Jon Rahm on Thursday appealed the European tour sanctions towards him for enjoying the LIV Golf League circuit, permitting him to play the Spanish Open and different European tour occasions till an unbiased panel decides whether or not he should pay fines.
Rahm’s formal enchantment was a pivotal transfer as a result of it permits him an opportunity to succeed in the minimal 4 European tour begins required to be thought of for the Ryder Cup subsequent yr.
Rahm, a former Masters champion and world No. 1, joined the Saudi-funded league late final yr for a signing bonus reported to be within the $300 million to $400 million vary.
Different gamers who defected to LIV Golf, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk, are going by the identical enchantment and are allowed into tournaments as the method performs out.
Hatton performed the British Masters two weeks in the past. Each are entered within the Spanish Open.
The European tour stated in a press release, “Jon Rahm has a pending enchantment towards sanctions imposed on him and in accordance with the DP World Tour’s Rules, he’s eligible to take part within the [Spanish Open] later this month.”
The DP World Tour is the business identify of the European tour.
“I do not intend to pay the fines, and we preserve making an attempt to have a dialogue with them about how we are able to make this occur,” Rahm stated on Wednesday from LIV Golf Chicago, the place he’s battling JoaquÃn Niemann for the person title price $18 million to the winner.
Rahm stated he has entered the Dunhill Hyperlinks Championship and the Andalucia Masters. That will give him 4 begins as a result of the Olympics depend towards the minimal.
The appeals course of is identical because it was when a number of Europeans first joined LIV Golf in summer season 2022. An unbiased panel, Sport Resolutions, dominated in April 2023 the gamers dedicated severe breaches and the European tour was inside its rights to penalize them.
“I am glad Jon determined to enchantment and he can play his occasions wherein he desires to play and be eligible,” European captain Luke Donald stated Thursday from the Irish Open. “I do know the Ryder Cup means a lot to him, and I am positive that was a large consider his resolution.”
Rahm is primarily against being fined for enjoying LIV occasions reverse tournaments he had by no means performed or didn’t intend to play. Amongst European tour occasions reverse LIV Golf this yr have been stops in Bahrain, South Africa, Japan, China and the Czech Republic.
“He has his ideas and he would not agree with the fines and paying fines, particularly for occasions that he would by no means have performed on the DP World Tour. However these guidelines are the foundations, they usually have been actually in place when he signed with LIV,” Donald stated.
Donald stated he hoped golf’s panorama could be totally different earlier than the September 2025 matches at Bethpage Black. Executives with the PGA Tour and the Public Funding Fund of Saudi Arabia met this week in New York to proceed negotiations concerning the PIF changing into a minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises and what that will imply for gamers on either side.
The tour and the PIF first had a framework settlement introduced in June 2023.
“I will take at present as a pleasant little victory for me personally to know that Jon is eligible and might play his three occasions now,” Donald stated. “What occurs sooner or later, I am unable to inform. What occurs in 15 months, I feel all of us thought one thing extra would occur.”
