Shane Lowry's message to Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton after LIV Golf defections

Jon Rahm, who recently left for LIV Golf, was advised by his Ryder Cup teammates to follow a golden rule. Shane Lowry told Jon Rahm and other players who switched to LIV Golf not to bad-mouth the PGA Tour after making the lucrative move to the controversial series.

Tyrrell Hatton, another big name from the PGA Tour, defected last month after reigning Masters champion Rahm joined the Saudi-backed breakaway league in December. Rahm’s services were secured by LIV Golf, which is funded by the Saudi sovereign Public Investment Fund, with a deal worth up to $500million. Hatton followed suit with his own $60million move.

Lowry shared his thoughts on the Fore Play Podcast about what it feels like when a friend and Ryder Cup teammate switches to a rival tour. The 36-year-old said he doesn’t mind, as long as they “go gracefully”.

“Rumors are big at the time and we were all talking about it individually and then Jon put a message in the group chat telling us,” Lowry said on the Fore Play Podcast.

“Yeah, some guys are like, ‘Whatever’. I was like, ‘Whatever, that’s your choice. Just don’t go there and kind of s*** on the Tours like some people did. Go there and go gracefully and do what you have to do’.”

“And Tyrrell, the same. I was disappointed to see them gone because it’s kind of weird that you’re not going to play a tournament with Jon or Tyrrell until the Masters. It’s a strange time in golf, so as long as guys go and they go gracefully and don’t tell everyone how bad the PGA Tour is and how bad the European Tour is because they’re not, do you know what I mean?”

Jon Rahm is the captain of LIV Golf franchise Legion XIII

“They’re still great tours and we do very well at professional golf. I wish they wouldn’t go but like you know, it is what it is.”

When asked if he disliked Rahm’s message when he announced his departure for LIV Golf, Lowry responded: “You don’t like the message obviously, but you just say yeah, whatever.”

After Rahm’s move, Rory McIlroy, a strong critic of LIV, changed his view on golfers from the circuit playing in the Ryder Cup by urging the DP World Tour to amend the eligibility rules. McIlroy had previously stated that LIV players should not represent Europe in the biennial competition against the United States, which will next take place at Bethpage Black in New York in 2025.

Both he and Lowry have since confessed to wanting Rahm to participate.

Rahm’s surprising move was sped up by the shocking news in June that LIV Golf was planning to merge with the PGA Tour. The PGA and DP World Tours announced they had a ‘framework agreement’ to merge with PIF, and the news sent a seismic shock around the golf world, although no agreement has been finalized as talks are currently affected by US Government intervention.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, the PGA Tour approved a £2.4bn investment deal with Strategic Sports Group in a new commercial fund. SSG committed to an immediate cash injection of £1.2bn, and there is the potential for that investment to double over time.

The deal with SSG is immense and will give almost 200 PGA Tour members the opportunity to hold equity in PGA Tour Enterprises as part of a reward for staying loyal and shunning LIV Golf.

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