Jon Rahm makes new commitment to boost Ryder Cup chances

There is a long road ahead in Jon Rahm’s bid to play in the next Ryder Cup – but he has just taken another significant step to Bethpage 2025.

That’s because, as first called by TenGolf, Rahm’s place at the Estrella Damn Andalucia Masters later this month has now been officially confirmed.

At face value, Rahm’s entry into a tournament on Spanish soil is hardly newsworthy – particularly given he lost his national open in a playoff to Angel Hidalgo in Madrid just last week. 

But the fractured outlook of men’s professional golf in 2024 tells a different story.

The significance for Rahm – and just as crucially European skipper Luke Donald –  is that his appearance at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande from 17-20 October will complete the four minimum required events to keep his DP World Tour membership and remain eligible for the 2025 duel.

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Having appealed his sanctions at the eleventh hour for competing in conflicting LIV Golf events, Rahm was deemed eligible to play in the Spanish Open by Tour officials pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.

And this week, he is playing at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship across three famed courses in Scotland – the Old Course at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.

As planned, he will then return from the Home of Golf to his homeland, with his presence in Andalucia no doubt boosting the profile of the £2.7million event.

Rahm is also expected to return to the Middle East for the DP World Tour playoffs in November, having made a huge jump in the Race to Dubai rankings with his runner-up finish in Madrid.

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The clear pathway for a busy autumn in the post-LIV season means that Rahm won’t need to relinquish his card having fulfilled his quota, but complications around his Ryder Cup eligibility still remain.

The two-time major champion has been adamant he will not pay fines for playing in LIV events without permission from the DP World Tour. But LIV golfers already lost an arbitration case that saw sanctions against them upheld last year, so a precedent has been set.

It is unclear what will happen if Rahm and his LIV teammate Tyrrell Hatton lose their appeal hearing as is anticipated, or indeed, whether it will take place after the duel in New York.

“There’s no fixed, set formula to that, and so we’ll just wait and see how long it takes to reach that appeal process,” Guy Kinnings, the DP World Tour chief executive, told reporters last month at Wentworth.

“And in the interim, as you know, the most important thing that we are also doing is continuing to have the ongoing discussions about the future, which may or may not impact that process. But it’s for the lawyers to decide.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.