Jon Rahm referred to the DP World Tour\u2019s proposed solution to end disciplinary action as \u201cextorting players like myself and young players that have nothing to do with the politics of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking before LIV Golf\u2019s event this week in Hong Kong, Rahm elaborated on why he was the most notable holdout from an announcement two weeks ago in which eight LIV golfers agreed to pay all outstanding fines for breaking the European-based tour\u2019s regulations by playing on LIV without a release. The eight players also agreed to drop their appeals against the tour and to play in a specific number of additional events.<\/p>\n
This was most important because the DP World Tour governs the European Ryder Cup team, and if Rahm continues to hold out and loses his appeal, he will no longer be eligible to play in the 2027 Ryder Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like what they\u2019re doing currently with the contract they\u2019re having us sign,\u201d Rahm said Tuesday. \u201cI don\u2019t like the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahm, a two-time major winner and one of the best players in the world, said his primary issue was the minimum number of DP World Tour events the agreement required, saying it asked them to play six events, with two assigned by the tour.<\/p>\n
Rahm claimed that throughout his career, he played the minimum and participated in roughly four DP World Tour events per season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did tell them, funny enough, lower that to four events, like the minimum says, and I\u2019ll sign tonight,\u201d Rahm continued. \u201cThey haven\u2019t agreed to that. I just refuse to play six events. I don\u2019t want to, and that\u2019s not what the rules say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahm spent most of his career as a dual member of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. He argues that he never needed a release to play on either of those tours, so he questioned why there was disciplinary action and fines for playing on LIV.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t like the situation. I think we should be able to freely play where we want and have the choice to play where we want and not dictate what we do,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially myself. I can\u2019t speak for others. Only myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those eight players who signed the agreement was Tyrrell Hatton, a fellow Ryder Cup star who is also Rahm\u2019s teammate on his Legion XIII team on LIV. The others included future Ryder Cup hopefuls Tom McKibbin, David Puig, Thomas Detry, Laurie Canter, Adrian Meronk and Victor Perez. Australian Elvis Smylie, one of LIV\u2019s newest additions and winner of its first event this year, was also on the list.<\/p>\n
On Hatton, Rahm said, \u201cI respect Tyrrell\u2019s decision. That\u2019s all I have to say. He\u2019s free to make his own choice, and I fully respect it.\u201d<\/p>\n
LIV Golf initially paid the fines for its players, with Rahm claiming his total is up to $3 million. However, LIV walked back that policy, leaving its players to settle the issue directly with the DP World Tour.<\/p>\n
Some aging Ryder Cup greats like Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood have given up or resigned their membership on the tour they have been a part of since the beginning of their professional careers. Rahm and Hatton filed an appeal to the DP World Tour over the issue in late 2024, which has not been ruled on. That kept them eligible for 2025\u2019s Ryder Cup, but if the ruling goes against Rahm, he\u2019s in danger of missing out in 2027 at Adare Manor in Ireland.<\/p>\n
The relationship between money and the Ryder Cup has only added intrigue to Rahm\u2019s situation. His idol and countryman, Seve Ballesteros, famously missed the 1981 Ryder Cup over a financial dispute about appearances. It\u2019s unclear if Rahm would consider doing the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went really hard on the Americans about being paid to play the Ryder Cup,\u201d Rory McIlroy said in January. \u201cWe also said that we would pay to play in Ryder Cups. There\u2019s two guys that can prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahm, responding to McIlroy, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThat statement would make a lot more sense if all 12 of us were being asked to pay, not only just the two of us (he and Hatton). There\u2019s more intricacy that goes into this situation, right?\u00a0 While I understand why he\u2019s saying that, we all do it for the love of the game, it\u2019s a different situation than what we usually see.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll gladly pay my way to go on the Ryder Cup, not have to pay to still be a member of the DP World Tour and fulfill a commitment that I\u2019m fully willing to commit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jon Rahm referred to the DP World Tour\u2019s proposed solution to end disciplinary action as \u201cextorting players like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-502774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}