Why is Jon Rahm taking 15+ weeks break from golf? Real reason explored

Jon Rahm finished his 2025 season with zero wins. The Spaniard closed his participation in the Spanish Open presented by Madrid with a round of 65 on Sunday. He carded a 10-under 274 to sit 19th on the final leaderboard. Following the DP World Tour event, the LIV Golfer has confirmed that he will not play another event until LIV Golf Riyadh in 2026.

Rahm confirmed to TenGolf that he will not tee it up at the DP World Tour events and will wait for the new season of LIV Golf to compete. The former Masters champion has closed out the Race to Dubai and marked 2025 as his first winless individual season since turning pro in 2016. The big announcement comes as part of his legal battle with the DP World Tour. For the unversed, the 30-year-old made the controversial move to LIV at the end of 2023.

It is pertinent to note that Rahm was ranked World No.1 after winning the 2023 Masters, when he signed the multi-year deal with the Saudi-backed series. He has since won the LIV Golf Individual Championship back-to-back. Despite this, he is now waiting for the hearing for his appeal against the DP World Tour sanctions for competing LIV events. The ruling, filed after the European tour’s action against him for joining the breakaway circuit, is likely be settled against him.

Owing to the impending ruling of the appeal, Jon Rahm’s DP World Tour and Ryder Cup future remains unclear. The ace golfer, who ended the 2025 season with LIV Golf Individual Championship and the Ryder Cup trophy, will be eyeing for a big comeback in 2026 when the new Saudi series season begins.

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Jon Rahm’s legal battle with DP World Tour explored

For the unversed, the DP World Tour first imposed fines on golfers who joined LIV Golf while being active members of the circuit. The LIV players who wished to partake in the European tour’s tournaments were forced to pay the fines. However, Jon Rahm formally appealed by filing a lawsuit against the imposition.

The Spaniard filed the appeal before the September 2024 deadline, making him eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup and several top DP World Tour events. The former World No.1’s Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton was also on the European side in a similar situation. Ahead of the Spanish Open this month, the circuit officials came out to state that Rahm was only eligible to participate in the event as his appeal against sanctions imposed on him was pending.

It is pertinent to note that a federal judge had originally denied the LIV Golf players’ request for a preliminary injunction to block their suspensions in September 2022 citing their large contracts. The PGA Tour used its right to enforce its own rules and banned all golfers linked to the breakaway circuit, including Jon Rahm.

Now, the Spaniard is likely to face a similar ruling unless he agrees to pay the fines imposed on him by the European tour. However, the Ryder Cupper had earlier stated that he has no intention to pay up the sum.

As for LIV Golf, the circuit already cleared approximately $15.75 million worth fines place on its players. The Saudi-backed series also offered to clear Jon Rahm’s fines, which was in turn rejected by the DP World Tour. Now LIV is stopping the coverage of fines from 2026, forcing players including Rahm to pay from their own pockets.

Edited by Vishnu Mohan