Rahm could benefit from LIV Golf 'transfer window' as civil war solution mooted
Padraig Harrington believes a transfer system is the solution to the divide between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
The former Ryder Cup captain says LIV stars like Jon Rahm should be invited to certain PGA Tour and DP World Tour events to ensure the quality of the product remains high, and vice versa. He also thinks the fractures in the game could be mended by transfer fees being paid by the rival tours when taking talent from the opposite side.
The game at the elite level has been split since Saudi Arabia-bankrolled LIV was founded in 2022, with its huge contracts and event purses prompting an exodus of top talent including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau.
The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and the PGA Tour have been working on a merger deal since last summer, which would enable LIV and the PGA Tour to coexist and repair the fractures that have emerged. Two-time major champion Harrington, however, insists a merger is not necessary for both LIV and the PGA Tour to thrive.
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"Ideally I’d allow a transfer of players back and forth," Harrington told GB News. "I’d have no problem with LIV players getting invites to PGA tour events. Nobody wants Jon Rahm missing out on the Spanish Open. If that’s the case, then certain invites have to be given to certain non-LIV players to play in their events when they’re in the right region for that.
"These will be ironed out in time. I don't necessarily see that they need to merge. They just have to co-exist and create a buzz. It’d be ideal if it was like football. If you wanna buy a player from another team, the team gets the money.
Padraig Harrington believes LIV Golf and the PGA Tour can co-exist without a merger (Oisin Keniry/Getty Images)"So at the moment, LIV can buy the best players from the PGA Tour, but the PGA doesn't get anything out of it. The only thing they can do is keep the price high. They have to give a road back to players otherwise those players have no negotiating power when they continue to negotiate with LIV and that means their price goes down.
"The PGA want to ensure that price remains high because they want to make sure they can’t just buy everyone up."
LIV's third season begins in Mayakoba, Mexico on Friday, with new signings Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk making their debuts on the breakaway circuit. It means they will not compete with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland until major season begins with The Masters in April. But Harrington does not believe that is a bad thing.
"I think it's one of the silliest ideas ever to have all the best players playing in the same tournament at the same time," he added. "We have the majors for that. And the rest of the time, hype up your guys and then bring them in."
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