Rahm pays fines and ends standoff with DP World Tour

Jon Rahm is all but certain to tee it up in September’s Amgen Irish Open at Doonbeg after ending his standoff with the DP World Tour.

The Spaniard admitted ahead of LIV Virginia that the stalemate with the DP World Tour that would have threatened his membership status and made him ineligible for the Ryder Cup in Adare next year is now over.

“There's no longer a standoff,” Rahm said at Trump National DC. “We were able to reach an agreement.

“There was some concessions on both sides. I offered some; they extended an olive branch. Obviously, we've reached an agreement. That will not be a stress anymore.”

The DP World Tour issued a statement shortly after Rahm’s remarks.

“The DP World Tour and Jon Rahm have come to an agreement on conditional releases to play in conflicting tournaments on LIV Golf during the remainder of its 2026 season,” it said.

“This involves payment of all outstanding fines accrued from 2024 to date, along with participation in agreed DP World Tour tournaments (outside the Majors) in the remainder of the 2026 season.”

It’s understood that Rahm’s release

conditions were similar to those previously accepted by eight other LIV Golf players, including his Legion XIII teammate Tom McKibbin, who was confirmed in the field for next week’s US PGA today.

Rahm has agreed to pay fines— believed to be around $3m — incurred for breaches of the DP World Tour’s rules and additional fines for playing in three conflicting tournaments so far this season.

As a result he has received a pro-rata reduction in his obligations and will only have to play five events to keep his membership rather than six.

In March, Rahm withdrew his appeal against sanctions imposed by the DP World Tour but initially refused to accept the conditions accepted by eight LIV Golf members to play six extra events, two of which are nominated by the DP World Tour, in exchange for a conditions release.

He accused the DP World Tour of “extorting” players with their conditions, but said at the Masters that he was confident that he could reach an agreement with the DP World Tour, answering “yes” when asked if he felt confident he would be eligible for the 2027 Ryder Cup.

"I was never worried about that," Rahm said when asked about his Ryder Cup eligibility today.

"There was some things I believed in that I wanted them to agree with me, and I knew it was a matter of time. I also understand they have their bylaws and their way to go about things and they have to follow certainly procedures, and things are never as easy or as fast as you would think they would be, or at least I would have liked, but I was never worried.

"The Ryder Cup is still really, really far away, but I'm happy that hopefully I won't have to think about any worries or any predicaments come to Adare Manor then or hopefully ever.”

Rahm’s only concern when it comes to his potential DP World Tour schedule is that he and his wife, Kelley, are expecting their fourth child.

“ I want to support the DP World Tour,” he said. “There's a lot of events I want to play.

"My only concern right now, when it comes to those events in October, is the due date that we have.

“That’s the only issue I have that would make me not be at the Spanish Open. Besides that, I think they can count on my participation."

Providing he fulfils the terms of his conditional release arrangement, Rahm can reapply for membership of the DP World Tour for the 2027 season before November’s deadline.

Non-members of the DP World Tour, including those currently playing LIV Golf, also have the same option.

The agreement between the DP World Tour and Rahm comes hot on the heels of the news that Saudi Arabia’s PIF will stop funding LIV Golf at the end of this season.

Asked about his contract with LIV Golf, Rahm said: “As of right now, I have several years on my contract left, and I'm pretty sure they did a pretty good job when they drafted that. So I don't see many ways out.

"And as of right now, I'm not really thinking about it since we still have a season to play and majors to compete for.

"So it's not something I want to think about just yet.”

What lies ahead for LIV remains unknown though it seems likely that it will have to reduced purses next year.

“Was I surprised? I don’t know, it’s hard to even think about that moment,” O’Neil said about when he learned PIF would cease funding after 2026.

“So I’d rather not comment on how I actually felt, my emotion. I can tell you that it was very clear 18 months ago that for this to be a growing concern, we were going to have to make significant and substantive changes in terms of the way we do business.

“Guys, remember, when my phone rings, it never is the case that everything is going well. I am not a status quo manager. I never have been.

“Like this is what I do … so, it would be naive to be surprised, and it would be irresponsible to be thinking anything else other than how far we have to go to make sure that we can continue to grow this game around the world.”

As for the purses - currently $20 million for the individual tournament purse and $10 million for the team - he said little.

“I definitely will not be talking through specifics of the plan, but it’s a pretty—it’s a playbook that won’t surprise too many people once you see it,” O’Neil said.

“We have a good runway through this season fortunately, and it’s for next year that we’re going to be making some pretty significant, substantive changes.

“If you can piece together what I’ve said over the last six months, there won’t be too much surprise in terms of what you find.”

As for the future of top draw Bryson DeChambeau, who will soon be out of contract, he said: “You want to talk about a business partner, we’re literally talking about the future of LIV Golf, I’m talking with him about how does he see, not just the golf, but the business.

“He’s smart, he’s driven, he’s committed, and he’s a heck of a partner.”