Rahm Would Pay a Million-Dollar Fine for a PGA Tour Comeback — Has Doubts About the Offer

Jon Rahm would be willing to pay the same million-dollar fines as Brooks Koepka to return to the PGA Tour—but the Spaniard doesn’t expect to be offered that option.

Two-time major champion Jon Rahm stated at the Abu Dhabi Championship at Yas Links that he would accept the terms under which Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour in January 2026. Koepka had to donate $5 million to charity and forgo payments that the PGA Tour estimates to be worth between $50 million and $85 million. Rahm says he has not yet spoken with the PGA Tour. Until the situation is clarified, he plans to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027. In Abu Dhabi, where the tournament will be held from November 5–8, he will make his first appearance since leaving LIV Golf.

Rahm on the Koepka deal: “Absolutely”—but he has doubts about the offer

When asked if he would accept a deal like Koepka’s, Rahm replied succinctly: “Absolutely.” Later, he qualified his answer: “Most likely, yes. Why not? But it’s a big ‘if.’ I seriously doubt I’d be offered the same deal as Brooks.”

The Spaniard can’t say right now what his season will look like. “I really don’t know what 2027 will look like for me,” Rahm said in Abu Dhabi. Even a suspension doesn’t deter him: “If I have to serve a one-year suspension, I think that’s a pretty good starting point.” Even if he were to play PGA Tour events again, he says he intends to continue competing on the European Tour.

Rahm looks back on his time with LIV without any hard feelings. “I can only view those three years as positive,” he said. “It was a wonderful experience. I played a lot of good golf. Both individually and as a team, we achieved great things.” Nevertheless, he didn’t want to follow the LIV 2.0 model: “As much as I liked the project and the idea behind LIV 1.0, I wasn’t enthusiastic about the changes in 2.0, and I simply wasn’t ready to go down that path.” The new model no longer offered anything special: “There were too many unanswered questions back then, and there still are some. It seemed to be moving away from team golf and the things that made LIV what it was. It was just becoming more of a run-of-the-mill Tour.” LIV 2.0 was therefore never a serious option for him.

Rahm joined LIV at the end of 2023 as its biggest new signing—reportedly for around $300 million. Over three years, he competed in 38 tournaments as captain of his team, Legion XIII, winning four times and finishing in the top ten 33 times; he is said to have earned more than $100 million in prize money alone. By turning down LIV 2.0, he also forfeited the rumored $100 million that the league allegedly still owed him. He has no regrets about this. In the settlement agreement reached on October 15, Rahm secured the rights to his name, image, and likeness (NIL) and, in exchange, dropped his remaining financial claims against the league.

What Brooks Koepka Paid for His Return

Brooks Koepka, a five-time major champion and 35 years old at the time, returned to the PGA Tour on January 12, 2026, through the so-called Returning Member Program —according to the AP news agency, about five weeks after his departure from LIV. The conditions were tough: a mandatory donation of $5 million, no allocations from the Player Equity Program for the years 2026 through 2030, no share of the 2026 FedEx Cup bonus pool, and no sponsor invitations to the Signature Events, which carry a $20 million purse. According to the AP, the estimate of $50 million to $85 million in lost value is based on the assumption that Koepka will finish among the top 30 on average over five years and retain his shares until age 50.

Koepka himself accepted the penalty openly. “I’m grateful that it turned out this way,” he said in a phone interview on the day of his return. “It’s a harsh penalty, financially.” It was meant to hurt—and it has “hurt a lot of people.” Thanks to his victory at the 2023 PGA Championship, Koepka is eligible to play through 2028; he was added to the fields without taking a spot away from other players.

The program applied only to players who had won a major or The Players Championship between 2022 and 2025. Aside from Koepka, the only other LIV pros to meet that criterion were Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, and Rahm. The path was therefore also open to Rahm at the time thanks to his 2023 Masters victory, but he declined. In the end, only Koepka returned, as he was the only one of the four to get out of his LIV contract. The model had been approved by a committee with a player majority, led by Tiger Woods.

Patrick Reed provides an example of the path that Rahm is now likely to face. The 2018 Masters champion served a one-year PGA Tour suspension that ended in August 2026; in the meantime, he played on the DP World Tour and will return to the PGA Tour in 2027. If Rahm competes only in Europe in 2027, a return to the PGA Tour would not be possible until 2028 at the earliest. Thanks to his 2023 Masters victory, he would then be eligible for the Tour’s new “Championship Series,” which is set to launch a two-tier competition format in 2028.

Why the door to the PGA Tour seems closed

Brian Rolapp, CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises, had already made it clear back in January that this was an exception. “This is a one-time, clearly defined window of opportunity and does not set a precedent for future situations,” he wrote in a memo to the players. “Once the door closes, there is no guarantee that this path will reopen.” On September 15, 2026, Rolapp reiterated that the Returning Member Program would not be reopened and that there were no discussions with LIV players under LIV contracts.

For Rahm, the situation has since changed. In April 2026, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) reportedly confirmed that it was halting funding for LIV. In August, the league ended its season early and canceled the Team Championship in Michigan. “By wrapping up the season now, we can focus all our resources on what’s next,” said LIV CEO Scott O’Neil in August 2026. On October 7, Rahm’s attorney, John Beck, informed the U.S. bankruptcy court that Rahm would not play for LIV in 2027, stating that the terms were “unacceptable.” Sergio Garcia had previously filed a similar motion in court; Thomas Pieters and Charles Howell III are also leaving LIV and plan to join the DP World Tour in 2027.

If a 12-month suspension were calculated from the date of Rahm’s last LIV tournament, it would reportedly run through the end of August 2027—which would rule him out of the 2027 FedEx Cup season.

DP World Tour and the Ryder Cup: Jon Rahm’s Plan for 2027

The DP World Tour is the obvious path for Rahm—and it comes with clear rules. As greenfeed.news reported, starting in 2027, the Tour will no longer grant conditional exemptions to LIV players. Members must disclose which Tours they are playing on; anyone who deviates from this risks losing their membership. The deadline to commit to LIV 2.0 expired on October 25. Rahm, Hatton, and Tom McKibbin hold playing privileges on the DP World Tour, but Niemann does not.

DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings made the stance clear to BBC Sport: “Players must make a decision.” He continued: “We have rules and regulations that protect our Tour, and all our members must adhere to them. Players who are not willing to abide by our rules and regulations should not attempt to join our Tour.”

For Rahm, this also affects the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, as membership on the DP World Tour is a prerequisite for a spot on the European team.

Upcoming Events for Jon Rahm

The Abu Dhabi Championship begins on November 5 at Yas Links, with $9 million in prize money up for grabs. For Rahm, there is more at stake than just winning the tournament: He currently ranks 51st in the Race to Dubai standings and must move into the top 50 to qualify for the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, the season finale reserved for the top 50. On the same day, another hearing is scheduled in U.S. bankruptcy court regarding the amicable separation between Rahm and LIV. The deadline for membership applications with the DP World Tour is November 16. The Ryder Cup at Adare Manor will take place from September 17 to 19, 2027.