Pay to play Ryder Cup? 'Prove it' says Rory
McIlroy says Rahm and Hatton can end issues by paying their fines; Stray Shots
Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton got paired first two rounds in Dubai (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
One wonders if that first-tee handshake might have been a bit awkward for Rory McIlroy the past two days in Dubai.
McIlroy was grouped with his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton for the first two rounds at Emirates Golf Club in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. While that would not otherwise cause any angst, McIlroy’s pre-tournament comments might have rankled the easily rankle-able Englishman.
The five-time major winner was asked on the eve of the tournament if he thought LIV Golf players Hatton and Jon Rahm should pay their outstanding DP World Tour fines that — in theory — could keep them from participating in the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland if left in arears.
Both players are said to owe well in excess of $1 million each for playing LIV Golf events that conflict with DP World Tour events over the past two-plus years. While those fines remain under appeal, they have been allowed to compete in DPWT events and thus were eligible for the 2025 European Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black.
McIlroy pointed out that the Europeans used to their advantage the fact that the Americans were being compensated with a $500,000 stipend while European Ryder Cup players were not.
“Look, this is my opinion,” McIlroy said. “We went really hard on the Americans about being paid to play the Ryder Cup, and we also said that we would pay to play in Ryder Cups. There’s two guys that can prove it. Great.”
The appeals for Rahm and Hatton have been in limbo for nearly 18 months with no indication when they will be heard. In September of 2024, just before the deadline for them to commit to DP World Tour events they’d need to play to keep their membership, the players appealed.
In April of 2023, a UK arbitration panel ruled in favor of the DP World Tour, saying it was within its rights to assess fines and suspensions to players who violated its conflicting events agreements. The tour has an undisclosed fine and suspension system based on the events missed and where they are played.
Making the matter more pronounced is the fact that LIV Golf had been paying its players’ fines through 2025. It elected to stop doing so last season. Players who are competing as members of the DP World Tour this year will be having to pay fines out of their own pocket in the instances where there are conflicts.
Scott O’Neil, the LIV Golf CEO, has attempted to work with the DP World Tour on this issue, hoping for a reduction or some transparency as to how they are applied.
Rahm has said he will not pay the fines nor did he want LIV Golf to pay them. He and Hatton — who is the defending champion this week in Dubai — are still able to play in DP World Tour events. But if they lose the appeal, it opens the possibility that they’ll be banned from competing if they don’t settle up their outstanding tabs and pay the fines going forward.
Hatton brushed off queries about McIlroy’s comments and had little to add about the status of the appeal.
“It’s still with legal teams and there’s guys that are still in conversations working it all out,” he said. “So I haven’t put any more thought into that. Like I don’t really know what’s happening. So, yeah, I’m just here to play golf as always.”
That standoff has put both players’ future in the Ryder Cup in doubt because they are required to play a minimum of four DPWT events (outside of the majors) per year to maintain membership and be eligible to play for Team Europe.
“I think any organization or any members’ organization like this has a right to uphold its rules and regulations,” McIlroy said. “And what the DP World Tour are doing is upholding their rules and regulations and we, as members, sign a document at the start of every year, which has you agree to these rules and regulations. And the people that made the option to go to LIV knew what they were.
“So I don’t see what’s wrong with that, I guess, is my opinion.”
McIlroy said when Rahm and Hatton went to LIV Golf in 2024 that the DP World Tour needed to change its rules in order for them to be able to play Ryder Cup. That did not happen, but the appeals have been used as a workaround.
No other LIV player, following the UK arbitration ruling, appealed their fines.
“I’ve always been extremely proud to be a member on the DP World Tour, and certainly over the last couple of years, I’ve shown commitment to playing events here,” Hatton said this week. “And then with the Ryder Cup, it’s pretty hard to make those teams, and I’ve been fortunate to play the last four. And everyone says once you’ve played one, you never want to miss another one, and I’m certainly no different from that. Hopefully I’ll be able to play more in the future.
“Hopefully the only thing that stops me from being able to play in them would be age and some younger, much more talented players taking my spot in that sense. So hopefully that’s the way that my Ryder Cup career would end.”
On a related note, McIlroy said he still wishes the two sides — LV Golf and the PGA Tour — would come together, even though he believes it is nowhere close to happening.
“I don’t think it matters. I definitely think the traditional tours, if you want to call them that, have weathered the worst of the storm,” he said. “Again, my opinion is that golf would be better served if all the best players in the world played together a little more often than they do. You know, we’re really only seeing that four times a year at the major championships. But you’re talking about a handful of guys that are missing, say, a Players Championship or some of the other bigger tournaments in the world.
“So, yeah, I’d like to see the best players play together maybe 10 times a year instead of four times a year. But I would say that’s the only negative I see to something coming together.”
