Jon Rahm willing to accept penalties for possible PGA return

Jon Rahm would accept the same punishment that Brooks Koepka received in order to return to the PGA Tour.

That does not mean he will receive the same offer or terms, however, and there is no guarantee the door will reopen to players who bolted for LIV Golf.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said on Aug 25 that there were no plans to revive the Returning Member Program.

Rahm, who opted to decline to participate in LIV Golf 2.0, has yet to hold discussions with the PGA Tour about a potential return given the recent birth of his fourth child.

Rahm said he would be willing to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027 should he be required to serve a one-year suspension, which is the same punishment levied to former Masters champion Patrick Reed and others after they left LIV Golf.

“With the PGA Tour, things are a little bit different,” Rahm told reporters on Nov 3 at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship. “I haven’t been able to speak to them yet. Until things are finalised, which should be hopefully soon, and then we’ll see.

“I don’t know what is in store for us. We know what they did with Brooks. This is different circumstances. I don’t know what things are going to look like. But it’s a pretty good safety net to have that I can play the DP World Tour next year, and if it comes to that, I’m really excited to play for a full year.”

Koepka was one of four golfers – Rahm included – to be offered the Returning Member Program by the PGA Tour in January. The programme allowed LIV golfers who had won one of the four Majors since 2022 and had been away from the tour for at least two years to return under specific conditions and financial penalties.

Koepka was the lone golfer of the four to accept the proposal, however. By doing so, the five-time Major champion had to forfeit any player equity shares for the next five years. He also agreed to the request of the PGA Tour to make a US$5 million (S$6.4 million) donation to charity.

“Most likely, yeah,” Rahm said of returning under similar circumstances. “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.”

Rahm, who turns 32 on Nov 10, reached a separation agreement with LIV Golf on Oct 15 after joining the fledgling league in 2024.

While contract terms never were revealed, it is believed the Spanish superstar signed a contract in the range of US$300 million and is still owed more than $100 million in future guarantees.

He additionally earned more than US$106 million in prize and bonus money on the course. He won the individual season championship in each of his three seasons with LIV.

“I would say I can only reflect on those three years as a positive,” Rahm said. “It was a wonderful experience. Played a lot of good golf.

“Obviously, individually and as a team, we did great. As much as I liked the project and the idea on, let’s say, LIV 1.0, I wasn’t thrilled with the changes they were doing to 2.0, and I just wasn’t willing to follow that path. It wasn’t anything special, anything that stood out. I just didn’t like what they were going with 2.0.”

LIV Golf’s future was thrown into turmoil in the spring when officials from the Saudi Arabian group that had been paying the bills said it would stop funding the circuit.

BC Partners Credit, an investment firm, is prepared to provide US$300 million to finance what is being called LIV 2.0, should the league emerge from bankruptcy. REUTERS