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Jon Rahm picks Abu Dhabi for his first start since leaving LIV
Jon Rahm will make his Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship debut at Yas Links on 5–8 November. He is 46th in the Race to Dubai, so a good week would secure his place in the DP World Tour Championship.
Jon Rahm’s first tournament since walking away from LIV Golf will be the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, 5–8 November at Yas Links. It will be his debut in the event and the start of a two-week run in the UAE that could end with a fourth DP World Tour Championship title.
Rahm’s entry was confirmed on Monday, hours after the DP World Tour said it would not accept LIV 2.0 players as members in 2027. According to The National, Rahm said he had heard great things about Yas Links.
Abu Dhabi is the first of two DP World Tour Play-Off events. The Race to Dubai’s top 70 available players qualify, and the top 50 after that week go on to the $10 million DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on 12–15 November. Rahm is 46th. He won in Dubai in 2017, 2019 and 2022, and took the Race to Dubai title in 2019.
He is also obliged to play. According to The National, the settlement Rahm reached with the DP World Tour in May over unpaid LIV fines preserved his membership and Ryder Cup eligibility but requires him to play extra events, including both Play-Off tournaments.
Rahm will not play the DP World India Championship in New Delhi this week or the Genesis Championship in Korea next week, Golf Channel reports. He missed the Open de España in Madrid last week to stay at home with his wife, Kelley, who is expecting their fourth child.
Rory McIlroy, chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, has already committed to Abu Dhabi. So has Patrick Reed, who leads the Race to Dubai and hopes to earn a PGA TOUR card through the European circuit. Aaron Rai is the defending champion, having beaten Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off last year. Rahm finished tied second at the PGA Championship, three shots behind Rai, and won LIV’s individual title for the third year in a row.
The PGA TOUR suspends players for a year from their last LIV event, and its chief executive, Brian Rolapp, said in mid-September that he had no plans to revive the Returning Member Program under which Brooks Koepka returned in January. Rahm turned down a similar offer when Koepka returned.
His LIV exit is not yet complete. Last week his lawyer told the bankruptcy court handling LIV’s case that Rahm found the LIV 2.0 terms unacceptable and that the two sides hoped to agree a separation deal by 15 October. His 2023 Masters win keeps him exempt for the majors up to and including 2028, according to Golf Channel.
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