[Golf Topic] 'Number 2' Jon Rahm "Not Participating in Premier Golf League~"

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] ○..."My choice is the PGA Tour."

Jon Rahm (Spain, photo), ranked 2nd in the world, has declared that he will not participate in the new professional golf tour, the Premier Golf League (PGL). On the 16th (Korean time), he told Golfweek in the United States, "I am a PGA Tour player," and "I will dedicate myself to it." Brooks Koepka (USA), ranked 3rd, also drew a line in an interview with the AP News, saying, "I will be with the PGA Tour." The PGL is the stage announced in January 2022 by the World Golf Group (WGG) based in New York.

With 18 tournaments and a total prize money of $240 million (2.917 trillion KRW), it is about half the total prize money of $400 million on the current PGA Tour, but since the number of tournaments is relatively small, it is worth noting that the prize money per tournament is higher. Especially, unlike the PGA Tour where about 144 players participate, only exactly 48 players compete without a 'cut off.' The winner's prize reaches $5 million (5.95 billion KRW). It is a blatant intention to poach only 48 world stars.

The PGA Tour has announced that "players are prohibited from participating in PGL concurrently," making a clash between the two organizations inevitable. Number 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) already expressed last month that he is "not interested in PGL," creating an atmosphere supporting the PGA Tour for now. The "returned golf emperor" Tiger Woods (USA) has become even more important. Woods explained during the Genesis Invitational, "We are thoroughly investigating with the team members whether (PGL) is a realistic plan."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.