00:00My question is, and maybe you can help me kind of talk and kind of work through this conversation,
00:06is he's technically exempt on the championship series in 2028 due to his win at the Masters in 2023.
00:16And I wonder, is there going to be more than a just a year suspension for Jon Rahm?
00:24Is there going to be anything else that other than Jon Rahm of like if you're exempt into these championship
00:31series?
00:32Like it just seems a little bit wrong to me that these guys can can not only just make all
00:38the money that they did on live and leave the PGA Tour in a vulnerable state,
00:41but then like somehow come back to like the best of what we have on the PGA Tour, even though
00:46they are exempt for it,
00:48there's going to be some type of of negotiation for their punishment, correct?
00:53Like they're not just going to be able to waltz back in, even though they just had a year suspension.
00:59Like, am I right here in saying this?
01:01Like, I agree with everything you said.
01:04And here's why I agree with it, because I think what the PGA Tour, whether it was luck or whether
01:09it was very calculated business strategy,
01:11you know, on Brian Rollapp's behalf, is that what they got to see this past year was the ultimate trial
01:16balloon, right?
01:17It was, OK, we don't actually know what the future of live is back in January or February.
01:23We know it's on rocky ground.
01:24We know that all these these offseason signings have slowed, but there's still a chance that the PIF decides to
01:31put more money into a re-sign Bryson.
01:34At that point in time, you know, Bryson's asking for a $600 million contract.
01:37It's on the table like they're thinking, hey, we could really re-up and make this thing go.
01:41So they put this returning member program on the table for those four guys, and only one of them takes
01:46it.
01:47And it's important, too, when we talk about all these guys with contracts, another reason why it's so important that
01:54they can get these releases from Liv
01:55is that Rollapp said on a number of occasions, we're not going to tamper with the guy that's under contract.
02:01Brooks Koepka had gotten out of his contract with Liv by however means he did it so that he was
02:06able to be part of this returning member program thing.
02:10So Brooks takes the deal.
02:11The other three leave it alone, right?
02:14Meanwhile, what's happening is the Patrick Reed experiment.
02:17And Patrick Reed goes out, wins a couple times on the DP World Tour.
02:21And what the feedback you're getting from players, you know, whether they're being asked about it in pre- or
02:27post-round press conferences, things like that,
02:29is that, hey, you know, hey, Patrick Reed or love Patrick Reed, we know he's a lightning rod, but what
02:34he's doing is he's going out and earning it.
02:36He's doing it the right way, right?
02:37So I think that when you look at-
02:40So are you saying that if you're fine with just the year suspension for Jon Rahm next year,
02:46but if he goes in and finishes first, second, or third, let's say they're giving three cards in 2028,
02:52then you're okay with no penalty or no fine, just the year suspension?
02:58Because I mean, like Brooks Koepka paid $5 million to get back to the PGA Tour.
03:02But he did it without earning it back like Patrick Reed did.
03:05And I, again, I think there is, what we'd have to figure out, too, is I believe Patrick Reed resigned
03:12his membership.
03:13It was a loophole.
03:13It was a loophole that Patrick Reed figured out.
03:15But I think he also resigned his membership.
03:17So there could be implications there as well of, like, you know, he didn't incur fines that, like, you know,
03:23we'd have to go back and look at Rahm.
03:24And, again, you know, I'm not in a great research spot now.
03:28I think to just complete the way I'm thinking about it, I'm saying I'm right or wrong.
03:34But the way I'm thinking about it is they don't have to extend any returning member program part two offer
03:40to Jon Rahm.
03:41Because at this point, it's like, if you want to go do it, you serve you your suspension and you
03:45go play on the DP World Tour.
03:47Now, what I think is interesting is if they reconfigure the DP World Tour card scenario.
03:55So let's just say they said, all right, instead of 10 cards straight to the tour,
03:59we're going to give five to championship and five to challenger.
04:02Or we're going to give three to championship and seven to challenger.
04:06Like, wouldn't it be difficult if Jon Rahm finishes first on that list for 2027 to not let him play
04:15on the championship series?
04:16If he went out and he served his year suspension, he played on the DP World Tour for a year.
04:21I don't disagree with you.
04:23I'm just trying to figure out, is there a world in which there's a fine that's paid?
04:29Because I just look at Brooks Cap, like he struck a $5 million check to come back and play on
04:36the PGA Tour.
04:36I know it was in that same season, but like he was playing on the beat.
04:42Like he was basically playing the challenger tour all the time.
