Jon Rahm appears set to remain eligible for the Ryder Cup after appealing the sanctions imposed on him by the DP World Tour for playing conflicting tournaments on LIV Golf.
The DP World Tour confirmed that Rahm filed the appeal prior to Thursday’s deadline for the Spanish Open and will be able to participate in his home open later this month. Rahm said this week that he also intends to play the Andalucia Masters and Dunhill Links, which, in addition to his start in the Olympics, will satisfy his four-event minimum to remain eligible for the European Ryder Cup team.
“Jon Rahm has a pending appeal against sanctions imposed on him and in accordance with the DP World Tour’s regulations, he is eligible to participate in the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid later this month,” a spokesman for the DP World Tour said in a statement.
Speaking ahead of the LIV individual championship in Chicago, Rahm said he had no intention to pay the fines for playing in LIV events without permission. His appeal will be heard by an independent arbitration panel at a later date.
LIV’s Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk have also used this loophole in the regulations to stay their sanctions and play European tour events.
European captain Luke Donald learned of Rahm’s appeal shortly after finishing his opening round of the Irish Open, and he viewed the news as “a nice little victory for me personally.”
“Obviously from my standpoint, very happy to hear he made that decision,” Donald said. “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. …
“It’s not been 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.”
Donald said that he wasn’t worried about any friction within the European team room considering Rahm and Hatton’s stance toward the DP World Tour.
“The first issue was to try to get Jon eligible, Tyrrell eligible and some of those guys eligible so I had the chance to pick them on my team,” he said. “The whole camaraderie and culture, that can be worked on next year. I’m still talking to the guys within the group individually, and I think our culture, we always figure a way to come together and play for more than ourselves. We play for each other.”
