As Jon Rahm approaches the one-year anniversary of his signing with LIV Golf, he has big plans.
First, he must fill out his LIV golf team, the Thirteenth Legion. South African Kieran Vincent will no longer play for Lahm's side after he was relegated due to poor performances last season. That leaves Rahm, Tyrell Hatton and young American Caleb Surratt as the only three members of the squad.
Therefore, Captain Ram has to consider how to enrich his team.
“I don't have players signed yet, but we have six or seven players in mind,” Rahm told Golf Guilty Etiquette in an interview, which was conducted in Spanish.
“There were two or three people who participated in this competition.”
Rahm will compete in the Estreladam North American Andalusia Masters this week in his native Spain. Joining him in the first two rounds will be fellow Spaniard Angel Hidalgo, who defeated Lahm in a playoff at the Spanish Open in Madrid three weeks ago.
The 26-year-old Hidalgo has great potential and meets the requirements of the XIII Legion signing. He's also a Callaway player, which is crucial for Ram. According to his interviews, the two-time major champion hopes to sign Callaway players. The ultimate goal is to partner the brand with his XIII Legion team.
Another important development for Rahm this week is that the Andalusia Masters will mark his fourth DP World Tour event of the season. Unlike the PGA Tour, Rahm once led men's golf at the Olympics but stumbled in the competition and was considered an official DP World Tour event in 2024. He subsequently competed in Madrid and competed in the Alfred Dunhill Links Champions at St. Andrews, where he tied for seventh at the House of Golf. This keeps his Ryder Cup prospects alive as Rahm will meet the DP World Tour's minimum requirement of playing four events per year.
But his strong performances over the past few months, including winning the individual season title at LIV, prove that Lahm is still one of the best players in the world. Europe will also need him at Bethpage Black next fall if they want to beat the U.S. in their homeland. To do this, he must remain a DP World Tour member, which explains why Rahm is teeing off in Andalusia this week. He didn't play in the event last year, which was won by last year's Ryder Cup snub Adrian Meronk, who now plays at LIV.
With Rahm set to reach the four-tournament threshold for the DP World Tour this week, he announced that he will be taking the rest of the year off to spend time with his family at home in Arizona. Rahm and his wife Kelly welcomed their third child, Alayah, in late September.
He also said he would start his 2025 season by competing in a DP World Tour event, possibly the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, before the start of the LIV golf season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in early February.
Jack Milko is the golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Get more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jackmilko as well as.
