Reports Build Over Jon Rahm’s New LIV Golf Signing

Multiple reports are linking amateur star Caleb Surratt with a move to Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf team

Caleb Surratt observes a shot at the 2023 Walker Cup
Is amateur Caleb Surratt about to sign for Jon Rahm's LIV Golf team?
(Image credit: Getty Images)

One of the big questions ahead of LIV Golf's return for season three has been over who would join the team led by Jon Rahm.

Currently, there is no confirmation of who the Spaniard will captain when season three gets underway early next month. However, there are now multiple reports claiming amateur star Caleb Surratt will be among them.

Handicap 54 first reported that Surratt would team up with Rahm, writing on X: “Thanks to my dear friends, @aletengolf and David Durán, for giving me credit for the news about the jump from amateur 🇺🇸 Caleb Surratt to @livgolf_league, joining the @JonRahmOfficial team. They, in turn, have added that Surratt has been replaced from the Dubai Desert Classic.”

That has now been followed up by both Flushing It and Monday Q Info. The latter also offered some thoughts on Surratt’s potential, writing: “I know there will be a lot of "who is this guy" or "who cares" because not a lot of people follow Am golf closely (including myself). But the kid is a future star. I've always thought losing young talent to LIV was the biggest threat for the PGA Tour.”

Surratt is a 19-year-old from North Carolina who has been making a big name for himself in the amateur game, and is currently ranked 10th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. 

The University of Tennessee player was selected for the US Walker Cup team in 2023, where he won three of his four matches as his team beat Great Britain and Ireland 14.5-11.5 at St Andrews. In the same year, he also won the SEC Championship. Overall, Surratt has four wins among 21 top-10 finishes, including runner-up at the 2022 Junior Amateur Championship.

Surratt is no stranger to the PGA Tour, either, with three appearances. His maiden start on the Tour resulted in a T65 at the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, although he missed the cut at last year’s American Express, which was won by Rahm, and the Farmers Insurance Open.

While we await news on whether Surratt will become a LIV Golf player, it has also been reported that one of the three players who earned a contract via the LIV Golf Promotions Event, Kieran Vincent, will link up with Rahm on his new team, which will reportedly be named Legion XIII. 

That, of course, would mean that the newcomer wouldn't be joining up with his brother Scott at Kevin Na's Iron Heads GC, which still has an open slot after Sihwan Kim's relegation. However, like Surratt, there is no confirmation at present on the Zimbabwean's destination.

Whoever does end up joining Rahm’s team will not have too long to settle in – the first tournament of the season begins on 2 February with LIV Golf Mayakoba at El Camaleon Golf Club.

Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.