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Jon Rahm is trying to stay eligible for the Ryder Cup next fall. Whether the DP World Tour will let him do so, however, remains to be seen.
The LIV Golf member and former top-ranked golfer in the world has signed up for three DP World Tour events this fall, starting with the Spanish Open later this month. Rahm is still prohibited from competing in that Tour’s events after he left for LIV Golf.
The DP World Tour has levied an undisclosed amount of fines against Rahm for leaving for LIV Golf without a waiver, and he is still refusing to pay. If Rahm doesn’t pay, he would have to file an appeal and win in order to return to the DP World Tour — which others have done in the past.
Rahm said Wednesday ahead of this week’s LIV Golf event in Chicago that he is in conversations with the DP World Tour about how to move forward.
“I’m entered into the tournament,” Rahm said of the Spanish Open, via ESPN. “We entered a long time ago. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing.
“I’m not a big fan of 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.”
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In order to remain eligible for the European Ryder Cup team, Rahm must play in four DP World Tour non-major championship events before the end of the season. The Paris Olympics counted as one, but he still needs three more. After the Spanish Open, Rahm said he intends to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland in October, and then at the Andalucia Masters in Spain two weeks later.
If he is allowed to play in those three tournaments, Rahm would be eligible for next year’s Ryder Cup — though European captain Luke Donald would likely need to use a captain’s pick on him, as Rahm won’t have many opportunities to earn qualification points while playing on the LIV Golf circuit.
“I’ve said many times, I don’t go to the Spanish Open for the glory or anything else,” Rahm said. “I think it’s my duty to Spanish golf to be there, and I also want to play [at the Andalucia Masters] 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 love to be able to play all those events.”
The Ryder Cup is set for next September at Bethpage Black in New York. The Europeans rolled over the United States last year in Rome.
While there’s plenty of time for Donald to get his team together — and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is still in negotiations with both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, so things could change there at any moment — Donald has said he’s open to bringing Rahm into the fold next fall. Rahm just has to follow the rules like everyone else.
“I’ve had many conversations with Jon,” Donald said earlier this month, via Golf Digest. “He absolutely knows what the deal is. He knew when he signed for LIV what the policies were on the DP World Tour. He has to play four events in a season to be eligible. And he can pay the fines, or he can appeal like some of the guys have. It’s really up to him to do that. I hope very much that he does and becomes eligible. He certainly mentioned at the PGA Championship he was willing to do whatever it took to commit to me and the team.”