Tranlate this title Rahm: «Future of LIV? My job is to play golf” in spanish

In what could be the LIV Golf Tour’s final visit to Valderrama, the most iconic course in continental Europe, Jon Rahm prefers not to delve into anything unrelated to his golf. But the Saudi Super League (if it can still be called that now that the PIF, the Saudi public investment fund, has officially withdrawn from the circuit’s financial structure) is going through turbulent times, and for obvious reasons, he is asked about it at his pre-tournament press conference.

Rahm, statements

Rahmbo reiterates his stance of recent weeks. He glosses over the topic when this newspaper asks him about the players’ role in attracting investors, and whether they would be willing to step forward and contribute their own money to safeguard the future of the structure. “I’d say stick to what you know. I have no idea about investments. My thing is playing golf, and we should let the experts do their job. If we reach a point where drastic decisions need to be made, we’ll see. With the U.S. Open coming up and everything, don’t think I’m thinking much about that,” he says. “I’m open to helping out wherever needed, but with three kids and another on the way, I don’t have time to fly all over the country helping Scott (O’Neil) sell the product like Bryson (DeChambeau). Even if I wanted to, I don’t know if I could,” he adds after a follow-up question in English.

“The first thing is that, especially in certain countries, having a national team makes the public follow the sport. What we saw in Australia and South Africa was wonderful. These are parts of the world where they want to have good golf, but perhaps they haven’t had the luck. It’s been a very emotional few weeks. What stood out most about LIV is the hunger to take golf around the world. There’s work that can be done there, like Formula 1 or tennis, which have that presence. It’s such a beautiful sport that I wish there were bigger tournaments in Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, China, Japan… I understand that it’s difficult to travel more, but it’s part of the sport. I have to give some credit to Rory, who has traveled to Australia and India in recent years. His presence can have a very positive impact,” he said, assessing the legacy that the emergence of this format on the professional scene has left so far.

From there, on to the sporting aspect. “It’s an iconic course. Not very long, but difficult. You have to play it very well,” he says of the jewel of Sotogrande, which is hosting a tournament of the 54th Open for the fourth consecutive year, despite the fact that a move to Madrid, to the Club de Campo that has long served as the permanent venue for the Spanish Open, was considered last year. The contract with Valderrama allowed for alternating venues, but political interests—aligning the event with the arrival of Formula 1 in September—didn’t fit with the circuit’s calendar, which ends in August.