Fact or Fiction: Jon Rahm Will Dominate in His First LIV Golf Season
Welcome back to another installment of SI Golf "Fact or Fiction," in a busy week including a signature event on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's season opener.
Once again, we hat tip our friends on the NFL side at SI as we post a series of topical statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also be "Neutral" since there's a lot of gray area in golf.
Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X (formerly Twitter) account or Instagram.
The Pebble Beach Pro-Am's famous amateur competition has been cut to 36 holes, giving the weekend to the pros but compromising the tournament's character in order to become a signature event.
FACT. It doesn’t necessarily make it wrong, but the idea behind the Pebble Beach Pro-Am has always been about the amateurs. Peter Jacobsen used to describe it as the most important tournament on the PGA Tour due to the relationships built among the corporate crowd. They’ll still be there, but we won’t see them on the weekend. To some that will be a good thing and this was a necessary step for the tournament, which now gets a far better field. But it’s still not what the event has been for decades.—Bob Harig
FACT. One of best recent editions of this event was when Bill Murray made a Sunday charge alongside eventual tournament-winner D.A. Points to win the amateur portion. A Cinderella story that is no longer possible with the format change.—Jeff Ritter
FACT. I was against the Sentry expanding beyond tournament winners and I'm against this too. There just aren't that many unique stops on Tour and Saturday celebrities at Pebble made this a special event.—John Schwarb
FICTION. The Pro-Am format certainly adds a lighthearted component to the tournament and I don't think the reimagined and shortened version will diminish that. The event will be so much better off with a world-class field and the main draw has always been Pebble Beach—that's not changing. Watching the best in the world compete alongside big celebrity names on an iconic test of golf is hard to beat. I'm here for the tournament's new look.—Gabby Herzig
FACT. 72 holes, stroke play, no cut. Professional golf needs more of this? I don’t think so.—Alex Miceli
Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images
Jon Rahm will dominate Season 3 of LIV Golf, which begins this week.
FICTION. As we’ve seen in LIV’s limited play so far (22 events), the biggest-name players have not always been on top. Yes, Dustin Johnson won the overall league title in seven events in 2022, but won just once. Last year it wasn’t Cam Smith nor Brooks Koepka nor Bryson DeChambeau or even Johnson who was on top, but Talor Gooch. So while it would be a surprise if Rahm didn’t have success, it’s no guarantee he will dominate.—B.H.
FICTION. He'll dominate the LIV news cycle this week, but then will likely sort of blend into the other stars who have also jumped. I think he'll win an event or two, but dominate? Nah, there are too many good players over there now.—J.R.
FACT. Talor Gooch won three times last year, I think Rahm can win four in 2024 and that's dominating in a 13-event individual season.—J.S.
FACT. Rahm won four times last year, including at the Masters. If he doesn't dominate during LIV's third season, something is wrong. Talor Gooch, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith and now Tyrrell Hatton will give Rahm a run for his money, but I still believe the Spaniard will come out of the 2024 season with the most LIV Golf victories.—G.H.
FICTION. It surely possible that Rahm will play well and dominate, but at least 25% of the LIV golfers still play at a very high level and since it's 54 instead of 72 holes, the possibilities are more likely that no one player will dominate.—A.M.
Nick Dunlap will play at Pebble Beach as a professional. He made the right decision to turn pro a few days after his stunning win as an amateur at the American Express.
FACT. It’s hard to turn down all that he has in front of him to go back to school. He wasn’t going to remain in school through his senior year. And if he’s leaving, he might as well go and take advantage of all opportunities. As I wrote, however, it might have been better to just put it off a few months, play the remaining spring college schedule, and then take advantage of plenty of the perks.—B.H.
FACT. Strike while it's hot! He's in the majors and the signature events. Time to ride the wave.—J.R.
NEUTRAL. You can't get those college years back and Dunlap could have stayed for his sophomore season then turned pro at the end of May. But he's got on-the-job training with a number of free-money weeks like this one, which is hard to pass up.—J.S.
FACT. He absolutely made the right decision. Staying amateur until the end of NCAAs would have been a noble choice, but slightly questionable in the long run. Dunlap is playing some of the best golf of his life and timing is everything. It would be unwise to not take advantage of that hot streak and the PGA Tour's new signature event model.—G.H.
FACT. Getting a PGA Tour card is the holy grail for a 20-, 30- or 40-something. So, how could you not take the spot and start your professional career?—A.M.