Drama, drama, and a little more drama—did we sum up the golf industry? If not, feel free to add one or two more instances because that is exactly what is happening here, especially with LIV golfers, and Ryder Cup qualification. LIV superstar Jon Rahm, who moved to the Saudi-funded league in December for over $500 million, has recently refused to pay his outstanding DPWT fines, imposed for competing in LIV Golf events.

According to the latest post by NUCLR GOLF on X, the Spaniard is not willing to pay the fines; however, he is looking forward to competing in the 3 upcoming DPWT tournaments, including the Spanish Open, intending to make the Ryder Cup team. “I’m entered into the tournament. We entered a long time ago. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing”, said Rahm ahead of his big showdown of the LIV Golf’s Individual Championship in Chicago.

“I’m not a big fan of the fines. I’ve been outspoken about the fines. I don’t intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen”, the golfer continued being adamant about his decision not to pay fines, which could possibly result in him not getting the spot on the tournament he is looking forward to. According to the golfer, his participation in the Spanish Open is not driven by a desire for glory or personal gain; rather, he believes he must support Spanish golf, and he feels a sense of responsibility to support the event.

For the 2025 Bethpage showdown, one of the ways to collect Ryder Cup points for European golfers is to play in the qualifying campaign (August 29) through to the end of the calendar year, which is the Back 9, the DP World Tour Play-Offs and the Opening Swing events of the 2025 season.

In May this year, Lee Westwood shed light on him resigning his DPWT membership, but at the same time, he mentioned that Rahm has not done that. It is estimated that Spaniard’s fines are above $1 million. The fans, however, were ready with their sharp tongues and facetious comments on Rahm’s decision.

Netizens comment on Jon Rahm’s latest decision

Starting strong with this one fan stating what probably was on everyone else’s minds. “This dude got $350M from the Saudis but is too cheap to pay the fines? Nah fam 💀”. Another fan wrote, “You got 600 million just pay the fines! What are you doing” When Rahm joined the Saudi-backed league for the 2024 season, despite saying that he wished to continue with the PGA Tour, the hell broke loose. The deal was reported to be worth $ 500 million; hence the fans are shocked as to why the player is not paying the fines.

LIV is known for his hefty payouts, and Jon Rahm has been performing well with quite top-10 finishes, and even one win which means his bank account looks good right now. Noting this, another fan wrote, “Starting to dislike him- making $$$$$- not paying fines – entitled.” 

Another fan said, “I want to receive all the benefits of being a member without following the membership rules. Yeah, that seems about right.” And well, they’re not wrong here. According to the DP World Tour’s new set of sanctions, players who breached the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation by competing in LIV Golf and Asian Tour events without being released to do so will be charged with fines. These fines can range from £12,500 to £100,000 for each individual breach of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation. This one fan said, “Imagine making a decision knowing full well the consequences, then whine and cry about it after @JonRahmOfficial.”

As per SI, even a DP World Tour spokesperson gave clarification on the matter by saying. “Jon has outstanding sanctions for breaches of the DP World Tour’s conflicting tournament regulation. Until those outstanding sanctions are resolved, he is ineligible to play in a DP World Tour event”. The fans were pretty mad over Rahm’s decision, as a lot of them were bashing the golfer for it. “Unlikable,”  said one fan while another said, “Boo hoo.”

So what do you think of Jon Rahm’s decision? Let us know in the comment section below!