Luke Donald clears his stance on Jon Rahm’s Ryder Cup situation - "Those rules are the rules"
Jon Rahm on Thursday (September 12) raised his chances of competing in the Ryder Cup by appealing against the $1.7m fines placed on him by the DP World Tour. The LIV golfer made the legal move after revealing his plan to participate in three upcoming European circuit events including the Spanish Open.
Interestingly, Team Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald acknowledged Rahm’s move and took a neutral stance towards the same. While the Englishman said he was happy the LIV golfers made such a decision, he went on to back the circuit’s rules. The 46-year-old golfer was reminded that “those rules are the rules” and they were in place when Rahm signed with LIV Golf.
The skipper noted that he’s been in contact with the Spaniard throughout the process.
Discussing the fines placed against Jon Rahm, Luke Donald said while speaking to reporters at the Irish Open (as quoted by ASAP Sports):
“I've been talking to him, and he has his thoughts and he doesn't agree with the fines and paying fines, especially for events that he would never have played on the DP World Tour. But those rules are the rules, and they were certainly in place when he signed with LIV. It wasn't like they changed the fact.
"You could argue that they softened them a little bit with being able to appeal the process, and that's, from what I understand, gives the players more time for things to work out in the world of golf.”
Donald reiterated that he was “happy to hear” about Rahm’s decision to appeal against the fines. The veteran golfer admitted that the LIV player was “on the fence” about it and noted it being “frustrating” for the latter. He acknowledged the Spaniard’s interest towards the Ryder Cup and said his love for the competition would have been a “massive factor in his decision” to fight legally.
Ryder Cup captain on the lack of progress in the PGA-PIF deal
Luke Donald went on to address the delay from Jon Rahm’s side to file the appeal against DP World Tour. The Ryder Cup skipper noted that the player might have been waiting for development in the ongoing PGA-PIF deal, which is expected to resolve several of LIV golfers’ issues including Ryder Cup qualification.
The Englishman added that several other players also seem to feel unhappy about the slow pace of the discussions. He noted that the process ‘hasn’t been fun’ for him or anyone to deal with.
Luke Donald told reporters at the Irish Open:
“I think we are all being very patient right now. It's 15 months since Yassir and Jay Monahan got together. It's been frustrating I think for a lot of the players to see how slow everything has been going, and I'm sure it's been frustrating for Jon as well.
"But I think this hopefully gives some time for hopefully things to happen. I've heard in the last couple weeks there's been a little bit more progress. It's not fun for me to deal with, and it's not fun for anyone to deal with.”
Notably, Donald went on to address the different stances in the matter among players and added that he’s still talking ‘to the guys within the group individually’ about the team’s ‘culture.’