Jon Rahm must pay fines levied against him by the DP World Tour in order to play in the Ryder Cup, says Justin Rose.
But Rahm “might have a point,” Rose said, on the tour having Rahm and other tour members play other tour events as part of a settlement for participation in LIV Golf events.
Rose’s comments came Tuesday in the Players Championshipand they follow a DP World Tour announcement on February 21 which said eight of its members had been granted conditional releases to play in LIV events this year, in exchange for paying fines for playing in past LIV events, participating in “extra” tournaments and withdrawing appeals. Previously, DP World Tour pros who played in conflicting events were fined and suspended – and the announcement paved the way for participation in next year’s European Ryder Cup team, as tour membership is required.
But Rahm was not among the eight. (Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie were the LIV pros who were mentioned.) As for his reason, Rahm said last week it had to do with the additional event requirement — for a pro to keep membership on the DP World Tour, he must say he will play four events, including two. “dictate”.
“Now, I told them, funny enough, cut it down to four events, as the minimum says, and I’ll sign tonight,” Rahm said. “They haven’t agreed to it. I just refuse to play six events. I don’t want to, and that’s not what the rules say.”
Rahm’s participation in next year’s Ryder Cup event now appears to hinge on an appeal against the DP World Tour’s ban for playing in LIV events. On Tuesday, the situation prompted a reporter to ask Rose what he would like to see his three-time Ryder Cup teammate do — and Rose began his response by noting that the other eight LIV pros had agreed to the deal.
“So, I mean, there’s a pretty good precedent that the deal wasn’t outrageous that they were proposing,” Rose said.
“But at the same time, I’d like to see Jon pay his dues, for sure, and be a part of the Ryder Cup. To me, obviously playing at LIV was a decision he made and wanted to make, and fair play to him for making it and it’s good for him. He’s playing good golf out there. He’s winning. He’s making a lot of money – he can’t get there.
“So I would just see it as a cost of doing business for Jon. Like for me, being in the Ryder Cup is more than money.”
But, Rose said, Rahm “may have a point” in his frustration with playing six events.
“So there’s probably a middle ground,” Rose said, “where he would do his best to support the tournament as and when, but not necessarily have it over his head, but paying the fines is definitely step No. 1.”
Roza’s comments also follow those of Rory McIlroyanother member of the European Ryder Cup team, who said last week that DP’s World Tour deal was “generous” and that “the Europe Tour can only do so much to accommodate these guys”.
It remains unclear whether Rahm’s status will be resolved. Last week, he won a LIV golf tournamentand this week, he’s playing one in Singapore, where he was asked how he’s managed “with all the distractions” and, as part of his answer, he had this to say:
“I think, like anybody else in their job, you just have to learn how to separate yourself. How to put things in the back of your mind and take care of what you can take care of. There are some things I can’t control. If I can’t control them, I shouldn’t really worry about it. What I can control is what I do on the golf course, how committed I am in every way, how committed I am to the routine.
“Basically, it’s like a sense of liberation that I get when there’s a lot going on outside of the course that you get on the course and the only thing that matters is being able to let things go. …
“All the other things, they are what they are. I don’t know how to say this except really, without sounding rude, they’re first-world problems. They are what they are. There are real problems in the world, and if I have an agreement or disagreement with DP World Tour, it shouldn’t be one of them.
“While we continue to discuss what the future might be, it’s not something to worry too much about when there’s a real tragedy happening around the world.”
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