Rahm Accepts Koepka Penalties for PGA Tour Return

Two-time major champion Jon Rahm is prepared to accept the same penalties Brooks Koepka faced to rejoin the PGA Tour after leaving LIV Golf. Speaking Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, Rahm said he remains uncertain whether the tour will offer him an equivalent return arrangement.

Rahm has not yet discussed his potential return with PGA Tour officials. He said the recent birth of his fourth child has delayed those conversations, leaving his next competitive destination unresolved.

If the PGA Tour requires him to serve a one-year suspension, similar to the punishment Patrick Reed and other former LIV golfers faced, Rahm is prepared to compete on the DP World Tour throughout 2027.

Rahm explained that negotiations with the PGA Tour have not started and acknowledged that his circumstances differ from Koepka's previous return agreement.

"With the PGA Tour, things are a little bit different. I haven't been able to speak to them yet. Until things are finalized, 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," Rahm told reporters.

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour in January through its Returning Member Program. The arrangement applied to LIV golfers who had been away from the tour for at least two years and won the Players Championship or one of the four major championships since 2022.

Under the agreement, Koepka forfeited player equity shares for five years and lost eligibility for the $100 million FedEx Cup bonus program in 2026. At the PGA Tour's request, he also agreed to donate $5 million to charity.

Rahm, 2024 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and 2022 Players Championship and Open Championship winner Cameron Smith were also eligible for the program but initially chose to remain with LIV Golf.

However, PGA Tour commissioner Brian Rolapp described Koepka's arrangement as a one-time opportunity rather than a model for future returns. Rolapp has subsequently confirmed that the tour has no plans to revive the program.

Despite those restrictions, Rahm said he would consider accepting comparable conditions if the PGA Tour offered them.

"Most likely, yeah. 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 said.

Rahm reached a separation agreement with LIV Golf on October 15, ending his involvement as captain of Legion XIII. According to the source report, he walked away from more than $100 million in remaining contractual payments.

Reflecting on his three seasons with the league, Rahm described the experience positively but criticized the direction of its latest development, LIV 2.0.

"I would say I can only reflect on those three years as a positive. 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," Rahm said.

DeChambeau, meanwhile, has left open the possibility of returning to LIV Golf if the league survives its financial restructuring. LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 8 after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund stopped providing financial support in April.

The league subsequently secured a $300 million agreement with BC Partners, although the deal depends on LIV Golf retaining a specified number of players. A lawyer representing the league told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge that a decision on continuing LIV 2.0 or winding down operations would be made by the end of October.

DeChambeau discussed the proposed restructuring in an appearance on the Figuring Out podcast, describing the revised business model as financially sustainable.

"The business model makes a lot of sense. And we're actually working through that right now for this new model where it will make full financial sense. It's no funny business, no nothing. It's going to be done right, and this is going to be a league, hopefully, that exists forever," DeChambeau said.