Rory McIlroy has fitting solution for LIV stars' $6 million Ryder Cup problem

Luke Donald’s opening speech from the 2025 Ryder Cup was many things. Subtle was not one of them.

“It is not about prize money or world ranking points - it’s about pride,” Donald said from the dais at Bethpage Black. “It’s about representing your flag, your shirts and the legacy you leave behind.”

And he wasn’t done there.

“We are fueled by something money cannot buy,” Donald said. “Purpose, brotherhood and a responsibility to honor those who came before us, while inspiring those whose time is yet to come.”

In the early momets of that Bethpage Ryder Cup, Donald made the European stance on the matter clear: Money would not be the centerpiece of the European Ryder Cup issue. Unlike the Americans, who endured two years of controversy on the issue of player pay in the Ryder Cup, the Euros maintained their long-standing position that they would pay for the right to play in the Ryder Cup.

Now, just several months later, Rory McIlroy has a message for a handful of his fellow Ryder Cup teammates: Why not put your money where your mouth is?

McIlroy’s message Wednesday morning in Dubai was directed at two key LIV competitors, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, whose Ryder Cup eligibility has come into question. The issue at the center of Rahm and Hatton’s Ryder Cup status centers around freedom of employment. Rahm and Hatton believe they should be allowed to compete on any professional tour they wish without penalty, even if those tours are competitors; the DP World Tour and PGA Tour rule books, though, beg to differ. According to the bylaws, players competing on rival tours are subject to fines, and players with outstanding fines are ineligible to compete in the Ryder Cup.

In 2025, Hatton and Rahm earned a small victory: a stay on their fines while they awaited a final verdict on their appeal to have those fines removed. Given the timing, both golfers were allowed to compete at Bethpage, provided they played the minimum number of events to maintain DP World Tour membership.

But now, in 2026, those fines remain an issue. With a verdict expected later this year, both golfers face a tricky binary: pay the fines, or advocate for a rule change to get around them. On GOLF’s Subpar podcast, Rahm indicated his fines alone were in excess of $3 million - and given the timing of Hatton’s departure, Hatton’s likely are in a similar neighborhood. Call it $6 million all in, give or take.

“Do I think fines are going to magically disappear?” Rahm said. “I don’t think so. But I think that’s going to slowly go away. I know it’s between one and one-and-a-half million per year.”

As of now, the only way for Rahm and Hatton to earn Ryder Cup eligibility would be for both players to pay their fines - and that’s precisely what McIlroy has advocated for the two LIV Ryder Cup stars to do.

“Look, this is my opinion,” McIlroy said at the Dubai Desert Classic. “We went really hard on the Americans about being paid to play the Ryder Cup, and we also said that we would pay to play in Ryder Cups. There’s two guys that can prove it. Great.”

There’s little question that Rahm and Hatton have the financial means to pay off even a hefty DP World Tour fine. Rahm has earned $76 million in two years at LIV, while Hatton has earned more than $22 million - and that’s not including the signing bonuses both players received for making the jump. (Rahm’s signing bonus is estimated to be more than $200 million, while Hatton’s has been reported around $60 million.)

But there’s also little doubt that Rahm and Hatton’s payments would mark a curious twist in the Ryder Cup payment saga, should they come to fruition. Following the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, which sparked a prolonged debate over American player pay, Rahm and Hatton’s fines would amount to a forfeiture of more than 10 times the paycheck given to each American player in 2025. The two LIVers would be, in essence, buying the high ground for the European side for good.

But that high ground comes at a high cost.

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