Jon Rahm Just Quit LIV Golf. Here’s Why a Quick Return to the PGA Tour Will Be Tricky

Jon Rahm’s time with LIV Golf came to an end on Wednesday as his lawyer informed the league that he will not be participating in LIV Golf 2.0.

What’s next for one of the best players in the world? Well, it’s complicated, and we might not know for a while where Rahm will be playing in 2027.

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Rahm’s lawyer, John Beck, made the following statement at a LIV Golf bankruptcy hearing on Wednesday:

“Mr. Rahm has independently reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0 … and has determined that those terms are unacceptable to him, and he will not be participating going forward in LIV 2.0,” Beck said, according to The Athletic.

Beck also said that Rahm and LIV Golf are working on a finalizing a separation agreement by Oct. 15.

Rahm left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in December 2023. He signed a huge contract worth $350 million and had high hopes that his move would lead to the two tours eventually coming together. That never happened, and now he will try to figure out his future.

Let’s look at three possible paths Rahm could take from here to return to the PGA Tour.

1. Rahm could be suspended by the PGA Tour for one year and then return

If Rahm wants to return to the PGA Tour, which seems pretty safe to assume, the Tour could suspend him for one year, dating back to the last time he played in a LIV Golf event. If that happens, he would be eligible to return late next August. This is the route Patrick Reed took last January when he opted no to re-sign with LIV Golf. Reed then spent the 2026 season playing in DP World Tour events and currently is the leader in the season-long Race to Dubai rankings.

"The biggest thing for me at the start of the year when I decided not to re-sign with LIV was to try to make my way back to the PGA Tour," Reed said Tuesday before the Spanish Open in Madrid. "The way to do that I felt was to try to play our way on. "To be able to have the start of the season I did and to basically earn my way back to the PGA Tour meant a lot to me."

2. Rahm could earn his way back onto the PGA Tour by qualifying through the DP World Tour

Rahm could spend his entire 2027 season on the DP World. If he collects enough points, he would earn back his PGA Tour card and become a full-time member again in 2028. The top 10 players from the DP World Tour’s season-long points race that are not already exempt get their PGA Tour cards.

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3. Rahm could get a Brooks Koepka-like deal with the PGA Tour and come back immediately

Brooks Koepka made his surprising return to the PGA Tour last January thanks to a special deal called the Returning Member Program. Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith were the only other players eligible for that program but they all decided to stick with LIV Golf.

That program no longer exists, and PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has said that they won’t make the offer available again.

"This is a one-time, defined window and is not a precedent for future situations," Rolapp said in January. "Once the door closes, there is no promise that this path will be available again."

Rolapp, however, has also said many times that he always wants to do what’s best for the PGA Tour. Bringing Rahm back would likely upset some players, but his addition would definitely make the PGA Tour better. Like Koepka, Rahm could be dealt hefty fines by the PGA Tour and be forced to play his way into the biggest events .

Will that happen? It’s hard to say for sure but you would have to imagine that Rolapp is willing to come up with something that makes sense for everyone involved.

For now, though, we know two things: Rahm is done with LIV Golf and that league, which has been on life support since the PIF announced it would be cutting its funding, is now in even more danger of coming to a predictable end.

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