Jon Rahm won the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship on the DP World Tour in his first tournament since leaving LIV Golf, earning $1.53 million from the $9 million purse — but that is only about 1.43% of the money he gave up to walk away, and he remains more than $100 million short of what LIV owed and promised him.
Rahm’s victory is his 11th on the DP World Tour, and it moved him from 51st to sixth in the Race to Dubai standings. If he wins the DP World Tour Championship next week, he has a shot at the Race to Dubai title — a remarkable turnaround for a player who started the week outside the top 50.
Tyrrell Hatton finished second and won $990,000. Hatton played with Rahm’s Legion XIII team in LIV’s group events. Rory McIlroy, who finished third and has routinely been one of the most vocal opponents of LIV Golf, will walk away with $563,000 in winnings.
Why Rahm Left LIV Golf
When LIV Golf first burst onto the scene, it looked like an attractive option for PGA Tour players. Larger purses, no cuts, shorter tournaments and a less gruelling schedule were all appealing, and with the seemingly endless pockets of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV had plenty of money to hand out. Dozens of players departed for what they thought were greener pastures.
Then the Public Investment Fund ended its agreement with the league this year, and things quickly unravelled. After other funding options fell through, LIV Golf declared bankruptcy and then officially folded. Shortly before that, Rahm departed the league, saying the terms of a LIV 2.0 were unacceptable.
Rahm was the top player over the league’s run, winning the individual league championship each season. But the league still owed him $7 million, and if he left, he would forgo another $100 million. Rahm was willing to walk away from all of that money to part ways with LIV Golf.
Still Short Over $100 Million
The Abu Dhabi win is only the start of earning some of that money back. At $1.53 million per victory of this size, Rahm would need many more wins to close a gap of more than $100 million — and the $7 million LIV still owed him is a separate amount on top of the money he forfeited by leaving.
Rahm may never fully recoup all of the money LIV promised him, but he is still one of the top golfers in the world. That will provide him with plenty of career — and financial — success, starting with a win in his very first tournament back.
Figures in this article are as reported by Celebrity Net Worth on November 8, 2026.
Related: Jon Rahm Walks Away From LIV Golf, Sam Burns, Zach Johnson
