Jon Rahm breaks silence over thorny Ryder Cup situation

Jon Rahm is adamant he has a Ryder Cup future. 

The two-time major winner has played a key role in Europe's success in the biennial contest since making his debut in 2018. 

Rahm saw off Tiger Woods in his Sunday singles contest to cap off a remarkable weekend in Paris and was instrumental in Europe's comfortable win on home soil in Italy two years ago. 

But whether Rahm was going to tee it up at Bethpage Black last September was cast into doubt after the Spaniard joined LIV Golf for a reported £450m ($566.4m).

Rahm, like other LIV Golf players, has been hit with large fines by the DP World Tour for teeing it up on the PIF-backed breakaway. 

He previously revealed he has absolutely no intention of paying the fines and lodged an appeal with Sports Resolutions UK. 

The protracted process allowed Rahm and his LIV teammate, Tyrrell Hatton, to help Europe to a tense 15-13 away victory. The pair are now undefeated in their five matches played together.  

But what about going forward? 

The situation is not going away and, given the precedent that was set when European legends such as Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood lost their appeals in April 2023, it seems more than likely that Rahm will endure a similar fate. 

LIV Golf's chief executive, Scott O'Neil, has revealed they are in talks with DP World Tour officials to try and resolve the situation - but what those discussions involve and what is being suggested remains unclear. 

Rahm told the most recent edition of GOLF's Subpar that he doesn't believe we have seen the last of him in the Ryder Cup. 

He revealed that he has been fined approximately €1-1.5m per year since his LIV switch. 

Rahm said one of the issues on his side was owing to the fact he has been hit with fines for events that were never part of his schedule. 

Asked for the latest in the situation, Rahm offered: "I don't know it all [what is going on]. I have no idea. 

"So do I think fines are going to magically disappear? I don't know I don't think so but I think that's going it's going to slowly go away."

Rahm added: "The only the one thing that for me about the fines is the tournaments I'm getting fined for playing or not playing I've never played and I will never play right. 

"I never played them when I was on the PGA Tour and I would probably never play them in the future either because it was just not part of the schedule when I would play, right?"

Rahm indicated he would be prepared to pay the fines for events that he would usually play. 

But there is a problem as everyone has to be treated equally. 

How would the likes of Westwood and Poulter react if Rahm was going to get preferential treatment?

"I don't know how the fines are gonna work out," Rahm added. 

The 2027 Ryder Cup matches will be played at Adare Manor in Ireland. 

Elsewhere, Rahm backed Francesco Molinari to take the reins from Luke Donald if the Englishman decides against leading the blue and gold for a third term. 

Rahm also said he was aware Brooks Koepka was likely to leave LIV Golf.