JON RAHM FINALLY MAKES LAST-GASP ATTEMPT TO SALVAGE RYDER CUP FUTURE AMID LIV GOLF REBEL'S SIX-FIGURE DISPUTE WITH DP WORLD TOUR

Jon Rahm has finally appealed against six-figure fines imposed by the DP World Tour in an 11th hour maneuver to save his Ryder Cup future.

The Spaniard was given until midday (BST) on Thursday to either pay up or pursue a formal protest in order to contest the Open de Espana later this month, with the tournament key to him meeting eligibility criteria for next year’s Cup clash against the United States.

The two-time major winner insisted on Wednesday that he would not accept the European circuit’s sanctions for competing in conflicting events following his £400million ($500m) defection to LIV last Christmas.

With the clock ticking on the deadline for the Espana de Open – one of three tournaments Rahm must play in across the next two months to hit his membership quota of four for the year and therefore essential for him to play in the Ryder Cup – his representatives contacted the DP World Tour on Thursday morning to confirm they would pursue the legal route.

A statement from the DP World Tour read: ‘Jon Rahm has a pending appeal against sanctions imposed on him and in accordance with the DP World Tour’s Regulations, he is eligible to participate in the Open de España in Madrid later this month.’

That appeal process is expected to run into the new year, so he will be free to play the Tour event in Spain and the two others he had targeted – the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland and the Andalucia Masters in October. To date he has only ticked off one of the four tournaments needed to retain his membership, owing to his appearance at the Olympics.

His move to appeal echoes that of his LIV teammate Tyrrell Hatton, who used the same loophole as a means of gaining entry to the British Masters last month, thereby keeping the door open on his own Ryder Cup prospects.

Succeeding via the appeal will prove challenging for the LIV rebels. An independent panel at Sports Resolutions last year upheld the right of the DP World Tour to impose their ‘conflicting event’ sanctions, after they sought to fine their members up to £100,000 ($130,000) each time they played a LIV tournament that clashed with one of their own.

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2024-09-12T14:36:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd