The DP World Tour has finally taken a significant step towards resolving its protracted disagreement with LIV Golf. When the Saudi-backed league LIV Golf was formed in 2022, many European Tour golfers made the transition to the multimillion-dollar circuit. At the time, the DPWT fined all players who, although being members of their tour, jumped to LIV to withdraw from circuit competitions.
Interestingly, most golfers, including Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, opposed these penalties and fines, arguing they had done nothing wrong. As a settlement, the DP World Tour offered the LIV golfers a small arrangement in which they could pay their fines while remaining members of the tour in the future, and still playing on LIV Golf. DPWT reported on this in an official statement, revealing the names of the LIV players who accepted the settlement offer.
Golf.com also reported about these 8 golfers in an X post, which read,
“8 LIV golfers have agreed to a deal with the DP World Tour. Jon Rahm was NOT among them. The DP World Tour granted conditional released to the following players: • Laurie Canter • Thomas Detry • Tyrrell Hatton • Tom McKibbin • Adrian Meronk • Victor Perez • David Puig • Elvis Smylie”
A small part of the statement by DP World Tour for LIV Golfers read,
“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.”
Interestingly, while many golfers have accepted the settlement accord with the DP World Tour, Spanish golfer Jon Rahm has not joined the tour as it has been speculated that he stood firm to believe that no fines should be paid.
LIV golfer Jon Rahm’s future with DPWT is questionable with this announcement
Jon Rahm is undeniably one of the European Tour’s biggest names, but there has been a lot of back and forth between the two parties in recent years. The DPWT has issued a total of whopping $3 million in fines on Rahm for making the jump to LIV Golf, which Rahm has refused to pay, claiming that he never did anything wrong, and the golfer even filed a lawsuit against the circuit for the same.
There were numerous reports that Rahm would join DPWT for this settlement deal, but he ultimately rejected it. Until now, he was permitted to compete in four European Tour tournaments per season, but this has become dubious in the future. While neither party has provided any information, several reports suggest that Rahm’s future in the Ryder Cup is also uncertain.
The LIV golfer was an important member of Team Europe during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, and his contribution helped the team to a convincing away victory. Rahm’s last DP World Tour tournament was the 2025 Spanish Open, where he performed magnificently and finished ninth with a total score of 10 under par.
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