“I have utmost respect for Rory McIlroy” – Jon Rahm says it’s ‘almost emotional’ to hear McIlroy back him for Ryder Cup despite LIV Golf move

Jon Rahm expressed his gratitude to Rory McIlroy for wanting him on the European squad for the 2025 Ryder Cup despite his move to LIV Golf.

Rahm put his Ryder Cup future in jeopardy after announcing on Thursday, Dec. 7, that he would be joining the Saudi-backed circuit from 2024 onwards. For the uninitiated, both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour have banned the LIV-defected players from being picked for the biennial event.

However, after the 11-time PGA Tour winner made his move to LIV Golf, his Ryder Cup teammate McIlroy stated that the DP World Tour would need to change its rules to accommodate the Spaniard for the 2025 Ryder Cup. In response to McIlroy's statement, Rahm told LIV's 'Fairway to Heaven' podcast that it was amazing to hear. He said:

"I have the utmost respect for Rory McIlroy, and to have his support right away is very, very special. It's almost emotional to hear about it. The Ryder Cup means a lot to me and is one of the things that made this decision very difficult for me."

"I've always been hopeful that if I made this step, the DP World Tour would maybe adapt the eligibility so we can play in it."

He added that he would like to keep the PGA Tour and DP World Tour status and would like to play more events there if allowed.

He continued:

"So yeah, I'm hoping, I'm hoping, you know, sooner than later, we hear some news about the Ryder Cup and we get a clear path of how we can make things work. I would love nothing more than to defend the cup at Bethpage."

In this year's Ryder Cup, veterans like Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, and Dustin Johnson were absent from the European and US squads as they are no longer members of the European or PGA Tour. Henrik Stenson was replaced by Luke Donald as Europe's captain after his switch to LIV.

Only Brooks Koepka could make it onto the US team, as he is still serving his grace period of PGA of America membership, which will end in June next year. It will be interesting to see whether the DP World Tour will make a change in its selection criteria or if Rahm will have to miss the flight to Bethpage.

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How many Ryder Cups has Jon Rahm played?

Rahm has been part of three Ryder Cups since debuting at the event in 2018. That year, he could earn just one point with an overall record of 1-2-0. Europe had beaten the US 17.5–10.5 in Paris.

Rahm was at his best in 2021, which was his second appearance at the Ryder Cup. He secured 3.5 points with an overall score of 3-1-1. He was the highest point earner for Europe in its otherwise forgetful campaign at Wisconsin, where they were beaten 19-9.

This year, the 29-year-old Spaniard played a key role in Europe's win, as he contributed 3 points in the host's 16.5–11.5 win over the US.