The DP World Tour announced Saturday morning that it will allow eight of its members to compete in conflicting LIV Golf events in 2026.
Tyrell Hatton, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie agreed to a conditional release that allows them to remain members of the DP World Tour while competing on LIV as long as they pay any outstanding fines, withdraw any pending appeals they had against the Tour and participate in more stipulated Tour events and promotions. Two-time major champion and former World No. 1 Jon Rahm was not among the players listed.
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“The conditions these members have accepted will provide additional value to the DP World Tour and benefit to the entire membership,” the Tour said in a statement Saturday. “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.”
Jon Rahm of Spain reacts on the 18th green on day four of the Open de Espana presented by Madrid 2025 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid on October 12, 2025 in Madrid, Spain.
DP World Tour members competing on LIV Golf are in violation of the Tour’s conflicting events policy, which requires a release to play elsewhere. In 2022, the Tour began fining members who competed in LIV Golf events and in 2023, it won a U.K. arbitration case that allows it to enforce said penalties.
For the first few years, LIV was footing that bill for its players as a way to attract and retain talent, but last July the league announced it would stop doing that. The development was critical due to the fact that a DP World Tour membership is a requirement to make the European Ryder Cup team.
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Rahm and Hatton had been appealing the fines, allowing them to continue competing on the DP World Tour and play in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. While Hatton is listed as having agreed to the conditional release proposed by the Tour, it appears Rahm is still holding out, potentially risking his eligibility to be selected for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland.
Perhaps Rahm is waiting for a more permanent solution since the DP World Tour said in its statement Saturday that these conditional releases only apply to the 2026 season and do not set a precedent moving forward. Earlier this month, Rahm applauded the Tour’s efforts to resolve the situation.
“I don’t know what it may be or what it’s going to look like, but I’m happy to see them looking for a path forward for LIV players to be able to play on both tours and not to get penalized,” Rahm said on Feb. 2.
But it seems as if the conditions put forth by the DP World Tour did not satisfy Rahm, meaning his status as a stalwart of the European Ryder Cup team could be hanging in the balance if his case is not resolved in the next 18 months.
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Rahm was among three members of LIV Golf, along with Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith, who were offered a special pathway back to the PGA Tour last month — the same pathway that allowed Brooks Koepka to return after being released from his LIV contract in December. The deadline to accept the deal from the PGA Tour’s Returning Member Program has since passed, so Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith remain members of LIV Golf, which continues its season in two weeks in Hong Kong.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Jon Rahm not among 8 LIV Golf members granted release by DP World Tour
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