LIV Golf’s uncertain future stream will offer a rare opportunity in just a few weeks. Jon Rahm will compete in the Scottish Open – an event co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour – for the first time since 2022, before becoming an LIV golfer.
Rahm is in a different position than most other pros, where he plays most of his golf in LIV events, but is playing a specific number of DP World Tour events to meet a membership minimum. The Scottish is a DPWT event but is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, meaning Rahm can technically win a PGA Tour event in July. The field consists of a near split of players – half from the Europe-based tour and half from the PGA Tour. And for Rahm, it’s just the latest step in a unique 2026 golf cycle.
Rahm has been an integral part of Ryder Cup Europe for most of the past decade, but two months ago was still battling with the DPWT – which owns most of the European side of the RC – over how he would retain membership for next season and eligibility for next year’s Cup in Ireland. After a months-long stalemate, Rahm agreed to a deal with the DPWT – not too dissimilar to deals made by other European LIV players – that would require him to pay off any outstanding fines and play five tournaments this year, some of which were picked up by the DPWT.
DPWT is in the business of strengthening its fields, but it is also selective in the process. She reached agreements with Tyrrell Hatton, Thomas Detry and six more European LIV players before the 2026 season which would allow them to play LIV events without being penalized. Agreements are contingent upon those players competing in a minimum of incremental events as well as certain events selected by the DPWT. Detry, for example, is playing in Belgium this week at the Soudal Open, according to the deal he signed. The same for Adrian Meronk.
Rahm fought for months against these regulated minimums for LIV players, but recently reached his agreement with the league. He had always intended to play the Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship, Spanish Open and Dunhill Links, but the new deal required him to add a fifth event, and that would be the Scottish Open, as confirmed over the weekend.
Why does Rahm’s pitch matter?
Honestly, it comes as he goes toe-to-toe in a major championship, finishing tied for second, just ahead of the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and others. In other words, the golfers he faces only in major championships (in terms of stroke play). Of course, Rahm has maintained European membership over the years by competing in some of his major events, but Scheffler, Schauffele and many others don’t go to Europe in the fall. They often don’t even go to Dubai in January. So in a lot of ways, we haven’t seen that much Rahm vs. Collin Morikawa, or vs. Jordan Spieth, or vs. Justin Thomas outside of the majors. This is another chance to see him face a full field as he did over the weekend in Aronimink.
It’s hard to know when Rahm officially decided to play in the Scottish Open, but LIV’s recent financial news made it all the more possible. He was scheduled to play at LIV’s event in New Orleans at the end of June, but that was postponed indefinitely after the Saudi PIF announced it would stop funding LIV after the season. Funding already paid to LIV by the state of Louisiana is expected to be returned.
With an unexpected gap in his schedule, Rahm will now play the Scot a week before the Royal Birkdale Open in England. LIV then heads a few hours south for its event in England the week after the Open.
While a win in Scotland wouldn’t change Rahm’s membership status — he didn’t resign his PGA Tour membership when he left for LIV — it would serve as a reminder of the value he undoubtedly brings to every league he plays. According to DataGolf, he is ranked as the No. 2 in the world. He has been ranked in the DataGolf top 10 for the past 7.5 years. And just like he has played in every tournament in his career, he hasn’t dropped the Scottish Open. He finished T55 in 2022 and only seventh in 2021.
