Jon Rahm hopes to be on future Ryder Cup teams without paying fines. Oscar J. Barroso, Europa Press via Getty Images
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There is an argument to be made, though Bryson DeChambeau can make a strong counterclaim, that of all the players that left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf’s riches, Jon Rahm is the one who is most missed.
Not only is Rahm one of the best players of his generation, with two major championship trophies to prove it, his presence is immense. While DeChambeau has cultivated his brand online and by embracing the semi-manufactured notion that he is the people’s champion, Rahm radiates both a simmering intensity and a weighty gravitas.
Rahm and DeChambeau are as different as chocolate and vanilla. And in a supposedly revolutionary league that has not yet sparked a revolution, they are the two most important reasons that LIV Golf continues on, drip, drip, dripping away at the seemingly bottomless bottom line of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
When Rahm sent a shudder through the golf world by accepting LIV’s massive offer nearly two years ago, he had to believe his move would be the trigger to solving the PGA Tour-LIV war. Instead, it did nothing but give him generational wealth while cutting a hole in his eventual legacy.
Rahm made news recently when he announced that he won’t compete again until LIV Golf’s 2026 season begins in Saudi Arabia in February, the longest break in his professional career.
“I’ve never had three months off, but I’m looking forward to it,” Rahm told Spanish reporters after the Open de España. “Other athletes have it, and we’ll see. I’m lucky to be able to go home now, have a preseason, be a father, be with my family. And well, if I see that it’s too much, then maybe I won’t do it next year, but I’m looking forward to it.”
A true offseason – what a concept. The PGA Tour may be edging in that direction and it would be a very good thing. Give fans time to miss tournament golf.
The backdrop to Rahm’s story reaches beyond his nearly four-month sabbatical. The question of his eligibility for the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland remains unanswered and while the victorious Europeans can still hear choruses of “Olé, Olé, Olé” ringing in their ears, retaining the cup at Adare Manor is the next order of business.
It’s difficult to imagine a European Ryder Cup team without Rahm (and his buddy Tyrrell Hatton) but the event went on without Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter when they bolted for LIV. It also happened without Sergio García at Bethpage Black but, having done what was asked to be eligible, the state of Sergio’s game sidelined him.
Players who left knew what was coming (or they should have) and left anyway. It’s only right that they pay their required restitution as García did earlier this year.
At issue is Rahm’s refusal to pay the fines instituted by the DP World Tour, a tab that increases by a reported six figures every time he tees it up in a LIV event. Rahm (and Hatton) steadfastly refuses to pay those fines and LIV Golf is no longer willing to pay those fines for its players.
The DP World Tour, meanwhile, has gone to court and been victorious in defending its right to set the rules, including suspending players who have not paid their fines. Players who left knew what was coming (or they should have) and left anyway. It’s only right that they pay their required restitution as García did earlier this year.
Rahm, who played the minimum number of events to retain his DP World Tour eligibility in 2026, apparently doesn’t see it that way. He and Hatton were eligible for the Ryder Cup last month only because they have appealed their fines and – how convenient – the hearing was pushed back more than a year until after the matches so that both remained eligible.
Asked recently about the appeal process, Rahm said he “completely forgot” about it and hopes not to think about it until whenever the appeal is heard. Like that weird noise your car makes, ignoring it doesn’t mean it will go away.
At some point, barring an unlikely negotiated settlement, Rahm’s appeal will be heard and should it go against him, what then?
Rahm is at the core of Europe’s Ryder Cup brilliance. Though it’s impossible to quantify, there is an undeniable camaraderie and shared passion that pulses through the European side and, like fellow Spaniards Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal and García before him, Rahm fuels the fire.
The Ryder Cup will be played in Spain in 2031 and Rahm both wants and needs to be part of it, something he recently addressed in his home country.
“The most emotional, the most special thing has been the Ryder Cup,” Rahm said. “The only week that has a chance of matching this Ryder Cup on an emotional level will be the Spanish Ryder Cup in 2031 (at Camiral in Barcelona). It would be special, but as tough as the New York Ryder Cup was and ending up winning, I find it difficult for another week to match it.”
Rahm (center) knows the joy of hoisting the Ryder Cup. David Cannon, Getty Images
The simple solution would be for Rahm to pay what he owes – he can no doubt afford it – and move on. That, however, seems unlikely to happen.
Is he being stubborn? Probably.
Is he standing on perceived principle? That’s likely.
Will he budge? Doesn’t sound like it.
Will the DP World Tour blink and make accommodations for both Rahm and Hatton, knowing what they mean to the Ryder Cup? It would reflect weakness.
Might the appeal buck precedence and go in Rahm’s favor? Perhaps.
It seems hard to imagine – for both sides – that Rahm won’t be part of the 2027 Ryder Cup team.
The harder part may be determining how both sides can be comfortable with making sure that happens.
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