Count Jon Rahm among those who’s thankful for the advent of the LIV Golf Series.

Thanks to the renegade Saudi Arabia-backed circuit, purses on the PGA Tour have gone up precipitously and the Player Impact Program money increased from $40 million to $100 million in one year.

“I think on this side of things we should be thankful that LIV happened,” Rahm said Wednesday, ahead of the 2022 Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. “I don’t know if those changes would have happened if LIV wasn’t in the picture. So to an extent, yeah, we should be thankful.”

Further, Rahm thinks all of the animus between LIV and the PGA Tour is a “waste of time.” After all, fans are the ones who benefit.

“I just hope … the animosity goes away,” Rahm said. “I don’t think there needs to be a lawsuit, I don’t think each side needs to be saying anything negative about each other. LIV can do their thing and the PGA Tour can do their thing.

“I just don’t see the whole point of them saying something bad and then the PGA Tour responding in a way. That to me is just a bit of a waste of time. They’re going to do whatever they want and on this side, we’re going to do whatever we want. At the end of the day, I think the fans are coming out on top,” Rahm added.

–Field Level Media