Jon Rahm received a reported $500 million check to switch to LIV Golf but his team still has vacant spots as LIV approaches its first event at Mayakoba. Time is ticking and the golf world eagerly awaits to witness his teammates. Some reports state that his team’s name will be Legion XIII and Kieran Vincent might join the team.
But that still leaves plenty of vacant spaces in the team, defying the past rumors that PGA Tour golfers would follow Rahm, which didn’t happen. Moreover, some stalwarts have denied LIV offers and retained their PGA Tour cards. Let’s take a look at the golfers who declined LIV’s lucrative deals.
Tommy Fleetwood
As per reports from the Telegraph, Ryder Cup golfer Tommy Fleetwood rejected the LIV offer and continued on the DP World Tour. Reports state that he was chosen for Rahm’s team and despite knowing it, he chose to stay on the tour. Recently, he won the Dubai Invitational over World No.2 Rory McIlroy.
Nicolai Hojgaard
Like Fleetwood, Hojgaard also denied the LIV offer in the same week. He thinks he’s the hottest golfer on the tour, with three DP World Tour wins and a Ryder Cup victory. The golfer is only 22 and thinks that he’d learn more good golf if he didn’t make a switch.
Ludvig Aberg
Another hot prospect is Aberg, who has a PGA Tour and DP World Tour win after turning pro. He also defeated World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler in the Ryder Cup. But as he was approached, he sternly denied it and stated,
“We realised that I could potentially burn a lot of bridges, and I wasn’t interested in that. When I look back, I am very confident in my decision. I will never chase money; what I do is compete. I did the right thing.”
Tony Finau
One golfer rumored to be joining LIV was Tony Finau. Initially, when the golfer was asked to address the issue, he denied it. But finally, he posted something regarding his 2024 schedule that cleared out his fidelity to the PGA Tour.
“I’m excited for 2024 and looking forward to playing my 10th season on the PGA Tour! And stoked to be defending in both Mexico and Houston.”
Jason Day
Jason Day was another golfer who was rumored to join Rahm’s squad but soon after the rumors died, he was teeing off in the PGA Tour events and secured an under-top-10 rank in the Sentry Tournament. As time goes by, it will be interesting to see which new golfers join Jon Rahm.
