The DP World Tour has decided to suspend Jon Rahm's eligibility unless he pays outstanding fines levied as a result of his affiliation with LIV Golf, putting his chances of competing in the Ryder Cup in jeopardy.
Rahm, who is in Chicago this week for the LIV event, said he wants to play three DP World Tour events this fall — two in his native Spain and one likely at the Alfred Dunhill Links in St. Andrews. National Club Golfer Matt ChiversThe DP World Tour will not allow Rahm to play in these tournaments.
But Lahm insists he is playing in Spain and has no intention of paying the fine.
“Well, I [Spanish Open]”We got in a long time ago,” Rahm said Wednesday.
“Whether they allow me to play is another matter. I don't really like fines and I think I've been very vocal about that. I have no intention of paying the fine and I'm trying to continue to have conversations with them about how we can make this happen.”
Rahm added that it would be a “disservice” to golf if the DP World Tour banned him from competing in domestic Opens.
“I'm not going to the Spanish Open for glory or anything,” Rahm said.
“I feel it is my duty to be there for Spanish golf and I would like to play in Sotogrande too.”
To maintain their DP World Tour membership and be eligible to play on Europe's Ryder Cup team, players must play in four DP World Tour events per year. Rahm has already played in the Olympics, but unlike the PGA Tour, the Olympics counts as an event on the DP World Tour.
So to meet that requirement, Rahm only needs to compete in three events this fall.
“Sotogrande is the next town to Valderrama and I think it's called the Andalusian Open or the Masters. So yeah, I'm going to Madrid. So I want to play the Spanish Open, the Dunhill, a week off, Sotogrande, all of them,” Rahm explained.
“I think we'll be entered in both. We've entered the event and we want to compete. It's my intention to compete.”
Qualifying for the European team, Bethpage Black, has already begun, with the race kicking off two weeks with the Betfred British Masters, competing for 1,500 Ryder Cup points. At the time, another LIV player, Tyrrell Hatton, teed up at the Belfry, but no controversy came to light between Hatton and him over unpaid fees he may have had. It is unclear if he paid a fee to be able to play at the Belfry, but it is believed he did.
Still, the DP World Tour and Rahm continue to fight back. Who knows who will cave first, but considering Rahm received more than $400 million to join LIV last December, he has the financial resources to pay those fines. But now, nine months after joining the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit, Rahm finds himself in a rather interesting situation: he has to pay to play on next year's Ryder Cup team, similar to how LIV paid Rahm his entry fee into the league.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
