Jon Rahm’s future is still up in the air.
The two-time main winner left LIV Golf this offseason after the tour declared chapter. For now, he’s taking part in on the DP World Tour while serving his one-year suspension from the PGA Tour for taking part in on LIV.
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But earlier this 12 months, Brooks Koepka agreed to a deal with the PGA Tour that allowed him to return immediately. He paid $5 million to charity and agreed to not obtain sponsor exemptions for Signature Events, along with several other situations.
That same deal was provided to Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith at the time, but the gamers did not agree to the offer by the set deadline. And since Rahm formally left LIV, the tour has gone silent.
He rejected the deal earlier in the 12 months, and Rahm has now said whether he’d take Koepka’s deal if it was provided to him as we speak.
Jon Rahm admits he’d take Brooks Koepka’s deal to return to the PGA Tour
Rahm has returned to the DP World Tour after taking a break for the beginning of his baby. That means this week’s Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship is the first alternative the media have had to ask the Spaniard about his choice to depart LIV.
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And when requested why he left LIV Golf this offseason, Rahm responded, “I would say I can only reflect on those three years as a positive. It was a wonderful experience. Played a lot of good golf. Obviously, individually and as a team, we did great.
“And then, you said why I rejected the phrases? As much as I preferred the project and the concept on, let’s say, LIV 1.0, I wasn’t thrilled with the modifications they were doing to 2.0 and I just wasn’t prepared to observe that path, proper. It wasn’t anything particular, anything that stood out. I just, yeah, I did not like what they were going with 2.0.”
He continued, “Too many unknowns at the time and there are still fairly a few. It appeared like it was going away from crew golf and some of the issues that made LIV, LIV. It just grew to become more of a common tour. So yeah, it wasn’t actually ever much of a consideration to be trustworthy.”
So what next for Rahm? He said he’s eyeing a PGA Tour return, but he hasn’t had a conversation with the tour yet.
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He said, “As of proper now, I actually do not know what 2027 is going to look like for me, proper.
So I have yet to have a dialogue with the PGA Tour to see if there’s any path back for next 12 months. So I do not know, as of proper now.
“Until I get clarity on that, yeah, my plan would be to spend the year on the DP World Tour, and I’m looking forward to it. Currently looking at the schedule to see how I can organise it to play the events I want to play. You know, maybe have a chance to have a bit of a different year to what I have in the past.
“But I have not actually gone too deeply into it just because there’s still a query mark, proper. Obviously, Brooks was ready to go back through certain circumstances. I do not know if the chance of that would be open for me or not, but if I have to fulfill a one-year suspension,
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“I think it’s a pretty good position to be that a worst-case scenario I get to play on a wonderful tour for a whole year. I will be supporting the Tour, for sure, and even if I get to go and play PGA Tour events, I’ll still play European Tour events, as well. I’ll play some events that I want to play like I’ve done in the past and maybe a few more.”
Rahm was then requested to make clear whether he’d take the deal that was provided to Koepka, and he replied, “Most likely, yeah. Why not? Yeah, but it’s a big if. I seriously doubt I get offered the same deal that Brooks did. But yeah, if I got offered exactly the same penalties as him, I probably would do it, yes.”
PGA Tour boss said there are no plans to enable Jon Rahm to return
While Rahm is holding out hope for a PGA Tour return in 2027, CEO Brian Rolapp could not have been much clearer. Speaking in September, he said there are no plans to offer him, or any other LIV participant, the same deal Koepka was provided.
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Rolapp said, “As I said a few weeks ago in Atlanta, there are really three things when it comes to anyone who wants to compete on the PGA Tour.
“One, the PGA Tour is constructed on meritocracy. Every participant, whether they are a member or need to become one, must earn their place.
“Two, we are a membership organisation; we have rules, and those rules exist for lots of reasons, including fairness and competitive balance. Rules matter, and they must be enforced.
“Which brings me to quantity three, accountability and self-discipline. These are important components for any sports activities league and are definitely [essential] for the integrity of the PGA Tour and the sport.
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“It’s what holds the Tour together. Those are guiding principles for us. In terms of where we are today, we are not currently contemplating a returning-member programme like the one you saw in January.”
Rolapp said at the time that Koepka’s deal was a one-time offer, and he’s sticking to his phrase. Rahm may remorse not snatching the alternative to return when it was provided to him.
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