The Spaniard’s decision puts his eligibility for the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland in jeopardy, pending his appeal against previous fines for playing in the Saudi Arabia-funded competition without a conflicting clearance from the event.
The DP World Tour said on Saturday that eight LIV players, including four-time Ryder Cup player Tyrrell Hatton, have agreed to the terms. The others are Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie. Everyone except Smylie, who is from Australia, is eligible for the Ryder Cup.
Rahm’s former manager, Jeff Koski, who is now general manager of his Legion XIII team at LIV, did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.
The tour said paroles have been granted to these eight players to compete in the LIV Golf League in 2026 because they agreed to pay all outstanding fines for not receiving releases, to play in tour-designated events and to drop any pending appeals.
The deal was not offered to Sergio Garcia and others because they canceled their membership.
The conditions were specific to each of the eight players, although players were required to participate in more than the bare minimum to maintain European tour membership. They would also be involved in media and promotional activities.
Rahm is optimistic about not paying fines for playing LIV without a European tour release. He has appealed against the fines, a case that has not yet been heard. That allowed him to play for Bethpage Black in the Ryder Cup that Europe won last year.
An arbitration panel in the United Kingdom, Sports Resolution, ruled in April 2023 that the tour had the right to sanction players as a membership organization. If the panel rules in the tour’s favor again, Rahm will have to pay his fines or lose his membership, which would keep him out of next year’s Ryder Cup team.
Rahm was the reigning Masters champion when he left for LIV Golf for the 2024 season, at a time when the PGA Tour and European tour were negotiating with the Saudi wealth fund that provides the financial muscle for the rival league. Those negotiations failed and the tours are now going their separate ways.
Rahm has played six times on the European tour in the past two years, three of which were in Spain. He said ahead of the 2024 Spanish Open: “I am not a fan of the fines and have no intention of paying them.”
Rory McIlroy said in Dubai earlier this year about the outstanding fines for Rahm and Hatton: “We have been very tough on the Americans to get paid to play the Ryder Cup, and we also said we would pay to play in the Ryder Cups. There are two guys who can prove it.”
The position of the European tour is for these players to compete in additional tournaments, which would ultimately add value, although Rahm and Hatton as Ryder Cup veterans would provide the biggest boost to some fields. Rahm is a former world number 1 with major victories at the Masters and US Open.
The tour stated that Hatton and the other seven players would not face sanctions and would retain their membership for the remainder of 2026 if they adhered to the terms.
“The releases apply only to the 2026 season and do not set a precedent,” the tour said in a statement. “Release requests will be considered on their individual merits in accordance with the rules that all members must adhere to.”
The PGA Tour, which has an alliance with the European tour, recently created a “returning members” program when Brooks Koepka returned to LIV Golf after four years. It was offered to players who had won majors since LIV Golf launched in 2022: Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith. They chose to stay with LIV.
Meanwhile, former Masters champion Patrick Reed has opted not to renew his deal with LIV and is playing a European tour schedule. With two victories already, he is almost certain to participate on the PGA Tour next year.
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