LIV Golf’s latest signing, Jon Rahm, has admitted that he felt emotional when he heard Rory McIlroy advocating for Europe to change its Ryder Cup eligibility rules to accommodate him at the next edition in 2025.
Rahm, who moved to the Saudi backed tour for a world record fee, has thrown a massive bombshell at the PGA Tour but was delighted to hear McIlroy backing his corner over a fourth successive Ryder Cup appearance in Bethpage Black.
None of LIV Golf’s Europeans were eligible for September’s Ryder Cup having resigned their DP World Tour membership, and McIlroy feels Europe can’t afford to impose the same rules on Rahm.
“I have so much respect for Rory McIlroy and to have his support right away is very, very special,” Rahm told LIV’s Fairway To Heaven podcast. “It’s almost emotional to hear about it.”
“The Ryder Cup means a lot to me and is one of the things that made this decision very difficult for me,” Rahm said. “And I’ve always been hopeful that if I made the step, the DP World Tour would maybe adapt the eligibility so we can play it.”
Late on Sunday the PGA Tour announced it has agreed to advance negotiations with Strategic Sports Group (SSG) and continue PIF negotiations.
“With that said, I absolutely pretend to keep my DP World Tour status and PGA Tour status and be a member if possible if allowed and play more events.
“So nothing regarded to that is going to change in my mind. So yeah, I’m hoping you know, sooner than later, we’ll hear some news about the Ryder Cup and we get a clearer path of how we can make things work.
“I would love nothing more than to defend the Cup in Bethpage.”
A memo was sent out to all PGA TOUR members, it was outlined that the PGA TOUR Policy Board were in advanced negotiations with Strategic Sports Group and were ‘very confident’ of achieving a positive outcomes for all players and the PGA Tour overall.
Monahan was due to meet with PIF governor Yasir Al Rumayyan over the weekend to resolve merger talks with the deadline for a framework agreement set at December 31.
The investors Strategic Sports Group was listed as follows: Marc Attanasio, Arthur Blank, Gerry Cardinale, Cohen Private Ventures, Fenway Sports Group, Mike Gordon, Wyc Grousbeck John Henry, HighPost Capital, Marc Lasry, Tom Ricketts, Tom Werner.
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