For the first time, Jon Rahm has put figures on the table. The Basque has acknowledged in the SubPar podcast how much money the DP World Tour is demanding from him in fines, and far from backing down, he remains firm in his stance: he disagrees with the sanctions and does not see an easy short-term solution.
“I know it’s between one and one and a half million per year. So, in my case, about three million,” Rahm explained, making it clear that he understands the financial scope of the conflict, although he insists that the crux of the matter goes far beyond money.
The point that bothers him the most is not just the amount, but the principle. Rahm considers it “a bit absurd” to be sanctioned for tournaments he has never played or intended to play, not even when competing on the PGA Tour. His European schedule, he recalls, was always concentrated at the end of the year, with events like the Irish Open, Wentworth or the Open de España. Rightly or wrongly, this is not something new, Jon has defended this stance since the origin of the fines.
Even so, the man from Barrika does not expect an immediate pardon. “Do I think the fines are going to magically disappear? No. But I think this will gradually fade away,” he noted, pointing to a global solution that does not involve individual agreements.
Rahm maintains that he does not want special treatment. He knows he is not alone — he mentions between fifteen and twenty players in the same situation — and emphasises that any resolution must be common for all. “They can’t do it just with me,” he insists.
Despite the uncertainty, Rahm is convinced that his story with the Ryder Cup is not over. “I don’t think this has been my last Ryder Cup,” he states, although he acknowledges that the outcome does not depend solely on him, but on a broader dialogue between LIV Golf and the DP World Tour.
In that context, he also had clear words about the future of the European bench. For Rahm, Luke Donald has more than earned the right to continue as captain. The work done, the leadership, and the results support his continuity… if he wants to take on such a demanding commitment.
But if Donald decided to step aside, Rahm has his own predictions. He sees it as unlikely that, in the short term, a LIV player could take on the role, although he acknowledges exceptions with geographical and symbolic sense like Graham McDowell. Later on, if the golf ecosystem normalises, he does not rule out Sergio García.
Among the most immediate options, Rahm highlights Justin Rose, although he doubts he would want to stop competing, and Francesco Molinari, whom he sees well-positioned due to his experience as vice-captain and his involvement in the team.
The man from Barrika also took time to recount what he experienced in the last edition held at Bethpage. Rahm does not sugarcoat the experience. He describes it as tough, extreme, and exhausting from an emotional standpoint. “Yes, I enjoyed it,” he admits, “but I got angry many times with the crowd.”
The atmosphere was hostile from the first minute. Not only during the game but from the moment the European team set foot on the course. For ten or twelve straight hours, the noise did not stop. Insults, taunts, constant provocations. “Traitor,” “terrorist,” “fat,” references to the drug Ozempic, comments about baldness… Everything was fair game: “They kept talking even while we were hitting the shot,” he explains. That constant invasion of the player’s mental space was, for Rahm, the biggest adaptation challenge.
Rahm explained that he decided not to take the bait. In his opinion, responding to the crowd would take him out of the game. Other teammates, like Rory McIlroy or Shane Lowry, knew how to channel that energy to their advantage. He did not. “I knew that if I got into that game, it would affect my golf,” he acknowledges.
Even so, that pressure had the opposite effect: it strengthened the team’s unity. Rahm recounts how, within the group, a sort of pact was formed. “I told Tyrrell: if you’re going to go crazy, shout at me, not at them.” As the hours passed, humour even emerged as a defence mechanism. “When they called us fat, we thought: ‘Do you think we don’t have a mirror?'” Some taunts even became amusing. Others, not so much.
Regarding the Majors, he reaffirms his preference not to compete the week before, except for exceptions like the Scottish Open before the Open. It also sounds like a certain pressure on the Saudi circuit to compete on a links course at that time.
