Jon Rahm’s simmering battle with the DP World Tour doesn’t seem likely to end any time soon.
In his first remarks since eight of his LIV colleagues accepted a deal with the DP World Tour to get back in good standing with the organization, Rahm has doubled down on his refusal to agree to the terms that were offered, suggesting that the DP World Tour is “extorting” players who wish to return.
Speaking in advance of the LIV Hong Kong event on Tuesday, Rahm struck a defiant tone as he explained his decision to reject an offer that would allow him to play LIV events without penalty if he agreed to three conditions:
Pay the fines he has accumulated (reportedly more than $2 million); play a minimum of six DP World Tour events including two mandated by the tour; and drop all pending appeals against the tour.
It is the deal that Tyrrell Hatton, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie agreed to last month with Rahm the remaining holdout.
While Rahm argued that his decision is based on principle, it’s easy to cast him as stubborn, entitled and hypocritical. A point of contention – he doesn’t believe he should be required to play six DP World Tour events rather than the four he intends to play – runs head-on into his contractual obligation to play all 14 LIV events each year.
“I don’t like what they’re doing currently with the contract they’re having us sign. I don’t like the conditions. They’re asking me to play a minimum of six events, and they dictate where two of those have to be, amongst other things that I don’t agree with,” Rahm said.
“I just don’t like the situation. I think we should be able to freely play where we want and have the choice to play where we want and not be dictated what we do. Especially myself. I can’t speak for others; only myself.”
And yet, Rahm’s reported nine-figure deal with LIV Golf mandates he play in every league event.
“I don’t know what game they’re trying to play right now, but it just seems like in a way … they’re using our impact in tournaments and fining us and trying to benefit both ways from what we have to offer, and it’s just in a way they’re extorting players like myself and young players that have nothing to do with the politics of the game.” – Jon Rahm
Both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour require members to play a minimum number of events each year to maintain their eligibility. It’s 15 events on the PGA Tour but the DP World Tour requires just four appearances from Rahm, who met that threshold last year and played on the 2025 Ryder Cup team while he (and Hatton) were appealing their unpaid fines accumulated while playing LIV events.
Rahm intends to play four events this year, he said, but by not accepting the DP World Tour’s offer, his eligibility for the 2027 European Ryder Cup team comes into question.
Unless Rahm wins his appeal (there is no timetable for a decision), it is conceivable he could be left off the European team in Ireland next year, though it seems inevitable that an agreement of some sort will be reached for him to play at Adare Manor.
Rahm made it clear in Hong Kong he will not be told by the DP World Tour where he must play.
“I don’t know what game they’re trying to play right now, but it just seems like in a way … they’re using our impact in tournaments and fining us and trying to benefit both ways from what we have to offer, and it’s just in a way they’re extorting players like myself and young players that have nothing to do with the politics of the game.
“So I don’t like the situation and I’m not going to agree to that,” Rahm said.
If the DP World Tour would drop the number of tournament appearances from six to four for LIV players, Rahm said he told the tour, “I’ll sign tonight. They haven’t agreed to that. I just refuse to play six events. I don’t want to, and that’s not what the rules say.”
Rahm has been adamant that he should not have to pay the fines he has accrued by violating the DP World Tour’s conflicting-event guidelines and it threw his eligibility for last year’s Ryder Cup into question. While Rory McIlroy, in a sharp retort to the American players being paid to play in the event, said European players would pay to play the Ryder Cup, Rahm has so far not paid his fines (Hatton paid his as part of his agreement).
“I respect Tyrrell’s decision. That’s all I have to say. He’s free to make his own choice, and I fully respect it,” Rahm said.
While Rahm believes in the position he is taking, it has likely damaged his image among golf fans. He made a lucrative choice in December 2023, perhaps believing his defection from the PGA Tour would lead to an agreement between LIV and the tour but that now seems more unlikely than before.
It appears he wants the DP World Tour to bend to his wishes though it was his decision to jump to LIV that precipitated the problem.