Where that leaves Rahm in regards to the 2027 Ryder Cup is now very much up in the air.<\/p>\n
And thus the sniping will continue.<\/p>\n
Those on the DPWT side will tell you that this was an amicable solution, allowing LIV players\u2014with conditions\u2014a way to still compete as members on the Tour while no longer accruing fines, which in Rahm\u2019s case are approaching $3 million.<\/p>\n
Those on the LIV Golf side will tell you the fines were bogus to begin with, and that the conditions laid out were less than friendly.<\/p>\n
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, and compromise always leaves those on both sides wanting more.<\/p>\n
But one truth is hard to escape: in April 2023, the DP World Tour prevailed before a U.K. arbitration panel which said the circuit was within its rights to impose fines and suspensions for violations of its conflicting events rules.<\/p>\n
That meant that whenever a LIV Golf player competed in an LIV event that was up against a DPWT event, he faced consequences. Several LIV players, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter among them, resigned their memberships rather than continue to accrue fines.<\/p>\n
Much like the PGA Tour, the DPWT requires a release to play in a conflicting event. Such releases are typically granted, with stipulations. So why not for LIV Golf events?<\/p>\n
The PGA Tour has deemed LIV to be unauthorized events and grants no releases at all.<\/p>\n
The DPWT isn\u2019t prohibiting its members to play LIV events but is penalizing them for doing so, in part by not granting releases because the system does not work both ways. For a LIV player, there is no choice. He can\u2019t skip the LIV event in order to play on the DP World Tour.<\/p>\n
Jon Rahm knew the DP World Tour\u2019s rules when he signed with LIV Golf<\/p>\n
Rahm knew this when he signed with LIV Golf. He might not like the rules, but those are the rules that have\u2014so far\u2014been upheld in court. While Rahm appealed his fines, which allowed him to play DP World Tour events and the Ryder Cup while the process lingered\u2014and still does\u2014there was always going to come a time when this needed to be resolved.<\/p>\n
To LIV\u2019s credit, it has been working with the DPWT to try to come to some sort of resolution. In 2024, it offered a lump sum payment and scheduling consultation in order to get the fines to stop. The DPWT declined<\/a>.<\/p>\n More recently, LIV CEO Scott O\u2019Neil sought some agreement after it was announced that LIV Golf would no longer pay its players fines after 2025.<\/p>\n The result was not exactly what LIV had hoped for as the DPWT went to the players directly, and apparently made deals that were not the same for all.<\/p>\n In an unusual Saturday announcement that came after a deadline to accept these terms, the DPWT said that that eight members have been granted conditional releases.<\/p>\n Tyrrell Hatton, who plays with Rahm on the same Legion XIII team, is one of the eight who agreed to the terms. The others who have signed on are Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie.<\/p>\n The deal was offered to any LIV player who is also a DPWT member. Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann, for example, failed to meet membership requirements in 2025.<\/p>\n In return, those players have agreed to settle all previous fines, drop any appeals and add additional stipulated DP World Tour events\u2014believed to be two or four\u2014to their schedules, which have required a minimum of four events.<\/p>\n That latter stipulation is apparently one of the things Rahm is balking at, according to Today\u2019s Golfer<\/a>. While Rahm has maintained all along he would not pay the fines\u2014they would actually have been taken care of by LIV Golf\u2014the event requirement is apparently tied to each specific player and might require them to play tournaments stipulated by the DPWT.<\/p>\n Rahm met the minimum last year by playing early in the year in Dubai, then the BMW PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Spanish Open. Yes, the Ryder Cup counts as one of the four. And Rahm could easily add an event in Spain. He also skipped the season-ending events in Dubai for which he was eligible.<\/p>\n The Ryder Cup, which Jon Rahm helped win for Europe last year, counts for the DP World Tour’s minimum-event requirement. | Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to feel sorry for a guy who played a grand total of 22 worldwide events and is asked to play 24.<\/p>\n \u201cThe releases apply for the 2026 season only and they are not precedent-setting,\u201d the tour said in its statement. \u201cRequests for releases will continue to be considered on their individual merits in accordance with the Regulations that all members agree to abide by.\u201d<\/p>\n That wording has raised concerns. It\u2019s only for this year? Then what? And how is this not precedent-setting?<\/p>\n The DP World Tour understandably wants and needs these players. And sponsors want them. Rahm knows this, too, and thus wonders why he is penalized. Why not waive the penalties?<\/p>\n The answer there is easy: the DPWT, like the PGA Tour, sees LIV Golf as a threat. It was not started with benevolent intentions. The idea was to secure as many of the best players as possible and its 14-event worldwide schedule was always going to make it difficult to be complementary to another tour\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n In the case of the DPWT, LIV Golf has gone into competitive markets where the DPWT currently is or once was, such as Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, the U.K. and South Africa. It is fighting back with its rules\u2014and yet still offering the chance to compete without penalty going forward.<\/p>\n Rahm has elected not to go along with that, which means next week when LIV Golf plays in Hong Kong while the DPWT is in South Africa, another fine will be added to the tab.<\/p>\n At some point, his appeal will be heard. And if he loses? Then things get really interesting.<\/p>\n \u201cI think any organization or any members’ organization like this has a right to uphold its rules and regulations,\u201d Rory McIlroy said earlier this year 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people that made the option to go to LIV knew what they were. So, I don’t see what’s wrong with that.\u201d<\/p>\n This week\u2019s PGA Tour stop shows what a compressed schedule could look like<\/p>\n So much of the talk early in the PGA Tour season is how the schedule will look in 2027 and beyond. Changes are coming, perhaps phased in over a couple of years, with the likelihood that there will be less tournaments and they will be compressed into a smaller window.<\/p>\n![\"Jon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kj5pd2pg7s46ay15y3.jpg\" "\\"Jon")
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![\"Scottie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kj5q121mfzsvz5nxhs.jpg\" "\\"Scottie")
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