Tony Finau reaffirms commitment to PGA Tour via social media post following week of LIV Golf rumors
Tony Finau will remain on the PGA Tour. The six-time PGA Tour winner announced on social media Monday night that he remains committed to the league amid swirling rumors that he might follow Jon Rahm to the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf.
Rahm, who rocked the golf world when he defected to LIV Golf last week, was a signature signing for the league as its financier, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, remains in negotiations on somewhat of a merger with the PGA Tour. Rumors had swirled that Finau, along with perhaps Tyrrell Hatton and others, might join Rahm on his new LIV Golf team.
“I’m excited for 2024 and looking forward to playing my 10th season on the PGA Tour! And stoked to be defending in both Mexico and Houston!” Rahm wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to my partners for your continued support. Thank you to the fans for all the love for our whole Finau fam.”
The rumors made some sense. With Rahm — the 2023 Masters champion and a two time major winner — serving as the biggest fish LIV Golf has landed yet, it was fair to expect other PGA Tour players could potentially follow him. Finau did nothing to quell the chatter, either. When he was asked last week at the Grant Thornton Invitational whether he was going to LIV Golf, he was vague in his response.
“I have nothing to say right now,” Finau told reporters. “I haven’t heard anything.”
Finau would not have been nearly as important a signing for LIV Golf as Rahm; however, he would have represented the beginning of a potential post-Rahm exodus that many believe may still happen.
The PGA Tour announced over the weekend that it has brought in the Strategic Sports Group as it tries to agree on a deal with the PIF. The parties agreed to stop litigating against one another in June as they attempt to combine forces to form a singular entity. No one knows what this means for the PGA Tour or LIV Golf.
Despite a Dec. 31 deadline, no deal has been reached yet, and everything has been incited by the Rahm signing. It is believed that an agreement will be in place by the end of the year between the PGa Tour and the PIF with another investor potentially involved.
If that is the case, that would leave a small window for players to potentially sign with LIV Golf and make a ridiculous sum of money. Rahm apparently received north of $300 million, though it is unknown how much will be paid in cash or equity.
Finau was the loudest of the rumored potential defectors, so it is significant that somebody of his stature, who is also one of Rahm’s friends, rejected the Saudi-backed league. That does not mean other players won’t go to LIV Golf, only that, for now, it seems as if Rahm might be the only one.
