World No. 5 Jon Rahm has said he expects more top players to leave the PGA and DP World Tours to join LIV golf in 2023 — and a frostier-than-usual champions dinner at the Masters.

Speaking ahead of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii this week, the Spanish 2021 US Open champ said he fully expects more big names to join the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson on LIV Golf’s books this year, despite the PGA Tour boosting prize money at ‘elevated’ events in 2023 to compete with LIV’s hefty purses.

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“I think we all know where we stand,” Rahm said. “There are still going to be players that choose to transition to LIV is my guess.

“But for a lot of us, I think we see the direction the PGA Tour is going toward. They’re making the necessary changes to adapt to the new age and I think it’s better for everybody. It’s an exciting year. We’re all curious about how it’s going to work out. We’re all excited to see how it’s going to unfold.”

The Masters announced last month that LIV Golf players will be able to compete at Augusta in April, despite being banned by the PGA Tour. That means recent Green Jacket winners Mickelson, Johnson, fellow Americans Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson, Spain’s Sergio Garcia and South African Charl Schwartzel will all be at the champions dinner ahead of the April 6-9 event at the famous Georgia venue alongside the likes of PGA Tour flag-waver Tiger Woods.

“I think the Masters Champions Dinner is going to be a little tense compared to how it has been in the past,” Rahm said. “I keep thinking about it because I wish I could be there and just be able to see how things work out. Too bad the US Open doesn’t have one of those.”

Rahm added that players should just get on with their jobs and not get caught up in the off-course politics.

“I didn’t feel a difference in any of the majors last year,” he said. “If somebody has a problem with LIV players, they’re just not going to deal with them and that’s about it.

“I respect their choice and the ones I was friends with before I’m still going to be friends with. It doesn’t change the way I’m going to operate with them. I think a lot of animosity, if there’s any, might be created more by (reporters) more than anything else. I don’t think there’s that much of a problem between players, at least in person.”