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Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have been warned there will be no quick fix to resolve their Ryder Cup futures.

The duo, so influential in last year’s win in Rome, jeopardised their chances of appearing in the next match at Bethpage by moving to the LIV Golf League.

Unlike European stalwarts Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, Rahm and Hatton have retained their DP World Tour memberships after accepting LIV’s overtures.

But the pair are already racking up fines and suspensions by the European circuit after a sporting arbitration ruled last April that Wentworth HQ was right to impose such sanctions for players competing in LIV events without a release.

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And, under current rules, that means Rahm and Hatton would likely miss out on next year’s away match as DP World Tour members must play four events per season or lose their card.

Paul McGinley, the 2014 winning captain who is now a member on the Ryder Cup advisory board, has warned that there is a tough road ahead for them to make Luke Donald’s team.

“Under the current systems, they’re not going to be eligible,” McGinley said, as quoted by the Irish Independent.

“So the rules will have to be changed if they are to be played. But there are a lot of hurdles to jump to get to the place where they’re going to be eligible.

“There’s a very, very strong sentiment among the players who have stayed that they’re the reason the game is divided and the product diluted.

“A diluted product lessens their value. So there’s an argument on both sides. And then there’s the Ryder Cup brand. Is that going to be affected if some top players are ineligible to play?

“So you’ve got to balance making sure the Ryder Cup stays in this top echelon, with the best players playing, but also being fair to the players on both sides. So it’s a negotiating position.”

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Rory McIlroy stated that the eligibility rules should be altered to accommodate Rahm in the immediate aftermath of the Spaniard’s mega-money LIV switch.

Meanwhile, the golf world waits on whether a resolution will be found between the DP World and PGA Tours and PIF, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund bankrolling LIV, which could offer an alternate pathway.

McGinley, though, knows Donald has a big selection headache brewing as he aims to become just the second captain in Ryder Cup history to lead Europe to victory both home and away.

“I’ve been speaking a lot to Luke Donald about potential scenarios, but nothing is written in stone. I’ve loads of ideas about what could happen. But it’s hard when there are so many moving parts at the moment.

“The five brands that have grown substantially on the back of this disharmony in the game are the four majors and the Ryder Cup. Where the Ryder Cup is going to go now in terms of eligibility is a big challenge for Luke and the tour.

“Are these guys going to be allowed play Ryder Cup? Or are they not? And if they are, how are we going to do that?”

For now, that’s the million dollar question. The next Ryder Cup takes place at Bethpage Black on Long Island from September 26-28 2025.

topics

Paul McGinley LIV Golf Ryder Cup Jon Rahm Tyrrell Hatton

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.