Jon Rahm row breaks out as LIV Golf star has meltdown at PGA Championship

Jon Rahm's PGA Championship meltdown on Sunday may have justified Paul McGinley's criticism of after the pair's back-and-forth last week. Rahm's decision to leave the and join the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV circuit at the end of 2023 in the golfing world.

After promising to remain with the PGA Tour, the Spaniard's angered some fans, while others understood that a $300million (£224m) offer was simply too good to refuse. The 30-year-old has since enjoyed success on the breakaway tour, significantly boosting his bank balance in the process. However, that hasn't translated into golf's majors since his move, with LIV stars still being permitted to participate despite being banned from PGA Tour events. And the two-time major winner experienced on Sunday at the PGA Championship, the year's second major, by finishing in a nine-way tie for eighth place.

At one point over the weekend, Rahm shared the lead and made three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn to go level with eventual winner Scottie Scheffler. However, he dropped five shots over the infamous 'Green Mile' closing three-hole stretch to hand full advantage back to Scheffler.

The Spaniard bogeyed 16 and double-bogeyed 17 and 18 to tumble out of contention. Meanwhile, Scheffler maintained his composure, securing pars on the 16th and 17th before a single bogey on the 18th, ultimately clinching victory by a comfortable five-stroke margin.

Rahm's collapse in the closing stages seemed to lend weight to McGinley's earlier observations. The Irish golfer had suggested that the dip in competitive standards at LIV Golf events and a general relaxation in player efforts have blunted Rahm's edge in the majors.

McGinley questioned Rahm's switch from the PGA Tour, criticising the LIV Golf series for its 54-man, no-cut fields and shortened format, and arguing that the lack of quality competition is hindering his major aspirations. The Ryder Cup hero also stated that former world No. 1 Rahm is "hurting" at the majors.

"Jon's performances in majors since he's gone to LIV have been disappointing," he told the Golf Channel. "Because three years ago before he went to LIV, I would say he's going to be an absolute powerhouse - not far from where we have Scottie [Scheffler] now. We haven't seen that from Jon when he's come back to the majors. Yes, he's top 10 every week on LIV, but we're really looking at the majors."

McGinley, 58, expressed his view that many of the LIV golfers are likely facing challenges they "hadn't thought about" when they made the move. This unexpected element could be causing some players to fall off the radar at major golf tournaments. "There's nothing easy in life," he continued. "Yes, they can say they've made a lot of money. But they're hurting on the other side in terms of coming to these major championships not on the cutting edge, as they would have been had they stayed on the PGA Tour."

Before his move to LIV, Rahm had secured top 10 finishes in 12 out of his last 22 majors (around 55%). However, since his switch, he has only achieved the feat once in four attempts, and his run of 18 consecutive major cuts made has come to an end.

Apart from a T7 at the previous year's Open, Rahm, who triumphed at the 2021 US Open and the 2023 Masters, experienced a disappointing 2024 in the majors. And it was only a final-day surge at the Masters that saw him clinch a T14 finish at Augusta last month.

Rahm responded to the criticism following his remarkable Saturday display that put him in the running at Quail Hollow. Speaking prior to his frustrating collapse on Sunday, he said: "Me going to LIV and playing worse in majors had nothing to do with where I was playing golf.

"My swing was simply not at the level it had to be for me to compete. There have been weeks where I was able to play better, like The Open last year. The Masters obviously wasn't a good start, but it got better as the week went on, and I'm still working and trying to get my swing to a better spot."

The Callaway player continued: "Even 2023, after winning the Masters, I did not play good at all until the Ryder Cup, right. So I think the problems began earlier than people think. But I'm now getting closer to a position of being comfortable. I think this week so far and this round has been a show of it."

Reiterating his stance following Rahm's disappointing T8 finish, McGinley stated: "I think it's hard to make an argument that LIV prepares you to win major championships. Because they are playing team events, they're not playing on the most difficult golf courses, and they're traveling around the world and then having to come back to America to play three to four majors. Those things alone.

"There's a great quote from a Navy Seal that's widely used in leadership. What do you do under pressure? And he says, 'I sink to the level of my training.' And the training that the guys get on LIV, the way they play on LIV, it's not the same intensity as the PGA Tour. Nobody can argue that.

"It's hard to make an argument that going to LIV is going to give you a better chance of winning a major. I don't care. You can argue that all day long. There's no way that I can see that that is a better and more productive pathway to be prepared to win majors."

Brandel Chamblee agreed with McGinley's assessment that playing on LIV does not prepare players to win majors. "It matters where you play to be sharp, to be at your best, to test yourself against the best, which they're not playing against the best week in and week out," Chamblee said.

"When it mattered the most, 16, 17 and 18, when you had to hit shots, when you had to control your nerves, when you had to control the rhythm of your golf swing, Scottie had it, Bryson [DeChambeau] didn't, Rahm didn't."