Shane Lowry says he wasn’t surprised by his Ryder Cup teammate Jon Rahm’s bombshell decision to sign with LIV Golf.
Defending Masters champion and World No.3 Rahm shocked the world earlier this month when he joined the PGA Tour rival for a reported fee north of $500m, going back on his previous comments proclaiming ‘fealty’ to the PGA Tour.
However, Lowry says the news didn’t come as a surprise to him, especially considering the current state of golf - with the PGA Tour and DP World Tours currently in negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) ahead of a 31st December deadline.
"There’s no smoke without fire so we all thought he must be going,” Lowry told media at a sponsor’s event in Ireland to promote his participation in next year's Amgen Irish Open.
"[I wasn’t] surprised, as I am not surprised by anything at the minute. It is what it is now, it’s just mad to think we won’t be playing against Jon Rahm until the Masters. He won’t be rocking up to Riviera, Bay Hill, the Players, all the big tournaments on the PGA Tour.
“It’s just mad to think that. It is what it is. I am just hopeful it all irons itself out soon, and we will be back playing together again soon. I don’t know when that will be, but hopefully soon.”
The PGA and DP World Tours announced a framework agreement in June to merge with the PIF, which bankrolls LIV Golf.
A deal has yet to be agreed, with the deadline expected to be pushed back. The United States government is also said to be investigating the PGA Tour’s plans to take on huge investment from Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is also reportedly close to securing investment from a group of American investors, although the Tour remains open to negotiating with PIF to be part of the same deal.
It has left the sport in a cloud of uncertainty, but Lowry says he’s “hopeful” about the future of the men’s game.
"I mean, I'm not involved in anything," he said. "I just try to worry about my own thing and get on with my own game. But I'd be very hopeful that at some stage in the near future we will be back playing the same tournaments together and I think that's what the world of golf needs."
After Rahm’s move, World No.2 Rory McIlroy – a strong critic of LIV Golf in the past – backtracked on his stance that players from the rebel tour shouldn’t be allowed to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup and has suggested that the DP World Tour needs to change its rules to ensure Rahm plays at Bethpage in 2025.
Lowry said he wasn’t sure what the right move would be, but said Rahm will probably be needed by Team Europe.
"I don't know what should happen or what could happen," he said. "The one thing I do know is that I want to be on a winning Ryder Cup team in Bethpage and if we do need Jon Rahm to do that, we probably should have him, but who knows what's going to happen, who knows what the DP World Tour will do."
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