Miami (AFP) – Rory McIlroy said Wednesday it’s “a shame” Jon Rahm’s dispute with the DP World Tour has put his Ryder Cup future in doubt but emphasized that the match play tournament can survive without the Spaniard. “The Ryder Cup is bigger than any one person,” McIlroy stated in Orlando as he prepared for the US PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Rahm has rejected the DP World Tour’s deal to settle his fines for playing on the breakaway LIV Golf tour. The European-based circuit announced in February that eight LIV players had signed the agreement, which included a commitment to play more DP World Tour events in return for a release to play LIV Golf in 2026 and have their fines paid.
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At the LIV Golf tournament in Hong Kong this month, Rahm claimed that the DP World Tour was “extorting players,” asserting that he would play four DP World Tour events, in line with current membership rules, but not six. McIlroy expressed that he thought the conditions offered by the DP World Tour were “really generous,” noting that the terms were “much softer” than those imposed on five-time major winner Brooks Koepka in order to return from LIV to the US PGA Tour.
Koepka had to pay $5 million to charity and is ineligible for PGA Tour equity shares for five years. He also loses out on FedEx Cup bonus money this year and cannot participate in elite signature events unless he qualifies. “Look, there’s a reason eight of the nine guys took that deal,” McIlroy remarked regarding the players who came to terms with the DP World Tour.
“He signed a contract for LIV and he plays 14 events and the whole thing,” McIlroy pointed out. “But the DP World Tour is well within its rights to protect itself as a members organization and as a business. And if you asked any DP World Tour member about the deal that they have cut with the LIV guys, I think they would all say that it was pretty generous.”
Once again, McIlroy reiterated, “there’s a reason that eight of the nine took it, because they probably think the same thing. And one guy thinks a little differently, and that’s a shame.” He further stated that the European Tour “can only do so much” to accommodate golfers who jumped to LIV, emphasizing that if players wish to participate in the Ryder Cup, they must be members of the DP World Tour and abide by its rules and regulations.
Rahm has been part of every European Ryder Cup team since his debut in 2018, but McIlroy insisted that the loss of one player wouldn’t dim the luster of the USA vs. Europe showpiece. “It’s bigger than all of us,” he declared. “It’s the platform that’s the big thing. 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.”
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