\t\t\t\tRegardless of LIV Golf\u2019s fate with world ranking points, Jon Rahm wants to see a new major pathway for the league\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be honest,\u201d Jon Rahm begins. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been perfect all around, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Spaniard has not hit a competitive golf ball since early last October and is reflecting on what has been the longest break of his professional career. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been some days where I wake up, and my body is so used to having [only] four\u00a0to seven weeks off, where I wake up in early December and be like, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019m starting\u00a0tomorrow!\u2019 And then I\u2019m like, \u2018No, not yet.\u2019 So getting adjusted to that has been tricky, just understanding the timing and the process.\u00a0But I\u2019ve been able to work on some things that I haven\u2019t in the past \u2013 the main aspect\u00a0being family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahm, talking to TG ahead of LIV Golf\u2019s 2026 season-opener under the lights in Riyadh, has three young children with wife Kelley at home in Arizona. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a significant difference with my relationship with my kids, just being\u00a0home,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u201cAnd actually, early on, taking time off of golf and being able to be dad, it\u2019s been absolutely\u00a0fantastic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo in that sense, it\u2019s been wonderful. I think I said it in October, we\u2019ll see if I\u2019ll do it again or not.\u00a0But I can see myself at least taking two off or more months in the future.\u00a0\u201cI think once you get going again, it\u2019s more of the same, right?\u00a0You don\u2019t forget.\u201d<\/p>\n
By his own dizzying standards, Rahm\u2019s 2025 was steady if unspectacular. He won LIV\u2019s season-long Individual Championship \u2013 owing to 12 top-10 finishes in 13 starts \u2013 but, for the first time in his professional career, he went the entire season without a tournament win.<\/p>\n
The euphoria of Ryder Cup glory at Bethpage at least sated Rahm\u2019s craving for the winning feeling. \u201cWe won it as a team,\u201d he says. \u201cI was very close individually many times, won the Ryder Cup. So in essence, in a weird way, I feel like a very, very accomplished player at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can see how easily you can maybe criticize that aspect of a year, but there\u2019s so many\u00a0other ways where it\u2019s been fantastic that I still finish the year thinking, OK, it\u2019s\u00a0been wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is unclear at this stage, though, if Rahm\u2019s upcoming season will end as abruptly as his last. <\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily, with having DP World Tour events and things like that, if I don\u2019t 100% love the way I feel next year, I can always play the events in November\u00a0and there\u2019s even some events in December and January that I could play if I needed to so I\u2019m not overly concerned.\u00a0I feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, Rahm remains a DP World Tour member as he awaits his appeal into penalties imposed on him for playing in conflicting LIV events. He has racked up $3million in fines since joining LIV in 2024. <\/p>\n
Despite a blunt challenge from Rory McIlroy<\/a> to prove his dedication to the Ryder Cup and remain eligible for Team Europe, Rahm has not indicated he is willing to settle his sanctions before an unknown court date. He was asked for an update on the fines situation in Riyadh.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what the negotiations look like,\u201d Rahm says. \u201cObviously they\u2019re going to players individually to make different deals.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what it may be or what it\u2019s going to look like but I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n TG understands that these negotiations with individual players are at an early stage and that a deal to drop fines completely for LIV players competing on the DP World Tour is not imminent. <\/p>\n So uncertainty still surrounds Rahm\u2019s future in the European game, but we do at least know that his immediate future is with LIV Golf. Rahm has not decided not to follow Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed out of the exit door and back on to the PGA Tour. That\u2019s despite the olive branch offered to him via the rival circuit\u2019s new hastily-arranged Returning Members Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not planning on going anywhere,\u201d Rahm said during last month\u2019s LIV media event in Florida. <\/p>\n Despite the fervent speculation during this offseason, Rahm has been focusing on his first event as Legion XIII captain and says the league\u2019s move to 72 holes is \u201cabsolutely massive\u201d.<\/p>\n There have been conflicting views from the other high-profile LIV players<\/a>, but Rahm has lobbied for the league to mirror the established tours by moving to the more traditional format. He is also encouraged by changes made to the relegation zone and new points<\/a> system.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I joined, it was very, very early on and it was a rough product,\u201d he explains.\u00a0\u201cIf you go tournament per tournament, compared to the big tours where they have 40 plus events\u00a0a year, we\u2019ve had three seasons of 14 and one of eight. Basically a season and a half in compared to the PGA Tour, and the DP World Tour.\u00a0So take it like that, they\u2019re making a lot of strides.\u201d<\/p>\n It is widely recognized that LIV\u2019s controversial move away from its 54-hole founding principle<\/a> came as part of a wider effort to finally claim Official World Golf Ranking points. Yet on the eve of its season-opener, the league is still waiting for an answer from the OWGR board.<\/p>\n \u201cI know LIV submitted the final application,\u201d Rahm says.\u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t say how long it\u2019ll take or not, I have no idea.\u00a0But I\u2019m hopeful we\u2019re going to be able to start earning points through LIV.\u201d<\/p>\n Rahm, however, is also in favour of a separate pathway to majors for LIV\u2019s best performing players. <\/p>\n \u201cHopefully [LIV] get recognized through majors as well and get a direct pathway,\u201d he says. \u201cThat would be obviously fantastic for the league.\u00a0And I think it would be fair to the players that are here to have a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n