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Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith Spurn PGA Tour Path Back, Commit to LIV

The PGA Tour's limited, penalty-heavy reinstatement offer with a Feb. 2 cutoff underscores an intensifying contest for elite players.

Overview

  • At a LIV media day in Florida, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith said they will stay with LIV for 2026, declining the PGA Tour’s new Returning Member Program.
  • The program offers a one-time window for recent major or Players champions who have been away at least two years to reapply for membership, with applications due by February 2.
  • Brooks Koepka used the pathway to return and accepted conditions including a $5 million charitable donation, a five-year forfeiture of Player Equity Program participation, and ineligibility for 2026 FedEx Cup bonus money.
  • Koepka must earn entry into signature events without sponsor exemptions this season, a framework PGA Tour board member Tiger Woods praised as fair and said makes the Tour “a better place to play.”
  • LIV’s CEO has indicated efforts to secure OWGR points and relief from DP World Tour fines, while Rahm has publicly refused to pay what he says are more than $3 million in DP World penalties.