Seven-time PGA Tour winner suggests if he actually wants Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm back from LIV
· Yahoo Sports
Webb Simpson has suggested that the PGA Tour would benefit from Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau returning, but issued the LIV Golf pair with a warning about what they can expect.
The golfing world is edging closer to learning what the future holds for LIV Golf. The league is seeking fresh investment with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia set to walk away at the end of the season.
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It is not clear what LIV will look like next year, or whether DeChambeau or Rahm will be involved with it. It appears the only certainty is that the league will look drastically different from 2027 if it carries on.
Webb Simpson comments on Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm returning to the PGA Tour
Rahm and DeChambeau would be naive not to keep their options open, particularly as they have both been at the peak of their powers in recent years.
They did have a chance to rejoin the PGA Tour earlier this year, with Brian Rolapp unveiling the Returning Member Program to ensure that Brooks Koepka could return.
The five-time major champion faced a number of penalties, including a $5 million donation to charity, and a ban from signature events until he has earned his place through the FedEx Cup.
The pathway that was created for Koepka only enabled three other players to make the same move, with Cameron Smith also eligible. However, the trio all decided to remain with LIV.
And speaking on the Sliced podcast, Webb Simpson suggested that Rahm and DeChambeau must prepare themselves for harsher penalties as he reflected on Koepka’s comeback.
Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images“I thought the criteria for him coming back was probably about right. I didn’t have a better solution. I thought as players, we’ve got to swallow our pride a little bit and say since we’re equity owners now in PGA Tour Enterprises, this is going to help us, and as much as we’d like to think, hey, you made your decision, you’re no longer able to come play on this tour,” he said.
“We’ve got to be able to say hey, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, these guys playing on the PGA Tour is only going to help the PGA Tour. Not that the tour is desperate for them. The tour is way bigger than one player. And I think we all know that, but it would help. And so I think the tour will come up with creative ways to get them back with eligibility, but it’s not going to be easy as it was for Brooks.
“I think they had their opportunity. They knew the window was closing in, and they chose not to. So I think Patrick Reed’s able to play on the PGA Tour, starting this September, which is pretty wild. But he’s earned his way back in a sense through the DP World Tour.
“If I was Bryson DeChambeau or Jon Rahm right now, I would be surprised if their agents haven’t had many conversations with Rolapp and the board on what they can do to come back.”
Why Jon Rahm will be a more popular addition than Bryson DeChambeau if they leave LIV Golf
You would imagine that the path for Rahm is going to be more straightforward than for DeChambeau.
While the Spaniard did go back on his word after insisting that he was staying with the PGA Tour, he has always tended to avoid getting involved in the game’s civil war.
He is also a better player than DeChambeau.
DeChambeau has not always helped himself with some of his comments over the last few years. It did appear that he was not a hugely popular figure before his departure, and he has probably not endeared himself to some of his peers since joining LIV.
So while many will agree with Simpson that both players would enhance the PGA Tour even further, there will be plenty who will probably struggle to welcome DeChambeau back with open arms.