The DP World Tour has drawn a clear line ahead of the 2026 season, putting Jon Rahm’s future in jeopardy. They have granted conditional releases to eight members to compete in LIV Golf events, but it looks like the two-time Ryder Cup champion Jon Rahm hasn’t made it into the list.

Eight LIV players, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig, and Elvis Smylie, have signed this agreement to secure releases for the 2026 season, per Flushing It on X.

An official statement has been sent to the LIV Golf stars from the DP World Tour, which reads, “The conditions these members have accepted will provide additional value to the DP World Tour and benefit to the entire membership. Provided each member satisfies the conditions of their individual releases, no disciplinary action under the Regulations will be taken against them for playing in conflicting tournaments on LIV Golf in 2026, and they will retain their membership status.”

The approved group has agreed to pay outstanding fines, withdraw pending appeals, and also commit to additional DP World Tour appearances and promotional duties. Thus, they are now among the players who can avoid further disciplinary action and retain eligibility under tour regulations for 2026. However, Rahm’s situation is different.

The Spaniard has previously stated he has no intention of paying fines to the DP World Tour linked to LIV appearances without permission. While he has already been struggling with the fallout from this decision, the same stance has now put more than just his tour membership in trouble.

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With the 2027 Ryder Cup set for Adare Manor in Ireland, questions are intensifying. Already, for the 2025 Ryder Cup, Rahm got a green light to be a part of Team Europe after a persistent legal standoff regarding his eligibility. Rahm played the 2025 Ryder Cup under a pending appeal; he has now accrued approximately $3 million in fines. But now, rejecting the 2026 settlement, he remains in default and faces potential suspension, leaving him ineligible for future Ryder Cup selection.

Just a few days ago, Rahm highly praised the DP World Tour’s initiative to address and resolve the issue. But now, as it appears, he was indeed not aware of what the administration was cooking.

Jon Rahm is unaware of the DP World Tour’s LIV negotiations twist

The DP World Tour had reportedly been working on a solution for the LIV Golf players. While Jon Rahm was not sure about the initiative taken by the DP World Tour, he was happy about the matter. Rahm shared his take on the matter at the press meet of the season-opening event of the Saudi-backed league at LIV Golf Riyadh.

Rahm reflected on the issue and said, “I personally would say I don’t know too much about the matter. Obviously, I think at first, managers are going to be taking care of that early on.”

The Spanish golfer further added, “I don’t know what the negotiations look like. Obviously, they’re going to players individually to make different deals. I don’t know what it may be or what it’s going to look like, but I’m happy to see that looking for a path forward for LIV players to be able to play on both tours and not to get penalized.”

Since the inception of the PIF-backed LIV Golf, the DP World Tour has been penalizing its athletes. Rahm, who has declined to pay his fine, repeatedly competed in LIV events without the releases being issued from the DP World Tour. Rahm has consistently stated he has “no intention” of paying the fines, arguing they are unfair because they apply to events he would not have played even if he hadn’t joined LIV. Now, as the whole narrative takes a new turn, only time can reveal what the future holds for Rahm and his eligibility in the Ryder Cup.