arguably the number-one golf coach in the world. He has Peter Cowen Academies at both Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club as well as being headquartered at Rotherham Driving Range in England.

Peter Cowen

Published: Fri 8 Dec 2023, 6:36 PM

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