Jon Rahm Accuses DP World Tour of ‘Extorting’ LIV Golf Players

Jon Rahm has accused the DP World Tour of “extorting” him and other LIV Golf players as the ongoing feud continues to cloud the Spanish golfer’s future with the European Ryder Cup team.

“I don’t know what game they’re trying to play right now,” Rahm said Tuesday when asked about the situation ahead of LIV’s Hong Kong tournament this week. 

The DP World Tour (formerly known as the European Tour) on Feb. 21 granted conditional releases for eight golfers to keep their membership while continuing to compete on LIV this year. But Rahm has not accepted the terms, taking issue with a mandate to play six DP World Tour events, including two that the tour decides on.

“It just seems like in a way they’re using our impact in tournaments and fining us and trying to benefit both ways from what we have to offer,” Rahm said. “And it’s just in a way they’re extorting players like myself and young players that have nothing to do with the politics of the game.”

Active membership on the DP World Tour is a requirement for players on the European Ryder Cup team, which will go for its third straight victory over the Americans in September 2027 in Ireland.

The LIV players who did accept the DP World Tour stipulations include Rahm’s Legion XIII teammates Tyrrell Hatton and Tom McKibbin, as well as Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig, and Elvis Smylie.

“I respect Tyrrell’s decision,” Rahm said. “That’s all I have to say. He’s free to make his own choice.” Rahm and Hatton were also paired together twice at the 2025 Ryder Cup, winning both matches over their American opponents.

Hatton and the other seven players agreed to pay outstanding fines they incurred from the DP World Tour for competing in previous LIV events—those amounts are not public but have been reported to be as high as $100,000 per tournament. 

Rahm may owe as much as $3 million. LIV previously paid those fines for its players, but stopped doing so last year. He first appealed his fines in September 2024, but a court date for the case has still not been set.

Rahm said he still plans to play four DP World Tour events (including his annual appearance at the Spanish Open) by the end of 2026, which previously would have been enough to keep his membership. “I did tell them, funny enough, lower that to four events, like the minimum says, and I’ll sign tonight,” he said. “They haven’t agreed to that. I just refuse to play six events. I don’t want to, and that’s not what the rules say.”

Rahm also responded to comments Rory McIlroy made on the situation in January: “We went really hard on the Americans about being paid to play the Ryder Cup and we also said we would pay to play in Ryder Cups,” McIlroy said. “There’s two guys that can prove it.”

“That statement would make a lot more sense if all 12 of us were being asked to pay, not only just the two of us,” Rahm said, referring to himself and Hatton. “There’s more intricacy that goes into this whole situation. While I understand why he’s saying that, we all do it for the love of the game, it’s a different situation than what we usually see. I’ll gladly pay my way to go on the Ryder Cup, not have to pay to still be a member of the DP World Tour and fulfill a commitment.”