The likes of John Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are teeing it up in Dubai on the DP World Tour this week, but how come LIV Golf stars like those two are able to play?
Players who joined LIV Golf are banned from playing on the PGA Tour, while the DP World Tour dished out fines and suspensions to the likes of Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter when they first joined - prompting them to resign their membership.
For Rahm and Hatton though, along with Poland's Adrian Meronk and others, the situation is slightly different with those players having chosen not to resign their respective memberships and allowed to compete while an appeal against their fines and suspensions goes through the legal process.
It's a different case for Garcia as he has paid his fines and re-joined the DP World Tour in the hope of earning a return to Europe's Ryder Cup team later this year.
For Rahm and Hatton in particular, the timing of the appeals process is of particular importance with regards to their Ryder Cup participation - as both players will undoubtedly make Luke Donald's side either directly or as a captain's pick.
Rahm insists his plan is to line up for Europe at Bethpage Black, and said he hoped the appeals process would not be concluded until after the meeting with Team USA in September.
"I don't know what's going to happen in the future but I can tell you my plan is to be on that team at Bethpage," Rahm said ahead of his debut appearance at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic this week.
Rahm has not voiced whether he would pay his fines if ordered to, and would rather the issue was dealt with after the Ryder Cup.
"I don't know what's going to happen and I'm hoping they don't try to settle the appeal before the Ryder Cup," he added. "I don't think that would be good for anybody."
Jon Rahm says it's "wrong" that LIV doesn't have the "credibility it deserves" as well as world ranking points or spots into the men's Major championships pic.twitter.com/Wklgl2KrClJanuary 14, 2025
Golf Monthly understands that the process and timelines for the Rahm and Hatton appeals are yet to be determined by the DP World Tour, which deals with each case on an individual basis.
Talks between the DP World Tour and each player's legal teams need to be concluded first even before the process begins, with each LIV Golf event they play in assessed for what impact it has on a conflicting DP World Tour tournament.
Fines and suspensions are still being handed out every time Rahm, Hatton, and Garcia for that matter, play in a LIV Golf event being held the same week as a DP World Tour tournament.
But while Garcia seems happy to pay his, or rather LIV Golf pay them, Hatton and Rahm are waiting on their appeals before deciding whether they want to pay up or not.
They can all play on the DP World Tour in the meantime, but some big decisions need to be made somewhere along the line, with regards to the appeals of two of Europe's biggest Ryder Cup players and just when they will be heard.
There's also a wider question of whether the DP World Tour should go about securing its own deal with LIV Golf going forward to attract big-name player to its events while the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF continue to struggle to agree on a deal.
