DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings affirms that Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are not exploiting a loophole to stay eligible for the Ryder Cup.
Rory McIlroy’s initial reaction to Rahm joining LIV Golf in December was to advocate for a rewrite of the rules to ensure the two-time major champion could represent Europe in 2025 at Bethpage.
McIlroy later acknowledged that the rules did not need to be altered as Rahm and Hatton were eligible as long as they maintained their DP World Tour memberships by participating in four regular events per season.
The duo will also collect points for qualification through major championships but will face penalties and suspensions for participating in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases.
It wasn’t widely understood that suspensions are automatically imposed on the next DP World Tour event that the player is eligible for, even if they had no intention of participating in that event.
“It’s not a loophole because that’s the rules we’ve always had and those are the rules we are going to continue to apply,” stated Kinnings.
“All suspensions will count, and you have to serve them. And the guys who’ve analyzed this in detail have said if they do it the right way, there is no reason why they can’t play in the Ryder Cup.
“We’re not going to change anything on that basis. Rules are rules and they apply to every member. We’re not in a position to change rules that we’ve had to defend in court.”
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton in Rome (Mike Egerton/PA)
In April 2023, an arbitration panel decided that the Tour had the authority to penalize players for “serious breaches” of its code of behavior. This ruling stemmed from 12 players appealing against fines of £100,000 and suspension from the Scottish Open for competing in LIV’s inaugural event in June 2022.
Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, and Lee Westwood resigned their memberships following the arbitration panel’s decision, while Henrik Stenson was relieved of his duties as Ryder Cup captain after joining the Saudi-funded breakaway league.
When asked if such players were aware of how tournament suspensions operated, Kinnings remarked, “I have no idea what they thought.
“To be perfectly honest, this isn’t new news because, as you know, I had an extremely thorough Ryder Cup captain and a brilliant assistant.
“For the last Ryder Cup, they were analyzing every player who was eligible, regardless of the tour they were on.
“And had certain players performed well enough, like Brooks [Koepka] did, then they could have made the Ryder Cup team. As it turned out, they didn’t.”
Koepka, who finished second in the 2023 Masters and secured victory in the US PGA Championship the following month, fell out of the automatic qualifying positions in the final event but received a wild card from United States captain Zach Johnson.
The DP World Tour’s members’ handbook reportedly does not provide specific details on suspensions as they are evaluated on an individual basis. However, sanction letters sent to players do clearly state from which tournaments they will be suspended.
