Potential trouble appears to be brewing for LIV Golfers hoping to play in editions of the Ryder Cup beyond the upcoming Bethpage Black match.
That’s because, per The Telegraph’s Golf Correspondent James Corrigan, LIV Golf will no longer pay player fines to the DP World Tour accrued by its eligible Europeans after this year.
In April 2023, clarity over the Ryder Cup futures of European LIV Golfers came when the DP World Tour won a legal battle, which upheld its conflicting tournament release regulation, giving it the ability to sanction members who breached it.
That meant that European LIV Golfers who retained DP World Tour membership would need to pay ongoing fines to it, reportedly of $100,000 a tournament, for competing in events that conflicted with its schedule without permission.
Up until now, the big-money circuit has footed the bill for the sanctions imposed by the DP World Tour, meaning there is nothing to stop eligible European players either qualifying automatically or being handed a wildcard for this year’s match.
However, if, as reported, that stops, it will be up to the players to pay any future fines, with the likelihood that if they refuse to do so, they will not be considered for a place at the 2027 Ryder Cup and beyond.
The Telegraph reports that cumulative fines have amounted to approximately £15m ($20m) with another £8m to £10m ($10m to $13m) owed if appeals against sanctions lodged last year by Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk are unsuccessful.
By the time the appeals were filed, Meronk had already secured his 2025 DP World Tour card after winning the 2023 Andalucía Masters.
However, until launching their appeals, the outstanding fines briefly cast Rahm and Hatton's eligibility for September's match into doubt as both were short of the minimum four DP World Tour appearances needed to retain their memberships and be eligible for selection.
In the end, the pair were able to play the required number of tournaments pending appeal, and, as Corrigan reports, they will be heard after the Bethpage Black encounter against the US, meaning they are eligible for selection on this year's team.
However, if the appeals are unsuccessful, the only way they will be eligible for future editions will be to pay the fines themselves.
Rahm in particular has previously stated he is in no mood to pay the fines, saying before last year's LIV Golf Chicago: "I'm not a big fan of the fines. I think I've been outspoken about that. I don't intend to pay the fines."
Another player who would be expected to pay his own fines in the future would be the Ryder Cup’s record points scorer, Sergio Garcia.
He had resigned his DP World Tour membership in 2023 before rejoining it last November in a bid to battle for a place in this year’s team.
Other LIV Golfers who would have been eligible for selection this year include Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson. However, unlike Garcia, they have not rejoined the DP World Tour after resigning their memberships in 2023, so they won’t be on the team.
In any case, Poulter, like Rahm, has previously stated he'd have no desire to pay the fines if he had retained his membership.
He confirmed to Sports Illustrated's Matt Vincenzi in November that LIV Golfers have their fines covered by an indemnity policy, but added: “I personally wouldn’t pay because I felt it was unjust at the time to be fined $100,000 a week because it makes no sense to me at all."
If LIV Golfers refuse to pay their own fines, an option open to the DP World Tour to avoid the looming problem would be to relax its rules. However, as the report notes, that would likely cause disharmony among DP World Tour players who remained loyal to the European-based circuit rather than join LIV Golf.
