In a past life as a PGA Tour member, Jon Rahm made such a habit of winning in the first month of the year that “Mr. January” would have been a fitting nickname. His PGA Tour career wins included January victories at The Sentry at Kapalua, the American Express event (twice) in the California desert and at his beloved Torrey Pines and the Farmers Insurance Open.

But a year after signing with LIV Golf and thus receiving a ban by the PGA Tour, January is wide open for the 2021 U.S. Open champion and 2023 Masters winner. LIV does not start up until February, and so the 30-year-old chose to make his tournament debut at the the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

This week, at the famed Emirates Golf Club, Rahm will be joined by his LIV Golf teammate, Tyrrell Hatton, and their peers on the 54-hole league Adrian Meronk, Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters, and Dean Burmester. Superstar Rory McIlroy headlines the field and is looking for a fifth victory at the Emirates GC.

As the first event on the DP World Tour’s 2025 schedule in a Ryder Cup year, the biennial team event was the hottest topic in Rahm’s Tuesday press conference in Dubai. He fielded several questions over his hopes of a fourth appearance for Europe when they take on the U.S. at Bethpage in September—and the precarious situation he faces.

Indeed, those ambitions are in a state of limbo given Rahm’s membership on the tour—and thus his eligibility to play in the Ryder Cup—hinge on an appeal of the fines and suspensions he has accrued for participating in LIV events in 2024 that were held concurrently with the European circuit’s own tournaments. While awaiting a hearing, the trio remain eligible to play on the DP World Tour and thus available for selection by Europe captain Luke Donald. But should a ruling against Rahm, as well as his fellow LIV members Hatton and Meronk, happen before September, their chances of making the team could disappear.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I can tell you my plan is to be on that team at Bethpage,” Rahm said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I’m hoping they don’t try to settle the appeal before the Ryder Cup. I don’t think that would be good for anybody. But my plan is to be at Bethpage.”

Last fall at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings said there was no specific timetable laid out for when an appeal—which is being conducted by a third-party arbiter similar to the original appeal heard in 2023 that ruled the DP World Tour could fine and suspend LIV players—would be heard. Kinnings told reporters at the time that the tour would not try to influence when the appeal would be heard, knowing a delay would make it more like LIV players would be eligible for the Ryder Cup in September.

“That’s not the reason we’ve done it,” Kinnings said last November. “We work within the rules of the legal process and there’s no strict, set formula for that.”

The Dubai Desert Classic is Rahm’s fourth start on the DP World Tour since he appealed his fines and sanctions, the minimum number required to maintain his membership and thus eligibility for selection for the European team.

“[Playing in Dubai] just helps for throughout the year,” Rahm said, given his schedule includes 14 LIV events and four majors between February and August. “It’s going to be quite tricky for me to play more DP World Tour events until after August. It’s quite a busy schedule. I never want to fall short and possibly lose my membership.”

1043482320

Rahm is lobbying for Sergio Garcia to be given Ryder Cup consideration for the 2025 European team despite only recently re-applying for his DP World Tour membership – Stuart Franklin

While Rahm hopes to be on the European team in September, he also made an impassioned plea for his countryman and fellow LIV golfer, Sergio Garcia, to be at Bethpage as well. Garcia, Europe’s all-time leading points scorer at the Ryder Cup, paid his fines in November for competing in LIV events and re-joined the DP World Tour membership. He would likely need to lean on Donald for a captain’s pick for Bethpage. And if Garcia was to be an assistant captain, it would require the DP World Tour change a rule it has in place that bars anybody who resigned from the DP World Tour from holding a captains or assistant’s position in future Ryder Cup

“For people that see him any given day, Sergio Garcia can hit it tee-to-green better than anybody on the planet,” Rahm said. “He’s still that good and he’s still very valuable. I would love to see him in that team room but who knows what’s going to happen. I think there will be a place for Sergio on the Ryder Cup any given time. It’s just a matter of time now, letting the clubs do the talking.”

Rahm’s press conference wasn’t entirely about the Ryder Cup. He was asked about speculation that 22-year-old Tom McKibbin—who grew up playing the same Northern Ireland golf club as McIlroy—may join Rahm’s Legion XIII team ahead of LIV’s season opener in Saudi Arabia. McKibbin was one of 10 DP World Tour players who earned cards on the PGA Tour for 2025 and he would not comment when asked about his future last week while competing in the Hero Cup. Rahm, specifically, was asked whether LIV would be a good environment for a 22-year-old.

“I can’t tell you what a good and bad environment is for Tom,” Rahm said. “I think that’s an answer for him. I think it is as good an environment as any, really. It’s just as competitive as pretty much any other tour. You have to go out there and play against some of the best players in the world, so yeah, it’s an environment in which you can grow very rapidly. He’s a fantastic player, and the possibilities for him are endless whenever he decides to do.”

Main Image: David Cannon