Jon Rahm says he intends to play three DP World Tour events over the next six weeks to try and retain his Ryder Cup eligibility but remains unsure whether he will be allowed to feature.
Rahm has to feature in four regular DP World Tour events during a season to keep his membership, a requirement to represent Team Europe in a Ryder Cup, with the Spaniard currently three short of the minimum starts needed.
The former world No 1 is unable to feature at the Amgen Irish Open or BMW PGA Championship due to them clashing with LIV Golf League events, leaving him only five more regular season events to fulfil his membership criteria.
Rahm has already committed to the Open de Espana from September 26-29 and also hopes to play both the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship a week later and the Estrella Damm N.A Andalucia Masters from October 17-20, although it is unclear whether he will tee it up in those events.
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He is currently refusing to pay the fines issued by the DP World Tour for playing LIV Golf League events without permission and has questioned whether he will be allowed to play in those three events without clearing his penalties.
“Still talking to the DP World Tour,” Rahm told reporters ahead of the LIV Golf Chicago event. “I intend to play in Spain. 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.
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“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 [Andalucia Masters]. At that point, it would almost be doing not only me but Spanish golf a disservice by not letting me play.”
Former captain Padraig Harrington believes the current rules must be enforced as Ryder Cup eligibility is key to ensuring Europe’s biggest names – who are primarily US-based – return to play DP World Tour events.
“You know, we had this situation back in my day where players playing on the US Tour were refusing to come back and play enough events and wanted dispensations and exemptions,” 2021 captain Harrington said.
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“If anybody knows me, I’m a stickler for the rules. Whatever the rules say, you know the rules and you stick to them. I’m a big fan of Jon [Rahm], I’m friends with Jon but if the rules are written down, that’s just the way it is.
“The Ryder Cup is bigger than just the match. It is the backbone of the European Tour. The European Tour doesn’t have a lot of leverage to get players to come back across and play here. The Ryder Cup is the carrot that we use to get people to come back.
“It is a very tough situation for Luke Donald and the Ryder Cup in the sense of they really do want to have the best team. There is a case for saying, you know, give ourselves the best chance of winning, that’s as important a factor as anything in keeping the European Tour at the forefront of golf.
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“But the 12th guy who qualifies by sticking to the rules gets bumped out, he’s not going to be happy if somebody else has not stuck to the rules. We can’t forget that person, either.”
Shane Lowry, who will be looking to make a third Ryder Cup appearance, added: “Do I want Jon Rahm on the Ryder Cup team? Yes. Should he be allowed to break the rules and make the Ryder Cup team? Should there be exceptions made? I’m not sure. That’s not for me to decide.
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“But at the end of the day, we want to try and have the 12 best players we can next year in Bethpage and if he’s one of them, yeah we probably do want him.
“Rahmbo in the Ryder Cup is an absolute animal. I’ve seen him first hand in two Ryder Cups and he’s unbelievable, but is any one person bigger than the Ryder Cup? I’m not sure.”
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