The biggest domino is about to fall, as Jon Rahm looks to have agreed to a deal with the PGA Tour which would allow him to make a return from LIV Golf.
The two-time major winner will reportedly pay $25 million to charity, not receive sponsor exemptions for Signature Events next season, and make an “apology” to announce his departure from LIV.
These are similar, but harsher, terms to the ones Brooks Koepka agreed to earlier in the year. Rahm will pay $20 million more than Koepka, who returned to the PGA Tour in January, but the competitive repercussions are largely the same.
Rahm’s LIV teammate, Tyrrell Hatton, also seeks a PGA Tour return, but the way he’s been treated by the PGA Tour tells us all we need to know about how the tour plans to deal with LIV players jumping ship.
PGA Tour has not agreed to a deal with Tyrrell Hatton
When Koepka came back to the PGA Tour, the same deal he agreed to was offered to Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Young. The tour prioritized major-winning stars who are still among the best players in the world, and that’s no different now.
Because while Hatton is currently attempting to return to the PGA Tour with Rahm, nothing has been agreed upon between the two parties yet. The tour was keen to secure Rahm’s services for next year, but is less interested in Hatton.
This shows the tour is happy to pick and choose which LIV players are allowed back over the coming months. They clearly don’t feel the need to roll out the red carpet for every player who wants to return.
Presumably, the PGA Tour are still only interested in signing the same three players they offered Koepka’s deal to earlier in the year. So unless DeChambeau or Smith decide to follow Rahm, the Spaniard will be the only returnee.
As for the rest, they’ll need to take the same route as Patrick Reed by playing a season on the DP World Tour in the hope of coming back to the PGA Tour in 2028.