Rahm admits players feel sense of betrayal over deal with Saudi Arabia

The Masters champion Jon Rahm believes there is a feeling of “betrayal” among the world’s leading golfers after the PGA and DP World tours secretly cut a deal to join forces with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Golf was rocked last week by the sudden announcement that a new entity, funded to the tune of billions by PIF, will oversee the sport’s elite level.

For two years, traditional tours have sat in staunch opposition to LIV Golf, which is controlled by Saudi Arabia. Rahm, like Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, had no clue that the agreement was pending. The merger will understandably dominant discussion at this week’s US Open, with many golfers unhappy about the nature of its formation.

Rahm is relaxed but senses disquiet in the locker room. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions,” he said. “It’s tough when it’s the week before a major, trying not to think about it as much as possible. I think it gets to a point where you want to have faith in management and I want to have faith that this is the best thing for all of us. But it’s clear that that’s not the consensus.

“I think the general feeling is that a lot of people feel a bit of betrayal from management. I understand why they had to keep it so secret. I understand we couldn’t make it through a PAC [player advisory council] meeting with more than 10 minutes after, people spilling the beans right away in some article by you guys [the media]. So I get it. I get the secrecy.

“It’s just not easy as a player that’s been involved, like many others, to wake up one day and see this bombshell. That’s why we’re all in a bit of a state of limbo because we don’t know what’s going on and how much is finalised and how much they can talk about, either.”

The Spaniard’s sentiment