THERE is a strong argument to be made that Mackenzie Hughes has benefitted as much as any player from Jon Rahm’s departure from the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.
At No. 51 after last year’s Tour Championship, Hughes fell one spot shy of qualifying for all eight signature events in 2024. Then Rahm sent shockwaves through the professional golf world by flipping on his long-standing stiff-arm of LIV and signing with the Saudi-backed league on Dec. 7.
The PGA Tour reacted by immediately suspended Rahm. The net result for Hughes was a bump into the 50th spot. He is in Hawaii this week, competing in the first signature event of the year featuring a $20 million purse.
“Obviously, being the 51st guy I just needed one guy to go, I didn’t need 12 guys and a mass exodus, so I definitely thought there was a chance there,” Hughes said on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila). “I was home for Thanksgiving. I heard the Rahm stuff start to circulate on Twitter. . . It seemed like a long time those rumors were flying around for a while, and we never really heard what was happening one way or the other.
“Then he finally announced it. I knew before, well before he announced that he was going, what was going to happen if he did go.”
Hughes said he appreciates the tour acting swiftly and providing clarity to his situation. As a player who has been outspoken about his concern for the game’s fans, clarity is something the Canadian would like to see far more of.
Hughes reminisced about 2019, before the pandemic interrupted professional golf, only to be followed by the disruption caused by LIV.
“(That year) to me was like the peak of, like, professional golf,” he said. “2019 was, like, all about golf, you know? Our economic model was sustainable. The LIV threat came along and all of a sudden, we started to double the purses, and we’re asking sponsors to double their investment, and we’re giving them the same product.
“Fans also, I think, are left wondering, like, do guys even love playing golf anymore, or are they all just concerned about money? All these guys going to LIV have made it pretty clear that it’s all about money. I mean, growing the game, but also money.
“I just think that the product, I mean, while I think it’s great, it’s the same product. I just think fans are kind of left scratching their head thinking, like, ‘What is going on?’”
