Share and Follow
Jon Rahm may need to come to terms with potentially missing the 2027 Ryder Cup if he remains steadfast in his decision not to pay hefty fines.
Once the world’s top-ranked golfer, Rahm was notably absent from the list of eight players who paid fines to the European-based DP World Tour. These players received conditional releases on Saturday, allowing them to participate in LIV Golf League events that clash with the 2026 season dates.
Rahm has previously expressed his reluctance to pay the reported $3 million in fines he incurred by choosing LIV Golf events over those on the DP Tour calendar.
The DP Tour granted releases to players Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig, and Elvis Smylie.
According to ESPN, part of the agreement requires these golfers to compete in more tournaments than the minimum of four needed to maintain their DP World Tour membership, along with withdrawing any appeals against the fines.
Because Rahm’s long-running dispute remains unsettled, his eligibility with the DP Tour (and thus for the European team in the Ryder Cup) in 2027 remains murky at best.
Rory McIlroy, Rahm’s Ryder Cup teammate, urged him and others to pay the fines and move forward earlier this year.
“I think any organization or any members’ organization like this has a right to uphold its rules and regulations,” McIlroy said at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. “What the DP World Tour is doing is upholding its rules and regulations. We, as members, sign a document at the start of every year, which has you agree to these rules and regulations. The people that made the option to go to LIV knew what they were. So, I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”
Rahm competed in the 2025 Ryder Cup while appealing his sanctions.
Rahm still has another 18 months before he needs to be ruled eligible to participate in the 2027 Ryder Cup. It is not known when a third-party arbiter will hear his appeal if he doesn’t pay the fines before then.