Jon Rahm could benefit from LIV Golf ‘transfer window’ as civil war solution mooted

Former Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington believes a transfer system could be the answer to elite golf’s problems and allow LIV Golf and the PGA Tour to co-exist.

Padraig Harrington believes the transfer system is the solution to the rift between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

Former Ryder Cup captain John Rahm said that to keep the quality of the product high, LIV stars should be invited to select PGA Tour and DP World Tour events and vice versa. He also believes that the differences in the game can be solved by the transfer fees that rival clubs pay when they recruit talent from elsewhere.

The elite-level game has been divided since the formation of the Saudi-funded LIV in 2022, with the LIV’s massive contracts and event funding draining top talent such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the PGA Tour have been working since last summer on a merger agreement that would allow LIV and the PGA Tour to coexist and resolve their differences. But Harrington, a two-time major champion, doesn’t think a merger is necessary for LIV and the PGA Tours to thrive. “Ideally, we want to allow players to move back and forth,” Harrington told GB News. “LIV players will have no problem being invited to PGA Tour events. Nobody wants John Rahe to miss the Spanish Open. If so, certain non-LIV players should receive a specific invite to play in that event if they are in the right region. “It will wear out over time. I don’t think we need to combine them. We just have to coexist and make noise. I think it would be really nice if it looked like football. If you want to buy a player from another team, the team gets the money.

Visit The Mirror US for the latest US news, politics, sports and show business. “So right now, LIV can get the best players on the PGA Tour, but the PGA can’t get any of that. All they can do is keep prices high. It needs to give players a way back. Otherwise, if you continue to negotiate with LIV, those players won’t be able to negotiate deals, meaning prices will drop.

“The PGA wants to keep the prices high because they want to make sure everyone can’t buy.”

LIV’s third season begins Friday in Mayakoba, Mexico with new additions Rahm, Tyrrell Hutton and Adrian Meronk making their sectional debut. That means they won’t be competing against the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scotty Scheffler and Victor Hovland until the big season kicks off with the Masters in April. But Harrington doesn’t think that’s a bad thing. He added: “I think it’s one of the stupidest ideas to have all the best players playing in the same tournament at the same time.” “We have expertise in this. And the rest of the time, you have to encourage and bring your teammates.”