Jon Rahm has made a final effort to stay eligible for the Ryder Cup by appealing the sanctions imposed by the DP World Tour for competing in in LIV Golf events.
Despite registering for the Spanish Open, Dunhill Links Championship and Andalucia Masters, the two-time Major winner faced the risk of being barred from these tournaments after refusing to pay fines imposed by the DP World Tour.
Just yesterday, ahead of LIV Golf’s Individual Championship, Rahm told reporters: “I’m entered into the tournament. We entered a long time ago. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing. I’m not a big fan of the fines.
“I think I’ve been outspoken about that. 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.
“I’ve said many times, I don’t go to the Spanish Open for the glory or anything else. I think it’s my duty to Spanish golf to be there, and I also want to play in Sotogrande.
“At that point, it would almost be doing not only me but Spanish golf a disservice by not letting me play, so yeah, that’s why we’re trying to talk to them and make that happen.
“I would also love to play the Dunhill. I have a good friend who asked me to play, and Johan has been a great, great ambassador for the game of golf. I would love to be able to play all those events.”
With Rahm needing to play three more regular DP World Tour tournaments this season to retain DP World Tour membership and remain eligible for the Ryder Cup, he needed to appeal or pay the fines by 12pm today to secure his place in the Spanish Open.
Shortly before entries closed, he chose to appeal the sanctions, just as Tyrrell Hatton did last month before appearing at the British Masters.
Rahm has been a crucial player for Europe in the biennial contest over the years, so the news of his appeal brought immense relief to European Captain Luke Donald, who had been grappling with the genuine possibility of a Rahm-less team at Bethpage next year.
“Obviously from my standpoint, very happy to hear he made that decision,” said Donald following his first round at the Irish Open.
“I know he was sitting on the fence a little bit, and glad that he’s done that and being allowed to play and create some time for things in the world of golf to hopefully figure themselves out.
“I think we are all being very patient right now. It’s 15 months since Yassir and Jay Monahan got together. It’s been frustrating I think for a lot of the players to see how slow everything has been going, and I’m sure it’s been frustrating for Jon as well.
“But I think this hopefully gives some time for hopefully things to happen. I’ve heard in the last couple weeks there’s been a little bit more progress.
“It’s not fun for me to deal with, and it’s not fun for anyone to deal with; and I’m glad Jon decided to appeal and he can play his events in which he wants to play and be eligible. I know the Ryder Cup means so much to him, and I’m sure that was a massive factor in his decision.”
