LIV’s acquisition of defending Masters champ Jon Rahm has only further ignited the golfing war

An outspoken analyst has launched a fresh attack at LIV defector Jon Rahm, and Nick Faldo has served the defending Masters champ a sobering reality check.

Golf’s civil war has reignited at the Masters amid claims defending champion Jon Rahm sold out to the Saudi-backed LIV league.

Rahm is aiming to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only back-to-back winners in tournament history but faced a fresh attack over his abandonment of the PGA Tour.

“This guy went from essentially having a lead role in The Godfather to now being a sideshow vaudeville act,” outspoken golf analyst Brandel Chamblee said.

“Jon Rahm thought his departure was going to be the tipping point (for the reunification of golf). It wasn’t the tipping point at all.

“I think that he went from being viewed as his own man to being somebody that could be bought. He went from being viewed as somebody who would state their principle very clearly of history and legacy, and then turns back on those principles for money and finances …”

Faldo - who won green jackets in 1989, 1990 and 1996 - also questioned the Spaniard’s preparation on the breakaway LIV tour.

Rory McIlroy is not a fan of LIV. Picture: Getty Images

“He has been playing resort courses in his shorts for the last couple of months and hasn’t really been tested yet,” Faldo said.

“He’s a hell of a player, but he’s going to have to make a little bit more effort to step it up and get the right intensity.”

Rahm - one of 13 LIV defectors at Augusta - admitted he had hoped his monster $450 million move to LIV might have sparked “a step towards some kind of agreement”.

But peace talks between the rival tours have slowed.

“I understood my position, yes. And I understood that it could be, hope it would be something that would help expedite that process,” Rahm said.

“But at the end of the day, I still did what I thought was best for myself.

Will Rahm go back-to-back? Picture: Getty Images

“I still love the PGA Tour …. and I still hope that at some point I can compete there again.”

Rahm, a two-time major champion, has called on LIV chiefs to introduce a traditional 72-hole format.

“If there ever was a way where LIV could go to 72 holes, I think it would help all of this argument a lot,” he said.

“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.”

But 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples said on Tuesday: “Let me tell you, if the LIV tour is better for golf, I’m missing something there.. I don’t want to hear it”.