The saga of Jon Rahm has been an interesting ying / yang. The two-time major winner initially had been adamant on staying with the PGA Tour — in February 2022, when LIV Golf was being discussed as an actual Saudi-back golf league — Rahm stated emphatically his allegiance — “I am officially declaring my fealty to the PGA Tour.”
Then in June of that same year Rahm double-downed by saying — “Shotgun three days to me is not a golf tournament, no cut. It’s that simple.” He amplified his feelings by saying he played golf for a permanent legacy and that securing $400 million would not change his lifestyle.
Such comments put forward a clear line in the sand.
Then just as suddenly, like anything based on sand, the Spaniard flipped the script. In December 2023 by becoming the highest paid signee for LIV Golf at a reported $350 million. So much for his angst about 54-hole events with no cuts.
To be fair, Rahm was not the only PGA Tour member to say one thing and then do another.
But the unequivocal statement by Rahm clearly raised the attention of key stakeholders throughout the sport.
Rahm has not won a major since joining LIV Golf. He has had three top ten finishes out of eight events played since 2024. And the storyline has shifted to what his chief rivals Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are doing.
Fines were levied by the DP World Tour against Rahm for not complying with terms they had said were needed by Rahm to resume playing in their events. Like his bullish comments about not leaving the PGA Tour, the Spaniard was just as strident that he would not be paying one cent to anyone.
Rahm’s actions jeopardized his standing to be a member of the 2027 European team at Adare Manor. And his stubbornness to resolve the matter was not supported by team captain Luke Donald and McIlroy.
The time clock was ticking and Rahm had to know that the DP World Tour was not going to change its position. Adding to his leverage position was the recently announced statement by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) fund that it would no longer be bankrolling the fledging operation.
With all those developments Rahm opted to make a statement to media Tuesday before the start of the LIV Golf Virginia in the Washington, D.C. area that a settlement with the DP World Tour event had taken place.
The DP World Tour released a statement Tuesday, stating: “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. 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.”
Rahm was quick to point out that both sides had compromised but the statement from the DP World Tour clearly made it known that the key points they had proposed were followed.
Rahm realized that by keeping the matter alive he was not helping his position from both a solo perspective and with those within the Euro team community. In short, Donald was not flinching in stating that Rahm would be missed if he opted to remain outside from doing what other European LIV golf members had done with the DP World Tour.
Now the bigger issue left unresolved is whether Rahm seeks to return to the PGA Tour. He made the decision to leave and given the settlement Brooks Koepka made it’s unlikely Rahm will return without doing some sort of financial penance.
LIV Golf bankrolled an effort to the tune of $5 billion and now that the party is coming to a likely end, it falls on the top defectors to see clearly what’s written on the wall is not going to be removed.
Sports groups function by one central word — leverage. Rahm and his LIV Golf cohorts thought they could eat their financial cake and do whatever they wish to do. The reality of today’s golf world has flipped the script with such leverage no longer present.
What started with a Spanish bull snorting his nostrils now ends with a sheep-like baa.
