Rory McIlroy is surprised that Jon Rahm turned down what he sees as a “really generous deal” from the DP World Tour to end disciplinary action against LIV players which has now put his Ryder Cup future into doubt.
McIlroy insists that no player is bigger than the Ryder Cup if Rahm is absent from Adare Manor next year with the Spaniard set for crunch talks with Luke Donald who was confirmed for a third successive term as Team Europe captain.
“It’s a really generous deal,” said McIlroy ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. “Like it’s a much softer deal than what Brooks took to come back and play on the PGA TOUR. Look, the European Tour can only do so much to accommodate these guys. So, you know, if you want to play on the Ryder Cup you have to be a member of the DP World Tour. You have to be a member of the DP World Tour, you have to abide by the rules and regulations. And the rules and regulations were, okay, if you break the media rights agreement and you go and play in a conflicting event, you don’t get a release, you’re subject to fines. So the guys didn’t want to pay these fines, that’s fine.”
Eight players, including Tyrrell Hatton and Tom McKibbin were given conditional releases to play in LIV events without further punishment if they paid their fines while also dropping their appeals against the tour and agreeing to play in a specific number of DP World Tour events.
With four events the current cut off to retain DP World Tour membership, McIlroy can’t fathom why Rahm decided against the deal. Rahm accused the tour of attempting to extort LIV players but McIlroy feels the tour couldn’t be any more accomodating.
“So then the European Tour said, okay, let’s try to come up with some sort of solution where you don’t have to pay the fines, so that we can ease that burden on you, but still retain your membership. And I, look, there’s a reason eight of the nine guys took that deal, right. I think it’s a really good deal. Yeah, obviously Jon doesn’t think so, and he’s obviously well within his rights to think that way. But I just don’t see what more the European Tour can do to accommodate these guys to retain their membership.
“I mean, to retain your membership is four events on the DP World Tour outside of the major championships. And that to me doesn’t seem — yes, okay, maybe, you know, maybe the European Tour gets to have a say in where those two events are, but I mean, I’m sure Jon doesn’t want to go to South Africa next week, but he’s going there.
“Yeah, he signed a contract for LIV and he plays 14 events and the whole thing. Like I get all that. But the DP World Tour is well within its rights to protect itself as a members organization and as a business. And if you asked any DP World Tour member about the deal that they have cut with the LIV guys they would, I think they would all say that it was pretty generous. So, and again, there’s a reason that eight of the nine took it, because they probably think the same thing, and one guy thinks a little differently, and that’s a shame.”
As for next year’s Ryder Cup, as it stands Rahm would be ineligible. But Europe have won back to back Ryder Cups without the famed ‘old guard’ of Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and co, McIlroy feels Europe will be just fine.
“Look, the Ryder Cup is bigger than any one person. It’s bigger than all of us. We come and go. Players are — we pass through the system. Like, it’s the platform that’s the big thing. I mean, I think we should all be grateful that we have a platform like the Ryder Cup that we can play on and that we can showcase our skills and be a part of something that’s obviously way bigger than ourselves. So at the end of the day it’s about the team and no one player is bigger than the team.”
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