We’ve all been wondering how Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau will punch their return ticket to the PGA Tour. Well now we know…
Always read the small print – especially when the ongoing battle for star power between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is concerned.
Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau have taken rather different approaches to the demise of what we now know as “LIV 1.0”. Rahm, the most successful player in the league’s short history from a financial perspective, prefers to stay out of the politics, while DeChambeau has never been one to shy away from sharing his opinion with anyone who will listen.
What is clear, though, is that both players want to play on the PGA Tour again. And now it looks like they will have that opportunity.
A small but significant inclusion in the PGA Tour’s lengthy explanation about how its new Championship and Challenger Series will work has caught the eye.
After all the talk of promotion and relegation between the tiers, and who will be allowed to play when and where, was a note about “transition-year eligibility”. And it’s this paragraph that LIV Golf’s two biggest stars will find particularly interesting.
Under the subheading “Tournament Winners”, the criteria explains that any PGA Tour exemptions “earned by the conclusion of the 2026 season will be honored through the duration of its term on the PGA Tour Championship Series”.
With major champions earning a five-year PGA Tour exemption, this means that Rahm, thanks to his 2023 Masters victory, will be eligible to play on the Championship Series in its inaugural year, while DeChambeau’s 2024 US Open win will see him through to 2029.
But, of course, there is a catch.
While new PGA Tour commissioner Brian Rolapp was happy to create a rather contrived route back for Brooks Koepka at the beginning of this year, he has little interest in rolling out the red carpet for any other LIV players.
“In terms of where we are today, we are not currently contemplating a returning-member program like the one you saw in January,” Rolapp told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday.
“Everyone at the PGA Tour, myself included, has been focused on what is best for the organization. The items approved by the boards yesterday are part of the progression in building the optimal competitive model for the future. So it was really with a broader lens of how do we build the best tour. It was not really looked at specifically on any one particular – on LIV or any other consideration. So that’s generally how we thought about it.”
Which is a long way of saying that, if Rahm and DeChambeau do want to return to the PGA Tour in 2028, they must serve the one-year bans that have been imposed on anyone playing in a LIV Golf event.
That means no involvement in the new-look “LIV 2.0”, which league officials have claimed will begin early next year. Should neither player tee up in a LIV event again, their suspensions will end on August 23, 2027, one year on from the conclusion of LIV Golf Indianapolis and LIV Golf as we know it.
So what does that mean for any other LIV Golf players looking to find their way back to the PGA Tour? Well, they will need to just earn it like anyone else.
“There are really three things when it comes to anyone who wants to compete on the PGA Tour,” Rolapp explained. “One, the PGA Tour is built on meritocracy. Every player, whether they are a member or want to become one, must earn their place.
“Two, we are a membership organization. We have rules, and those rules exist for lots of reasons, including fairness and competitive balance. Rules matter, and they must be enforced.
“Which brings me to number three, accountability and discipline. These are essential elements for any sports league and are certainly for the integrity of the PGA Tour and the sport. It’s what holds the Tour together. Those are guiding principles for us.”