LIV Golf season opener: Tyrrell Hatton joins Jon Rahm, Caleb Surratt's debut

The third LIV Golf League season tees off in Mexico on Friday, and there figures to be much attention on this opener after Spain's Jon Rahm became the latest major championship winner to jump from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf.

Playing team golf and only 54 holes will be adjustments for Rahm, the No. 3-ranked player in the world. So will a later start to the season. A year ago, Rahm had already played in three PGA Tour events, including victories at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the American Express.

"It's definitely a different feel to what I'm used to, golf being quite an individual sport," Rahm told reporters Wednesday in Mexico. "To actually be thinking about part of management of any kind, it's somewhat unusual for me."

Rahm admitted that acquiring three players to fill out Legion XIII's roster "was a little bit harder than what we would have liked."

Landing Tyrrell Hatton, his former European Ryder Cup teammate, at the last minute was a boost.

"Tyrrell is somebody I respect a lot," Rahm said. "He's a really good friend of mine. We've shared the stage in some of the biggest events in the world and more recently in the Ryder Cup. Proud to say we're undefeated together. It's somebody that's always been very high on my list. I think it's somebody who can perform under any circumstances."

Here's what to watch this week in Mexico and in the LIV Golf League's third season:

What's next in the LIV Golf League

LIV Golf Invitational Mayakoba
El Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Defending champion: Charles Howell III
Defending team champion: Crushers GC
Purse: $20 million individual ($4 million to winner), $5 million team

Surratt's big jump

Caleb Surratt was the third amateur golfer to join the LIV Golf League, following David Puig (Arizona State) and Eugenio Chacarra (Oklahoma State). Three weeks ago, Surratt was spending time with his girlfriend in Florida when he received a call that an agreement had been finalized. The sophomore drove back to Knoxville, Tennessee, to clean out his dorm room and break the news to his coaches and teammates.

"You go from moving out of your dorm room to competing with the best players in the world, and having two of them truly being your daily mentors on the golf course," Surratt said. "It seemed like a big opportunity for me and my golf game, and of course everybody is going to be entitled to their opinion. But I have no doubt that this is what was best for me and my golf game and the future of my professional career."

Rahm said he played a practice round with Surratt at The American Express in La Quinta, California, last year.

"I knew of him enough to know how good it was and what he was capable of," Rahm said. "His amateur résumé speaks for its own. He seemed ready to turn pro, so when he approached us with it, I'm not going to shy away from somebody who's ready to make that transition. I'm very happy to have him on the team."

DeChambeau's defense

Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC captured the LIV Golf League team title in 2023, and the former U.S. Open champion believes his squad is the team to beat again. The Crushers GC roster remains unchanged with Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri and Charles Howell III returning to the team.

Howell won last season's individual title at Mayakoba with a 54-hole total of 16 under, giving him his first professional victory in four years. Crushers GC also won the team competition with a total of 26 under, which was nine shots better than 4Aces GC.

"If I'm being straightforward, I think it's us," DeChambeau said. "If we could just get out of our own way and continue to play like we have, we're tough to beat. I would say the next team to beat would either be Smash or Legion as of right now. We'll see how it plays out. You never know what's to come."

While DeChambeau has his eyes on back-to-back team titles, he's also focusing on performing well in the majors. He tied for fourth at the PGA Championship and for 20th at the U.S. Open last season.

"Do I want to win for our team and have our team win every week?" DeChambeau said. "For sure, but the majors are also pretty important to me, as well, and I want to be ready for those because I really haven't had all the equipment that I think I needed to play the best I possibly can."

Truce coming?

DeChambeau has been vocal about wanting the best golfers in the world playing in the same tournaments more often. He isn't sure how Wednesday's announcement that Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of billionaire sports team owners, is investing as much as $3 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises will affect the timeline.

The PGA Tour is continuing negotiations with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which could potentially bring billions of more dollars into the new for-profit entity. The PIF also funds the LIV Golf League.

"I don't know exactly how it's all going to shake out when it's all said and done," DeChambeau said. "I don't know what it really means for the PIF's position in it. What I can say is that any investment into the game of golf is gigantic, especially on their side.