Jon Rahm handed huge Ryder Cup boost after Olympics heartbreak

While the Olympic Games didn’t go the way Jon Rahm had hoped, the Spaniard has been offered one crumb of comfort after leaving Paris empty handed.

Rahm led by four heading into the back-nine at Le Golf National on Sunday, only to fall away after the turn and finish in a tie for fifth with Rory McIlroy at 15-under and two shots off the podium, which was occupied for gold medallist Scottie Scheffler, silver medallist Tommy Fleetwood, and Hideki Matsuyama, who took bronze.

And he was clearly gutted.

“I don’t remember the last time I played a tournament and I felt this,” he told reporters afterwards. “I not only feel like I let myself down but to just not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it’s a lot more painful than I would like it to be.”

“I’ve gotten the question [about] where this tournament would rank in my opinion, or what I would think it would feel like to win, and by losing today, I’m getting a much deeper appreciation of what this tournament means to me than if I had won any medal. I’m getting a taste of how much it really mattered.

“I’ve been very honoured to represent Spain in many, many different events, and to not get this one done stings quite a bit.”

And that is despite the fact there is no financial gain at the Olympics. As it happens, Rahm’s other favourite tournament also comes without a payday.

“Two of the most meaningful weeks in my career is two events where we make no money,” he added. “I’ve said that a million times, and I’ll say it again, because the Ryder Cup and this one are up there.”

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Rahm’s spot at next year’s Ryder Cup has been a huge talking point since his big-money move to LIV Golf at the start of the year. While the switch does not rule him out of the biennial showdown between Europe and the United States, it does come with complications – notably that the upgraded qualification process does not offer points for LIV events.

A vast improvement in his form at the majors aside, this means Rahm will almost certainly require one of Luke Donald’s six captain’s picks if he is to make a fourth appearance for the yellow and blue in New York next September.

However, he must retain his DP World Tour membership – and that comes with stipulations.

While other so-called LIV “rebels” such as Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood opted to resign from the European circuit and ultimately end their storied Ryder Cup careers, Rahm decided not to take the same route. He must, though, play a minimum of four DP World Tour events throughout the year in order to keep his card and be eligible for Bethpage.

And although the majors cannot be included to meet the criteria, the DP World Tour has confirmed the Olympic Games will count towards that number.

That means Rahm, who has signalled his intent to return to the DP World Tour once the LIV season ends in September, will only need to play three events before the year is out – but time is against him.

The week after LIV’s Tour Championship is the Open de Espana, while the European circuit returns to his homeland a month later for the Andalucia Masters. Those two feel like obvious choices, after which it would be one of the Dunhill Links, French Open, or Korea Championship before the usual season-ending playoffs in the Middle East.

No doubt Donald will want Rahm on his team. The Spaniard has earned seven-and-a-half points from 12 in his three Ryder Cup appearances, including three from four last time out in Rome.

We discussed Jon Rahm’s Olympics meltdown on the latest episode of The bunkered Podcast!

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor