Rory McIlroy opens up on Jon Rahm refusing DP World Tour deal for LIV players

Rahm was the odd man out as eight other LIV Golf players who are DP World Tour members accepted an offer for conditional releases to play on the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit this season.

Speaking for the first time about his decision, Rahm said on Tuesday that he wasn’t happy with the deal that had been offered, with a requirement to play a total of six DP World Tour events instead of the minimum four being a stumbling block.

Rahm also hit out at the DP World Tour, accusing the Wentworth-based organsation of “extorting players like myself and young players that have nothing to do with the politics of the game”.

McIlroy was asked about the DP World Tour deal - Tyrrell Hatton was among the players who agreed to it -and Rahm’s stance ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Bay Hill in Orlando.

“Geez, in my opinion, it's a really generous deal,” said the career grand slam winner. “Like it's a much softer deal than what Brooks took to come back and play on the PGA Tour.

“Look, the European Tour can only do so much to accommodate these guys. So, you know, if you want to play on the Ryder Cup you have to be a member of the DP World Tour.

“ You have to be a member of the DP World Tour, you have to abide by the rules and regulations. And the rules and regulations were if you break the media rights agreement and you go and play in a conflicting event, you don't get a release, you're subject to fines. So the guys didn't want to pay these fines, that's fine.

‘I think it’s a really good deal’

“So then the European Tour said, okay, let's try to come up with some sort of solution where you don't have to pay the fines, so that we can ease that burden on you, but still retain your membership.

“Look, there's a reason eight of the nine guys took that deal, right. I think it's a really good deal. Yeah, obviously Jon doesn't think so, and he's obviously well within his rights to think that way. But I just don't see what more the European Tour can do to accommodate these guys to retain their membership.”

It is believed that the two additional events players will be required to play will be determined by the DP World Tour, something which Rahm is clearly unhappy about.

“Which isn't a heavy lift,” replied McIlroy to it essentially being a trade-off. “I mean, to retain your membership is four events on the DP World Tour outside of the major championships.

“Okay, maybe the European Tour gets to have a say in where those two events are, but I mean, I'm sure Jon doesn't want to go to South Africa next week (for a LIV Golf event), but he's going there.

‘DP World Tour within rights to protect itself’

“He signed a contract for LIV and he plays 14 events and the whole thing. Like I get all that. But the DP World Tour is well within its rights to protect itself as a members organisation and as a business.

“And, if you asked any DP World Tour member about the deal that they have cut with the LIV guys they would, I think they would all say that it was pretty generous.

“There's a reason that eight of the nine took it, because they probably think the same thing, and one guy thinks a little differently, and that's a shame.”

It means that Rahm’s Ryder Cup future is likely to hinge on the result of an appeals process, which is now underway.

‘Ryder Cup is bigger than any one person’

“Look, the Ryder Cup is bigger than any one person,” declared McIlroy. “It's bigger than all of us. We come and go. Players pass through the system. It's the platform that's the big thing.

“I think we should all be grateful that we have a platform like the Ryder Cup that we can play on and that we can showcase our skills and be a part of something that's obviously way bigger than ourselves. So, at the end of the day , t's about the team and no one player is bigger than the team.”