DP World Tour boss insists no hole needed for LIV stars to play Ryder Cup – Golf News

DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings insists Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will not use a “loophole” to remain eligible for the Ryder Cup.

Rory McIlroy's immediate reaction to Rahm joining LIV Golf in December was to call for the rules to be rewritten to ensure the two-time major champion could represent Europe at Bethpage in 2025.

McIlroy later admitted that the rules did not need to be changed as Rahm and Hatton were eligible as long as they maintained their DP World Tour membership by playing four regular events a season.

The two will also earn points for reaching the main tournament, but face penalties and suspensions from playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” exception.

However, it was not widely understood that the suspension is automatically applied to the next DP World Tour event a player qualifies for and entries are still open, even if they did not intend to play that event.

“It's not a loophole because those are the laws we've always had and those are the laws we'll continue to use,” said Kinnings.

“Every suspension will count and you have to work for them. The boys analyzed this in detail and said that if they do it the right way, there is no reason why they cannot play in the Ryder Cup.

“We will not change anything on that basis. The rules are the rules and they apply to all members. We are not in a position to change the laws that we had to go to court to protect.”

In April 2023, an arbitration panel ruled that the Tour had the right to punish players for “serious breaches” of code of conduct, a case brought by 12 players who appealed a £100,000 fine and a ban from the Scottish Open for playing the LIV's first match. event in June 2022.

Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood withdrew their membership after the decision of the arbitration panel, while Henrik Stenson was fired as Ryder Cup captain after joining the Saudi-sponsored break.

Asked if such players knew how suspensions worked, Kinnings added: “I don't know what they were thinking.

“To be honest, this is not new news because, as you know, I had a very thorough Ryder Cup captain and a brilliant assistant.

“For the last Ryder Cup they were analyzing every player who was eligible and it was players from whatever journey they were on.

“And there were some players who played well enough, like Brooks [Koepka] they did, then they could be on the Ryder Cup team. As it is, they didn't.”

Koepka, who finished second in the 2023 Masters and won the US PGA Championship the following month, dropped out of the automatic qualifying spot in the final round but was given a wild card by United States captain Zach Johnson.

It is understood that the DP World Tour member's handbook does not detail suspensions as each case is assessed, but the penalty letters sent to players make it clear from which tournaments they will be suspended.