RORY MCILROY GETS LAST LAUGH IN RYDER CUP DEBATE AS LIV GOLF STARS DISCOVER FATE

Rory McIlroy's wish for Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton to play in the 2025 Ryder Cup has been granted after the LIV Golf stars were told they will be able to meet the entry criteria.

The duo, who played a pivotal role in Europe's triumph over the Americans at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in October, put their Ryder Cup futures in jeopardy when they signed up for the breakaway Saudi Arabia-bankrolled LIV over the winter. Rahm and Hatton signed contracts in the region of £450million and £50m respectively to turn their backs on the PGA Tour.

The pair have been suspended by the DP World Tour as a result of the move, racking up fines for each LIV event that is played. European players must be active members of the DP World Tour to be considered for Ryder Cup selection.

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However, the Wentworth-based tour's CEO Guy Kinnings has confirmed that Rahm and Hatton can be a part of Luke Donald's team at Bethpage in New York next year, if they jump through a few hoops. “The view that Jon Rahm has effectively written himself out of the Ryder Cup is wrong,” Kinnings said. “I don’t think it was ever the case.

"If you look at the qualification eligibility criteria for 2023, I think there has been a slight misconception. Under the current rules, if a player is European and is a member of the DP World Tour and abides by the rules as they currently are – so if you don’t get a release, you accept those sanctions and take those penalties – there is no reason that players who have taken LIV membership and maintain membership of the DP World Tour, could A qualify B or be available for selection. The current rules would allow it.”

The news is sure to be music to the ears of McIlroy, who did not want to be without Rahm in particular when Team Europe vies to defend the trophy in 16 months' time.

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"As someone that plays on the PGA Tour it is disappointing," McIlroy said when Rahm's move to LIV was announced in December. "As someone who has played on three Ryder Cup teams with Jon... Jon is going to be in Bethpage in 2025.

"So because of this decision, the European Tour are going to have to rewrite the rules for Ryder Cup eligibility, absolutely, there is no question about that. I certainly want Jon Rahm on the next Ryder Cup team.

"I am going to miss competing against him week-in-week-out. He is such a good player, he has so much talent. He is so tenacious, and a great teammate at the Ryder Cup. I have nothing but good things to say about Jon. I respect the hell out of him as a golfer."

Kinnings' statement is not good news for Sergio Garcia, though. The Spaniard is one of the greatest Ryder Cup players in the history of the event, holding the all-time points record. But he resigned his DP World Tour membership when he joined LIV in 2022 and is ineligible for selection unless a change of rules is put into action or he finds a way to regain his membership.

2024-04-26T12:27:36Z dg43tfdfdgfd