Jon Rahm reaches key deal to retain Ryder Cup status

The golf world keeps providing reminders that a lot can change in just a few weeks. The latest change? Jon Rahm’s status with the DP World Tour is, importantly, the Ryder Cup’s owner.

After many months, when Rahm was one of the only LIV players from Europe who did not reach an agreement to pay a fine for the European tour, the two sides have reached an agreement. Rahm will play five DPWT events this season and will pay a penalty for three LIV events played in 2026 that conflicted with the DPWT schedule.

As a result, he is now considered a “member in good standing” and will have no impact on his Ryder Cup status before 2027, which has been a growing concern.

“There’s no more tension,” Rahm said at this week’s LIV event in Virginia. “We were able to reach an agreement. There was consent from both sides. I promised; they extended an olive branch. Obviously we have reached an agreement. That will no longer be a pressure.”

While he didn’t want to share details Tuesday, Rahm has been teasing his hopes for 2026 for the past few months. He apparently told DPWT at the start of the season that if the tour dropped the proposed minimum of four events, he would sign on the spot. He’s held firm on that point for months, but now he’s about to play five events. The four events he was ready to sign in the past months were the Spanish Open, the Irish Open, the BMW PGA Championship and the Dunhill Links – all taking place over five weeks in the autumn. Looks like you’ve added one more to that list.

As he previously explained, the issue wasn’t just the events, however – Rahm didn’t want to pay the fines, especially for an event that clashed with the DPWT tournaments he never thought he’d play in the first place. (Think: the Hainan Classic, played in China while LIV was in Johannesburg.) While he won’t be paying the full fine accrued since his LIV career began in early 2024, he will be paying three tournaments, potentially $375,000. LIV was in a position to pay the fines received by Rahm in 2025.

Rahm’s Ryder Cup status was in doubt because to compete in 2027, all players and captains need to be members of the DPWT. To start 2027 as a member, he will have to be a member in “good standing” in 2026 and play the required minimum events. The golf world has come to understand these smaller event sizes, with Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton hitting the minimum in 2024 to compete in 2025.

That smooth ride to the Ryder Cup changed in 2026 when LIV Golf stopped paying players fines. Suddenly the penalty players find themselves hitting their pockets. Hatton was among eight players who entered into an agreement with DPWT, playing a certain number of DPWT events (complete with the LIV schedule) and settling any fines as part of a conditional release of their media rights. That means they can continue to play LIV events and not incur additional penalties, as long as they show up where they agreed to with the DPWT. Some players agreed to play eight events, some seven and some six. Rahm battled the DPWT for months over the issue and appeared ready to move on next season, risking his place on next year’s European Ryder Cup team.

Then the scene changed again. LIV Golf’s owner, the Saudi PIF, has announced that it will no longer sponsor the league after the 2026 season, casting doubt on the league’s prospects. It’s not clear how this affected Rahm’s decision, but it would have felt strange for Rahm to miss the 2027 Ryder Cup because of a league with an uncertain future. As for his imagined future with LIV, who already has a multi-year contract?

“I will say that I’m not a lawyer either. I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you. I have very few skills in my life, and learning contract or business are not two,” said Rahm. “Right now, I still have a couple of years left on my contract, and I’m sure they did a great job when they wrote that. So I don’t see a lot of ways out, and right now, I’m not really thinking about it since we still have a season to play and the majors to compete in. So it’s not something I want to think about right now.”

The questions are still there. But Rahm’s Ryder Cup future appears to be settled – as the rest of the golf world waits for more answers.