Luke Donald might be back on Europe’s Ryder Cup team in 2027, but Jon Rahm’s future is far less certain.
The Spaniard has been one of Europe’s most effective players in the competitions in recent years, having formed a deadly partnership with LIV Golf teammate Tyrrell Hatton, but because of his ongoing standoff with the DP World Tour, he may not be eligible to play at Adare Manor.
To play for Team Europe, you must be an active member of the DP World Tour, which Rahm currently is not, as a LIV Golf player.
The tour cut a deal with LIV players, including Rahm and Hatton, which would allow them to play on both tours if they play six DP World Tour events and settle their fines for joining LIV. Hatton, and seven other LIV players, accepted the deal. Rahm did not.
McIlroy called this a shame, saying the terms offered by the DP World Tour were “generous”. Rahm is standing by this decision, but it has thrust his Ryder Cup future into doubt. Right after he was announced as Europe’s captain for the third-straight event, Donald weighed in on this saga.
Luke Donald plans to talk with Jon Rahm about Ryder Cup future
Donald is arguably the greatest Ryder Cup captain of all time and the glue that holds this highly successful European team together. But early into his third tenure, Donald might have his greatest task yet: getting Rahm onto the team next year.
Speaking to RTE, he said that he plans to talk with Rahm about this situation: “Jon, like Rory, like Shane, like all the guys that I’ve been able to captain, was a great player, great team-mate in Rome and New York, and obviously I’d love for him to be available.
“A little bit of that is on his shoulders, and he has to do what he thinks is right. But obviously, I look forward to having a chat with him and hopefully get him to be available for that Ryder Cup.”
There’s a lot of work to be done to get Rahm back on the Ryder Cup team, but if there’s anyone who commands enough respect to get the two-time major winner to change his mind, it’s Donald.
Rory McIlroy threatens Ryder Cup harmony with Jon Rahm comments
As we’ve come to expect from the grand slam winner, McIlroy was less diplomatic. He made it clear that Rahm should have taken the deal.
Speaking before the Arnold Palmer Invitational, McIlroy said, “In my opinion, it’s a really generous deal. Like it’s a much softer deal than what Brooks took to come back and play on the PGA Tour. Look, the European Tour can only do so much to accommodate these guys.
“So if you want to play on the Ryder Cup you have to be a member of the DP World Tour. You have to be a member of the DP World Tour, you have to abide by the rules and regulations.
“And the rules and regulations were, okay, if you break the media rights agreement and you go and play in a conflicting event, you don’t get a release, you’re subject to fines. So the guys didn’t want to pay these fines, that’s fine.
“So then the European Tour said, ‘Okay, let’s try to come up with some sort of solution where you don’t have to pay the fines, so that we can ease that burden on you, but still retain your membership.’
“And I, look, there’s a reason eight of the nine guys took that deal, right. I think it’s a really good deal. Yeah, obviously Jon doesn’t think so, and he’s obviously well within his rights to think that way. But I just don’t see what more the European Tour can do to accommodate these guys to retain their membership.”
He continued by saying Rahm should put the team before his own interests when it comes to the Ryder Cup: “Look, the Ryder Cup is bigger than any one person. It’s bigger than all of us. We come and go. Players are — we pass through the system.
“Like, it’s the platform that’s the big thing. I mean, I think we should all be grateful that we have a platform like the Ryder Cup that we can play on and that we can showcase our skills and be a part of something that’s obviously way bigger than ourselves.
“So at the end of the day it’s about the team and no one player is bigger than the team.”
Perhaps a bit of good cop, bad cop from Donald and McIlroy. Luckily, they have a year and a half to figure all of this out.