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LIV Golf rebels Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are reportedly eligible to compete at the Ryder Cup in 2025. They competed at the biennial event in 2023 and contributed significantly to the victory of the European team.
However, later that year, Jon Rahm shocked the golf world as he joined LIV Golf, resulting in his ban from the PGA Tour. However, he did not resign from his European Tour membership. Following Rahm, Hatton joined LIV Golf.
Recently, the new DP World Tour CEO, Guy Kinnings, stated that LIV golfers can compete at the Ryder Cup if they meet the eligibility criteria. In an interview with golf journalists in London, Kinnings said (as quoted by Golf Monthly):
“The reality is, under the current rules, if a player is European, a member of the DP World Tour and abides by the rules - if you don’t get a release there are sanctions and you take those penalties - there is no reason why players who have taken LIV membership could not qualify or be available for selection.”
Additionally, he stated that suspension will count; however, if players meet the criteria, they can compete.
“All suspensions will count and you have to serve them. And the guys who’ve analysed this in detail have said if they do it the right way, there is no reason why they can’t play in the Ryder Cup. We’re not going to change anything on that basis. Rules are rules and they apply for every member," he added.
LIV golfers need to pay fines to play at the Ryder Cup 2025
If Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton want to play at the Ryder Cup in 2025, they need to retain their DP World Tour membership.
However, in order to compete in the Ryder Cup, players must play in at least four DP World Tour events. Additionally, the European Tour has imposed fines for players who defect to compete on LIV Golf, indicating that Rahm and Hatton may need to pay fines as well.
Guy Kunnings also spoke about the fines in his interview, saying:
“Our members have had to pay for legal fees,. And our process has been vindicated. So we are not going to change anything. This is not new news. Not all of the European LIV players resigned from the DP World Tour."
"Luke Donald analyzed every player who was eligible for the last Ryder Cup. And had certain players performed well enough—as Brooks Koepka did for the Americans—then they could have been in the Ryder Cup team [in Rome]. As it is, they didn’t. Bottom line? We are not about to change rules we went to court to defend. They are what they are. The level of fines has not changed. Rules are rules. So we were not tempted to change when Jon went to LIV.”
It is important to note that the Ryder Cup has a 12-member team. Six of them are autoqualified based on the qualification points they earned by playing in professional events, while the remaining six players are the captain's picks.
Last year, DP World Tour players, including Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, and Lee Westwood, gave up their membership to avoid fines and were ineligible to compete in the Ryder Cup in 2023.
In fact, Brooks Koepka, who played for the American Ryder Cup team, was the only LIV golfer to compete in the prestigious tournament in 2023.
