Jon Rahm Ineligible for PGA Tour Events Before LIV's New Season Starts

The PGA Tour released a memo to its membership on Monday detailing that reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm has been suspended after departing for LIV Golf last week. Despite his decision to join the Saudi-backed circuit, Rahm expressed his interest in playing select PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, but that will no longer be possible.

"In accordance with the PGA Tour tournament regulations, Jon Rahm has been notified that he is suspended and no longer eligible to participate in PGA Tour tournament play due to his association with a series of unauthorized tournaments."

Rahm's suspension means he won't be able to tee it up and defend his crown at The Sentry, The American Express, or the Genesis Invitational. The Spaniard has also been removed from the PGA Tour's playoff and eligibility list, moving every player below him from last season up one spot. Rahm finished 18th in the FedEx Cup standings last season despite earning a Tour-best four wins.

"This has resulted in adjustments to both the 2022-2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs & Eligibility Points List through the Playoffs and through the FedEx Cup Fall. Should any additional changes occur, the FedExCup playoffs and eligibility points list will continue to update through the conclusion of the 2023 calendar year, with final eligibility for the 2024 season being set on Dec. 31."

As a result of the adjustments, Mackenzie Hughes was bumped up from 51st to 50th, making him eligible for all 2024 signature events. Alex Smalley moved up to 60th after being ranked 10th during the FedEx Cup Fall and will receive an invite to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. Carl Yuan moves from 126th to 125th, making him fully exempt for next year, while Paul Haley II moves to 150th and receives conditional status.

The memo from the PGA Tour also responded to the petition that reportedly circulated among members during the first week of December. The petition called for a review of the FedEx Cup points given out in signature events compared to standard PGA Tour events. Unfortunately for those disgruntled members, the PGA Tour decided to deny their request.

"Please know that the board is listening to the concerns expressed from individual members and takes those concerns seriously. We believe the model approved by the board is the best model to achieve this goal."