Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm has told LIV Golf to drop their controversial 54-hole format to help unify the sport.
The 29-year-old will look to defend his Masters title this weekend as one of the favourites at Augusta when the golfing mega-event gets underway, though he has since switched allegiance to LIV Golf.
One distinct difference from the PGA Tour, where events are played over four rounds, LIV competitions have no cut and are contested over 54 holes – a dramatic decrease on PGA’s 72 holes.
And Rahm, who signed a reported £450million deal in December with LIV, has criticised the Saudi-based organisation and demanded a drastic rule change, insisting that the 54-hole duration should be to the traditional 72-hole format.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the Spaniard said: “If there ever was a way where LIV could go to 72 holes I think it would help all of this argument a lot.
“The closer I think we can get LIV Golf to some other things the better. I think it would be for some kind of unification to feed into a world tour or something like that.
“I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but I definitely wouldn’t mind going back to 72 holes.”
Rahm was critical of the format before he defected to LIV late last year despite the 54-holes being its main the selling point.
LIV’s name is based on the Roman numerals 54 while the league have fielded tournaments including 54 players.
As well as the shortened course, some of the other attractions flaunted to potential joinees include guaranteed prize money upon playing, shotgun starts, team golf and less manic schedules.
It helped them poach some of the biggest players away from the PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Cam Smith, while Rahm’s own decision to sign for the Saudi-based track has added a huge star to their roster.
Rahm stormed to victory at last year’s Masters when he beat Brooks Koepka and Mickelson by four shots to finish the tournament 12 under par and take home his first green jacket.
“Going back and knowing that you’re a champion and that you have an idea of how to get things done and the confidence that you know you can get it done again is always an added bonus,” Rahm added.
“It’ll be a little different being defending champion but I should have a little bit extra motivation too.”
The Masters gets underway on Thursday and will feature the best golfers from around the world and you can get all the information including tee times, leaderboard and how to follow on the first major of the year here on talkSPORT.
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News Summary:
- Masters champions Jon Rahm demands LIV Golf make one major rule change
- Check all news and articles from the latest Golf updates.