LIV Golf star Jon Rahm set to return to his home DP World Tour event after appealing sanctions
Jon Rahm has earned a victory in his battle with the DP World Tour, at least temporarily. After fines and sanctions were handed down to the Spaniard due to his defection to LIV Golf, Rahm couldn't play in DP World Tour events. That included a few that would have made him Ryder Cup-eligible such as the Spanish Open.
Rahm said this week that he was talking with the DP World Tour and has since officially appealed the sanctions. As a result, he is eligible to return to Spain and play the Spanish Open later this month.
Via Golf Monthly, a spokesperson for the tour said:
“Jon Rahm has a pending appeal against sanctions imposed on him and in accordance with the DP World Tour’s Regulations, he is eligible to participate in the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid later this month.”
Rahm had previously said he intended to play the Spanish Open and three other tournaments to keep his eligibility alive. So far, he's on track to do that.
To be eligible for the Ryder Cup, Europeans must be members of the DP World Tour. To keep their membership, they have to play in four events per season if one of them is in their home country. If not, they must play in six events. Rahm will need to play the four events, and he's earned a win by getting into the first one for now.
Jon Rahm calls ineligibility a "disservice" to Spanish golf
Jon Rahm will play in Spain this month, but when that was not a foregone conclusion, he was sad about potentially missing out. He left for LIV Golf earlier this year and has since ignored the fines, but wanted to play some DP World Tour tournaments, one of which was in his home country.
Rahm said he wasn't chasing glory by trying to play the event but doing his "duty" as a Spaniard. He criticized his lack of eligibility at the time and said (via Golf Monthly):
"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."
That won't be a problem, but Rahm will likely face similar issues for the other three events. The DP World Tour and LIV Golf do not have a good relationship, and there's no telling which way the appeal will go. The PIF and PGA Tour merger may impact things, but that also seems far from resolution.