The DP World Tour is working to resolve fining its members for competing in conflicting LIV Golf events.
The new was first reported over the weekend, and LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm confirmed that to be the case Monday ahead of the LIV Golf opener this week in Saudi Arabia. Rahm isn’t quite sure of the details of the situation, but as someone who has been appealing his fines, along with Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton, the news is welcome.
“I personally would say I don’t know too much about the matter,” Rahm said. “Obviously I think at first, managers are going to be taking care of that early on. I don’t know what the negotiations look like. Obviously they’re going to players individually to make different deals.
“I don’t know what it may be or what it’s going to look like, but I’m happy to see that looking for a path forward for LIV players to be able to play on both tours and not to get penalized.”
The DP World Tour began fining members in 2022 who competed in LIV events. LIV has paid fines for its players in recent years but is halting the practice this year. Rahm and Hatton have been awaiting the decision of an appeal filed in late 2024, though both players received permission to compete in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. However, future participation in the Ryder Cup and at DP World Tour events has been questioned depending on the outcome of the appeal.
LIV has not commented on the negotiations, though the DP World Tour told Sports lllustrated‘s Bob Harig: “We continue to have dialogue with individual members involved to explore and discuss options.” Flushing It’s Tom Hobbs was the first to report on the fines potentially being dropped in 2026.
“I think the example of players like Tom (McKibbin) or David Puig, who’s now a winner on the European Tour, who just chose the best path possible as young players, shouldn’t be penalized because of the politics of the game,” Rahm continued. “The fact that they’re looking at a positive way to figure it out, I think it’s only good for us, and I think it’s good for the DP World Tour, as well.”
The decision is separate from the existing fines, which Rahm and Hatton have previously stated they wouldn’t pay. They’ve been able to compete on the DP World Tour thanks to the appeal. Depending on the outcome of that, their future on the DP World Tour and Ryder Cup could sway on the possible agreement.
“It sounds positive, so if things are moving in the right direction, that’s good for golf,” Hatton said. “Yeah, we’ll let other people figure that out, and we’ll just focus on playing golf this week.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Jon Rahm applauds DP World Tour’s steps toward ending LIV fines
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