Luke Donald, European captain of the Ryder Cup, has been one of the most sought-after people as soon as it was known that Jon Rahm is going to appeal the sanction imposed by the DP World Tour and, therefore, will now be able to play tournaments on the European circuit and remain available to be chosen for the Ryder Cup.
Rahm has waited until the last minute to submit the appeal, he has kept the pulse with the DP World Tour until the end and Donald has breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news. It is obvious that he wants to count on Jon in Bethpage. Or at least, he is clear that he wants to have the opportunity to be able to choose him.
Jon has submitted the appeal when Donald was still on the field playing the first round of the Irish Open. As soon as he finished, he was asked and he did not hesitate to show his satisfaction. “I just found out about 30 seconds ago. From my point of view, very happy to hear that he made that decision. Very pleased that he did, that he can play and thus create some time for things in the world of golf to resolve themselves. Now he will be able to play the tournaments he wants to play and be eligible for the Ryder Cup. Playing one more means a lot to him, I’m sure it was a key factor in his decision,” he explained.
Regarding what may happen in the future, Donald remains prudent. He trusts that there will be a solution beforehand and asks for patience. “We all have to be very patient at this time. It’s been 15 months since Yasser Al Rumayyan and Jay Monahan had that first agreement. It has been frustrating for many players how slow everything is going, I’m sure it has been frustrating for Jon too. I stick with today and we’ll see what happens in the future”.
As for the fines, Donald expresses himself with caution so as not to hurt sensitivities on one side or the other. In any case, he asks that no one forget that the possibility of presenting the appeal and gaining time, is a way to soften the conflict, open an exit door. “I’ve been talking to Jon. He has his opinion, he disagrees with the fines, especially for tournaments he would never have played on the DP World Tour. But well, again, the rules are the rules. They were there when he signed for LIV Golf, you can’t say they changed them afterwards. Moreover, it could be argued that they have softened them a bit with the possibility of appealing them, as this allows players more time for things to work in the future,” he pointed out.
Another aspect that Donald values from Rahm and Hatton thinking about the Ryder has to do with the group feeling. It’s golf, of course, but there’s much more. “We created a very good bond in Rome and that’s still there. I have no concerns. The first issue was to try to get Jon, Tyrrell and some of those guys to be eligible, to have the opportunity to have them on my team. There’s a lot of camaraderie. This allows us to keep working on the next year. It’s the team culture we have. We are a whole. We always find a way to come together, play for something more than ourselves, we play for each other,” he concluded.
In short, Rahm, Donald and the Ryder Cup gain time while praying that the bigwigs of the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund reach an agreement that ends up resolving everything.
