Jon Rahm’s Ryder Cup Status Unclear After DP World Tour Settles With Other LIV Golfers

Jon Rahm is not among the eight players whom the DP World Tour has reached an agreement with that will allow them to avoid getting conflicting events releases—and thus avoid potential fines—in order to compete in LIV Golf League tournaments.

Rahm has said previously that he will not pay accrued fines, believed to be in excess of $2 million, and has appealed the sanctions. A hearing date has yet to be set and Rahm’s Ryder Cup participation for 2027 remains clouded.

If he loses the appeal, he’d be required to pay outstanding fines in order to participate in any DP World Tour events.

The DP World Tour issued a statement Saturday morning saying that eight members have been granted conditional releases upon the basis of agreeing to certain terms.

Among those who agreed are Tyrrell Hatton, who is Rahm’s Legion XIII teammate at LIV Golf and part of the original appeal process that began in September 2024.

The others who have signed on are Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie.

In return, those players have agreed to settle all previous fines, drop any appeals and add additional stipulated DP World Tour events—believed to be two or three—to their schedules which have required a minimum of four events.

“The conditions these members have accepted will provide additional value to the DP World Tour and benefit to the entire membership,” the DP Wordl Tour statement said. “Provided each member satisfies the conditions of their individual releases, no disciplinary action under the Regulations will be taken against them for playing in conflicting tournaments on LIV Golf in 2026 and they will retain their membership status.

“The releases apply for the 2026 season only and they are not precedent-setting. Requests for releases will continue to be considered on their individual merits in accordance with the Regulations that all members agree to abide by.”

These agreements came together outside of LIV Golf and with the individual players.

LIV players such as Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are not DP World Tour members. Westwood and Poulter had resigned their memberships and Garcia failed to play the minimum four tournaments in 2025 to keep his membership. But because he has satisfied previous fines, he is able to accept sponsor invites to DP World Tour events this year.

Rahm said at LIV’s season opener in Riyadh earlier this month that he was happy to see some progress.

“I personally would say I don’t know too much about the matter,” Rahm said. “Obviously, I think at first, managers are going to be taking care of that early on. I don’t know what the negotiations look like. Obviously, they’re going to players individually to make different deals. I don’t know what it may be or what it’s going to look like, but I’m happy to see that looking for a path forward for LIV players to be able to play on both tours and not to get penalized.”

Rahm has maintained that he believes the fines are unwarranted since DP World events want his participation, especially those in his native Spain.

In 2024, when he first appealed the fines, Rahm said: “I'm not a big fan of the fines. I think I've been outspoken about that. I don't intend to pay the fines, and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen.”

In 2023, a UK arbitration panel ruled that the DP World Tour was within its rights to impose sanctions upon members who violated its conflicting events rules. A player must seek a release to play in events outside of the Tour (similar to the PGA Tour) and LIV players who are contracted to play in their events faced fines that LIV Golf was paying through 2025.

In two weeks, the DP World Tour has the Joburg Open in South Africa while LIV Golf resumes its schedule in Hong Kong. The players who made the deal will not be required to get a release. But Rahm would and thus will be in violation of the rules, leading to more fines.

Last month, Rory McIlroy called for players such as Rahm and Hatton to pay their fines and move on.

“I think any organization or any members' organization like this has a right to uphold its rules and regulations," McIlroy said at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. "What the DP World Tour is doing is upholding its rules and regulations. We, as members, sign a document at the start of every year, which has you agree to these rules and regulations.

“The people that made the option to go to LIV knew what they were. So, I don't see what's wrong with that."

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