RUMOUR: World’s top 10 player joins LIV Golf after being mortified on ‘Rory Tour’

In another week’s time, another LIV golf rumor surfaced, and once again it’s about one of the world’s best golfers possibly leaving the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf has already pinched the likes of Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia in its inaugural season.

And the latest big rumor following the conclusion of the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour tonight is that another shock name could soon be added to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series.

It seems the player in question hasn’t taken well to the huge new changes the PGA Tour is making ahead of the new season that begins this week.

My information has always been spot on for players going to LIV!

Was informed that the top 10 player is leaving. He’s saddened by new PGA proposal and ‘Rory Tour’

I’ll give you a few days to guess

@montypro @Sekrah @LIVGolfLatest @LIVGolfUpdates @Handicap_54 @JonathanGrella

— Golf Lovers UK (@GolfloverUK) September 11, 2022

“My information has always been spot on for players going to LIV!” reads a tweet @GolfLoverDE.

“I have been informed that the top 10 player is leaving. He is saddened by the new PGA [Tour] Proposal and the “Rory Tour”.

“I’ll give you a few days to guess.”

This tweet has since been approved by our friends at Handicap 54, who have participated in almost every player transfer on LIV Golf to date.

I have similar information. Attention! https://t.co/gCE4Ynyz60

— HANDICAP 54 (@handicap_54) September 11, 2022

“I have similar information. Attention!” reads a tweet @Handicap54.

While we don’t have any further information on exactly who this “top 10 player” might be, we can at least narrow down the process for you.

Let’s take a look at the current Top 10 from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR):

1.Scottie Scheffler
2. Rory McIlroy
3.CameronSmith
4.Patrick Cantlay
5. Xander Schauffele
6. Jon Rahm
7.JustinThomas
8. Will Zalatoris
9. Collin Morikawa
10. Viktor Hovland

So who could be the “Top 10” player?!

Smith has already gone to LIV Golf and McIlroy, Scheffler and Thomas are three certs to stay on the PGA Tour so we can rule them out.

We’re pretty confident that Zatoris will stay with the PGA Tour, as will Morikawa, who denied rumors in June.

So that’s six out of the race. Maybe?

That leaves us with four potential targets to switch to LIV Golf: Schauffele, Cantlay, Hovland and Rahm.

Despite being linked with a move to LIV Golf earlier this summer, Cantlay recently told the media how he looks forward to competing alongside Schauffele in the Presidents Cup later this month.

Schauffele also recently confirmed he turned down an “obnoxious” offer from LIV Golf.

We’re pretty confident that best friends Cantlay and Schauffele will stay on the PGA Tour, at least for now.

So that really leaves us down to two players in Norway’s Hovland and Spain’s Rahm.

Hovland’s name has been heavily linked with a move to LIV Golf all summer, so we’ll have to see what’s playing out there. For a move to LIV Golf he would have to sit at the top of the top 10 one would think.

Then there’s Rahm, who finished second behind Shane Lowry with McIlroy at Sunday’s BMW PGA.

It would of course be a huge shock if Rahm, a former World No. 1 and US Open champion, were to switch to LIV Golf any time soon, especially after he faced LIV Golf players at Wentworth this week.

But the comments in @GolfLoverUK’s tweet at the beginning of this article would perhaps point the finger most at the Spaniard in the current top 10.

It’s because of those particular comments a few weeks ago at the Tour Championship.

You can watch Rahm’s interview here:

Rahm’s reaction to the minimum of 20 PGA Tour events is telling.

Reporter: “Do you know something we don’t know?”.

Rahm: “Pfft, I, no, you’re asking the wrong person, if you want to know that stuff, you know who the 2 players you have to ask are.” pic.twitter.com/72luV1C8PB

— Flushing (@flushingitgolf) August 27, 2022

Rahm recently said that “$400 million isn’t going to change my life” playing on the LIV Golf Tour.

Anyhow, any of the current top 10 players moving to LIV Golf would be another big coup for Greg Norman, so we’ll wait and see.

Hideki Matsuyama remains one of Norman’s biggest targets ahead of the new LIV Golf League in 2023, but he currently sits 16th in the OWGR.

Matsuyama is believed to have been offered as a JumpShip in the $400 million range.

We’ll no doubt be hearing more about the latest rumor in the coming days ahead of LIV Golf Chicago, which begins on Friday, September 16th.

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