Ryder Cup: Europe not changing qualifying rules for LIV golfers – Captain Luke Donald

Rory McIlroy said immediately after Rahm’s dramatic move to LIV last December that the European Tour “needs to rewrite the rules for participation in the Ryder Cup” because “we would certainly miss Jon and need him at Bethpage”.

Europe were beaten 19-9 at Whistling Straits on their last visit to the US in 2021. They took revenge for that defeat with a 16½-11½ victory in Rome (Rahm and Hatton are unbeaten in their four matches), but the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York promises to be another tough challenge.

However, Donald told BBC Sport on Tuesday that “there will not be a situation where we appoint one person to change the rule”.

He added: “It’s quite clear in the policy that you either pay the fines or you can appeal them. Within the appeal period you can still participate in some DP World Tour events, so Jon knows exactly what is expected of him.

“He wants to play a few events and qualify. I hope he pays the fines or appeals and qualifies for my team because I would love for him to play in that.”

Rahm has two more LIV events scheduled this year: September 13-15 in Chicago and a week later in Dallas.

When Rahm announced his move to LIV in December, he spoke of his desire to retain his DP World Tour membership and how “important the Spanish Open” is to him.

He has won the event three times, a record, and this year the event will be held in Madrid from September 26-29. The Andalucia Masters will also be held in his home country in October.