Jon Rahm is going to do what he needs to give himself a chance at earning a spot on the 2025 European Ryder Cup team for Bethpage Black in New York.
Ahead of the LIV Golf Chicago event this week, Rahm said he intends to play in a series of DP World Tour events in the fall that will allow him to maintain his membership by playing a minimum number of DP World Tour-exclusive events outside the majors or event co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour.
Rahm said he will play in his national open, the Open de Espana, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and at the Andalucia Masters to reach that minimum figure. By playing in the men's Olympic tournament in Paris, Rahm also competed in a DP World Tour-sanctioned event. That gets him to the four-event minimum required to be a DP World Tour member, which is a must to be selected in any way to play on the European Ryder Cup team.
"I'm entered into the [Spanish Open]," Rahm said Wednesday. "We entered a long time ago."
However, it's unclear if the DP World Tour will allow Rahm to play. That's due to Rahm saying he will continue to refuse to pay fines levied against him by the DP World Tour for competing in events that conflict with his membership on that tour -- namely, the 14 LIV Golf events he is obligated to play as a contracted player with the LIV Golf League.
"Whether they let me play or not is a different thing. I'm not a big fan of the fines," Rahm said. "I think I've been outspoken about that. I don't intend to pay the finds, and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen.
"I've said many times, I don't go to the Spanish Open for the glory or anything else. I think it's my duty to Spanish golf to be there, and I also want to play in Sotogrande (in the Andalucia Masters)."
Rahm, who said playing in his national open counts as two DP World Tour starts, wants to play in these events not just to satisfy the Ryder Cup requirements but also to continue playing in front of his national crowd.
"At that point, it would almost be doing not only me but Spanish golf a disservice by not letting me play, so yeah, that's why we're trying to talk to them and make that happen," Rahm said. "I would also love to play the Dunhill. I have a good friend who asked me to play, and Johan has been a great, great ambassador for the game of golf. I would love to be able to play all those events."
If Rahm is allowed to play and settles the fines issue with the DP World Tour, he would be eligible to make the team in 2025. Captain Luke Donald could pick Rahm with one of his captain's picks for the away match at Bethpage Black, or Rahm could qualify under the new single points list as one of six automatic picks on the team. However, Rahm could struggle under the combined points system by playing in just a handful of potential ranking events before the deadline. Nevertheless, Rahm is practically a lock to have a spot on the team.
