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This week’s Irish Open marks the start of a strong slate of DP World Tour events that will see a large contingent of international LIV Golf players mix with some of their notable PGA Tour peers as the former await clarity on their league’s future.
Jon Rahm will tee it up in Ireland alongside fellow LIV members Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, Sergio Garcia, Adrian Meronk, David Puig, Tom McKibbin, and Thomas Detry. PGA Tour players in the field include defending Irish Open champion Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry, Alex Fitzpatrick, and Patrick Reed, who has recently completed his one-year suspension from the PGA Tour for joining LIV in 2022.
Many of those LIV and PGA Tour players will also compete at next week’s BMW PGA Championship, which is part of the DP World Tour’s elevated Rolex Series and has a $9 million purse. The Irish Open, which begins Thursday, has a $6 million purse but still offers a key opportunity for LIV players to earn Official World Golf Ranking points as they remain banned from the PGA Tour amid LIV’s uncertain future heading into 2027. The league laid off most of its staff last week and is still working on finalizing a new funding deal with BC Partners Credit, following the Saudi PIF’s exit.
Rahm told BBC Sports on Tuesday that “time will tell” what happens regarding his playing future as he is “more than willing to fulfill” his LIV contract that has multiple years remaining reportedly still worth more than $100 million. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said last month that there are “no current plans” for another Returning Member Program like the one that brought Koepka back to the Tour in January—and was also available to Rahm and fellow LIV stars Bryson Dechambeau and Cam Smith.
While the DP World Tour will continue to provide vital playing opportunities for LIV players this fall, things could change next year. Nine LIV players, including Rahm, were granted conditional releases for the 2026 season that allowed them to retain the DP World Tour membership despite competing in some conflicting LIV events. But it is “highly unlikely” that those same conditional releases will be available in 2027, sources have previously told Front Office Sports.
The DP World Tour strengthened its strategic alliance with the PGA Tour in July when the circuits struck a new deal with the Asian Tour, formerly a partner of LIV. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour, amid its shift to a new two-track scheduling model in 2028, has plans to launch a fall series of four-to-six international events that could incorporate major DP World Tour stops.
Trump In Ireland
The Irish Open is being played at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, marking the fifth DP World Tour, PGA Tour, or LIV event this year played at a course that U.S. President Donald Trump owns. Trump is expected to attend this weekend’s tournament during his trip to Ireland to meet with leaders of the country.
The Doonbeg property brought in $16.1 million of golf related revenue in 2025, as Trump’s overall golf and resort portfolio made nearly $400 million. Despite the increased number of Trump courses hosting professional golf events, there is still no timetable for his crown jewel Trump Turnberry course in Scotland to host another Open Championship, which it hasn’t done since 2012— two years before Trump bought it.
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