JON RAHM AND TYRRELL HATTON WARNED RYDER CUP CHANCES ARE IN PERIL AHEAD OF CRUNCH MEETING

Paul McGinley says there are many obstacles facing LIV Golf members who want to play in the Ryder Cup ahead of an advisory board meeting on Thursday.

Ryder Cup-winning captain McGinley and the five other members of the advisory board will discuss solutions to the PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide, with LIV players ineligible to play in the 2025 edition at Bethpage in New York. That was not a problem in 2023, with Europe's best players predominantly playing on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, but Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton's stunning moves to LIV in recent months have complicated matters for returning Team Europe captain Luke Donald.

As it stands, Rahm and Hatton face being frozen out of Ryder Cup contention. Their involvement with the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV has led to fines and suspensions from the DP World Tour, with an active membership of the Wentworth-based circuit a requirement for European players to be eligible for the competition.

Players on both sides of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf argument have called for the eligibility requirements to be changed to ensure Europe travels stateside with its strongest team. But McGinley told the Belfast Telegraph a solution will not be easily found.

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“Under the current systems, [LIV players] are not going to be eligible,” McGinley said. “So the rules will have to be changed if they are to be played. But there are a lot of hurdles to jump to get to the place where they’re going to be eligible.

“There’s a very, very strong sentiment among the players who have stayed that they’re the reason the game is divided and the product diluted. A diluted product lessens their value. So there’s an argument on both sides. And then there’s the Ryder Cup brand. Is that going to be affected if some top players are ineligible to play?

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“So you’ve got to balance making sure the Ryder Cup stays in this top echelon, with the best players playing, but also being fair to the players on both sides. So it’s a negotiating position.”

McGinley believes conversations must also be had with the PGA of America to ensure Ryder Cup eligibility rules for European and American players are the same. Americans are permitted to play in the competition, with Brooks Koepka taking part in Rome as one of Zach Johnson's captain's picks.

McGinley said he has had extensive discussions with Donald about the route forward, but "nothing is written in stone". The Dubliner added: "I’ve loads of ideas about what could happen. But it’s hard when there are so many moving parts at the moment.

“The five brands that have grown substantially on the back of this disharmony in the game are the four Majors and the Ryder Cup. Where the Ryder Cup is going to go now in terms of eligibility is a big challenge for Luke and the tour. Are these guys going to be allowed play Ryder Cup? Or are they not? And if they are, how are we going to do that?”

2024-03-27T12:52:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd