Rahm case casts shadow over Ryder Cup as PGA Tour-LIV rupture still runs deep | Ewan Murray
Jon Rahm has made his second decision. Only time will tell if this one is more successful than his first. If not, the European Ryder Cup scene is going to be messier than anyone expected.
Rahm himself admitted that he expected the pace of play toward collaboration in elite men’s golf to be considerably sharper than has been the case. He probably even expected his move to LIV last December to accelerate talks between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and traditional tours. Instead, the sport remains in a state of flux, with each entity plowing its own path.
Last week, Rahm came within hours of forfeiting his Ryder Cup spot on a point of principle. The Spaniard is objecting to the DP World – formerly the European – Tour imposing hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines for his involvement with LIV without the necessary consent. To Rahm’s credit, he is unwilling to allow LIV to pay these fines on his behalf.
An appeal from Rahm will allow him to play in three upcoming European events, fulfilling his 2024 membership obligations and keeping him in contention for Bethpage and a Ryder Cup defense next September.
For now, yes; Rahm continues to insist he won’t pay the fines, which begs the question: what on earth will happen if he loses his appeal at some point, presumably in the first half of 2025? And there’s a good chance that will happen, given that a sports arbitration panel ruled in favor of the European Tour Group on the matter in April 2023.
Two elements of this remain unsatisfactory. Golf’s fault line has always been between the PGA Tour and the LIV circuit, which has caused it all sorts of problems, including the poaching of star names. The DP World Tour has a strategic alliance with the PGA Tour, meaning it has to dance to the beat of Ponte Vedra Beach, but we now have a scenario where the Ryder Cup, a completely separate entity, is being affected.
The DP World Tour has never been in full-blown war with the Saudis. In fact, there is still speculation that the PIF could align itself with the Europeans and pose a global challenge to the PGA Tour if last year’s framework agreement collapses.
If the PGA Tour is serious about a properly collective approach, 15 months after preaching exactly that, it should tell its European equivalent that it can do whatever it wants with the Ryder Cup. The biennial joust should not be collateral damage in someone else’s line.
The PGA Tour has no claim whatsoever on the Ryder Cup; unlike the Presidents Cup, which has remained a LIV-free zone despite being a competitive farce. However, the Ryder Cup is hugely important to the DP World Tour and its finances.
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People may look up to Rahm and his LIV involvement; the stark reality is that the Ryder Cup will be damaged, including commercially, without his involvement. Regardless of what happens next year, Rahm – a star when the United States were beaten in Rome – will be one of the top 12 golfers in Europe.
The second problem concerns the fines themselves. It’s hard to shake the idea that these are elaborate ransom demands. “Pay us hundreds of thousands – a small percentage of your LIV income – and we’ll open the Ryder Cup door.”
For a league that supposedly offers the purest form of sport, where it is a virtue that players do not get a cent, this feels vulgar. It befits the DP World Tour to be behind rules, regulations and the protection of the rights of its ordinary members, but the fact that the right of appeal existed for Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton only shows that where there is goodwill, there is room for manoeuvre.
Luke Donald, the captain of Europe, has been expressing his frustration in recent days that men’s golf is not at a more advanced stage. Donald is smart enough to foresee a nightmare scenario. If the Rahm fine situation rears its head much closer to Bethpage, Donald’s position will be one that will bother him. Both Rahm and Donald are counting on this matter being resolved in the short term, somehow to their advantage. This feels like a huge leap into the unknown right now.