Jon Rahm questions and great golf values: Tour Confidential  | News

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, WTGL and more. 

1. This week’s Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, the first event of the DP World Tour playoffs, is headlined by Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, and Rahm and Hatton are just a couple of the former LIV players about to make their first start since announcing they won’t be a part of LIV 2.0. You get one question to ask those guys in their pre-tournament press conference: What is it?

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): I would ask Rahm what I asked him at the PGA Championship this year: “What did you learn from your decision to go to LIV?” In May, he took a beat and said that was “for him to know.” Would still love the answer now that his LIV time is over. 

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): I’d love to ask the following Q: Why did you leave? I think we all know the real answer is “money” — but these players’ careers will be defined by their decisions with LIV, and I think their accounting of why is important for future generations of golfers to know. 

Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): Aside from any flack you caught from fans and commentators, what was the worst thing about moving to LIV?

Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): All good answers about questions! Let’s try a different route, in case we get some no comments there. How about: How would you now explain LIV Golf to someone who’s been living under a rock since, say, 2026?

2. Rahm left for LIV as the defending Masters champion but has failed to win a major since. Fair or not, LIV’s level of competition — and whether it kept players sharp enough for majors — became a frequent topic of debate. How do you expect Rahm to play now? Will no longer being tied to LIV make any difference?

Schrock: It’s hard to say. It depends how he preps. What does his DP World Tour schedule look like before the four majors in 2027? I don’t think it’s unfair to say that being on LIV played some role in his major play. He’s also still one of the top players in the world and will be a factor in majors moreso than he has been.

Colgan: I think he’s a great player who has a lot of great golf ahead of him. I do think he’ll play better. I do think being in a more meritocratic environment will make a difference. 

Sens: Like James, I expect he’ll play better, but less for physical reasons than mental ones. Once the distractions of all the LIV-related questions fade into the background and he falls back into a rhythm, I suspect his head will be in a better place. If I were his sports psychologist, I’d recommend this as a first step: admit to yourself — and possibly even to the public — that you did it for the money and the money only, and that you realize now that that was a mistake. That playing for the love of competition is what propelled you to greatness in the first place. I’d think that kind of honesty would be freeing. Not that I’m holding my breath waiting for it.

Piastowski: Man, Sens’ answer here is pretty great. Maybe playing LIV events had something to do with Rahm’s major record. Maybe it didn’t. Who’s to say he’d be 0-fer if he’d been playing PGA Tour golf? But coming to every major and being asked about LIV in some shape or form — or being reminded about it by the fans — had to weigh on him. Just for that reason, I expect him to play better. 

3. The WTGL — Women’s Team Golf League — kicks off its first matchup of its inaugural season at the SoFi Center on Sunday with Michelle Wie West’s LA team taking on Lydia Ko’s New York squad. Do you see the WTGL having similar success as the TGL, which begins its third season later this year? What’s the key for the women’s league to thrive?

Schrock: I hope it does. It’s a great platform to showcase some personalities on the tour and for people to get to know the players outside of the majors. But not having Nelly and not having the women play on the same team as the men I think will be a big miss. I hope they can overcome it in Year 1 and perhaps integrate next winter (with Nelly in the fold!)

Colgan: I still haven’t gotten a single compelling reason for why a co-ed TGL league is worse and less profitable than two separate gendered leagues. 

Sens: Sadly, I think the past has proven that even when the women’s game puts out as good or better a product than the men, the same level of fan interest just isn’t there. So, no. I don’t see the women’s league having success similar to the men.

Piastowski: Why — WHY? — are they playing on NFL Sundays? In looking at the schedule, the WTGL goes up against either Sunday NFL or Monday NFL in half of its 10 matches. Every non-football league has trouble with interest in the fall, let alone a new one. I also agree with my colleagues above — let’s play mixed TGL.    

4. Readers can check out the rosters for each WTGL team here. Which squad are you most looking forward to watching, and why?

Schrock: It’s L.A. just for Wie West. It was awesome to see her tee it up twice this year before saying goodbye, even if she didn’t perform how she wanted. She’s one of golf’s great stars of the past century, and it’s cool she’ll still be in our lives even if it’s only in simulator format. 

Colgan: Motor City! Jeeno Thitikul is an amazing character who deserves the full shine of the golf world. This league will be great for her.

Sens: Good choices above. Next, I’d go with the Atlanta Drive. These events depend heavily on the quality of the banter. Most professional golfers aren’t particularly good at banter. But Charley Hull is.

Piastowski: Easy. Boston Common, featuring Megan Khang, who said this at a pre-WTGL press conference: “I will admit I probably will drop a couple explicit words. … Thankfully, there’s a little delay. There’s a little [bleep]  button, and that will be my best friend.”

5. Sergio Garcia announced he will join the DP World Tour and is open to a return to the PGA Tour. His lengthy statement posted to social media was met by some criticism — including from pro Eddie Pepperell — due to the infamous ways Garcia exited the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. What are your thoughts on Sergio’s statement and return? And is the way in which some former LIV players are received a major storyline for next season, or an overblown one?

Schrock: It’s definitely a major storyline. I think some guys will be received well, depending on how they left and how they opt to return to the ecosystem. We saw how Brooks was welcomed back by pretty much everyone with open arms. That’s a product of who he is and how he left without trying to torch his former tours. Some, like Sergio, took a different path and things might be frostier on re-entry. 

Colgan: It’s overdone. The vast majority of these guys care far more about their own business than anybody else’s. The bad (good?) news for Sergio is that his career is almost assuredly in its last gasp already, so there won’t be too much crow to eat.

Sens: Statements on social media are easy. I don’t put much stock in Garcia’s. Let’s see how things play out. My guess is that the reception players get will be largely in keeping with how these players were viewed before they left. Those that were well liked should be able to fall back easily into fans’ favor. Those that weren’t will have a tougher go. I think it’s fair to say that Garcia didn’t rank high among fan favorites. Whether his reception becomes a major story will hinge on how he responds when he starts getting the first Bronx cheers, and how he conducts himself if he plays poorly. His track record suggests he’ll make some more news along those lines.

Piastowski: The fans will be interested in the return of Garcia and others. There will be stories about it. There will be curiosity. But I like Colgan’s answer: The pros won’t care — much. I do think, though, Garcia could have won over a few folks by not completely glossing over his exit and what tour he’s been on since 2022. 

6. Our Alan Bastable wrote about Stow Acres Country Club, a 27-hole public facility 30 miles west of Boston that recently offered a special of 50-cent greens fees for nine holes. While a better deal might be tough to find, what’s your favorite value round you’ve played in 2026?

Schrock: I didn’t play as much golf as I wanted in 2026, but I always liked going home to play the muni that I grew up on and worked at throughout high school: The Greens at Redmond in Redmond, Oregon. Check it out if you’re in the Bend area!

Colgan: Amazing question. I snuck out for 18 holes walking at the Lake Placid Club, which has a few great holes allegedly designed by Alister MacKenzie, on a glorious May afternoon earlier this year. I played in 2.5 hours, and since the golf staff was out for the day by the time I arrived, I paid by leaving a $20 on the counter. 

Sens: Waverley Golf Club on the North Island of New Zealand. Roughly $20 bucks for a wild and wonderful course that could easily command a couple hundred dollars in the U.S.

Piastowski: Gonna go a different route here, for obvious reasons. The best value round I watched came at the end of July, when I walked with the only country club housed inside a homeless shelter. You can watch the video of it all by scrolling immediately down.