MADRID — Jon Rahm is back on his native soil with hopes of winning a record fourth Open de España trophy while also boosting his bid for Ryder Cup eligibility.
It will be the former top-ranked golfer’s first start on the Europe-based DP World Tour since he joined the LIV Golf League last December.
The Open de España, which starts on Thursday, is set to be Rahm’s first of three tournaments in Europe in September and October, which would allow him to reach the minimum four DP World Tour starts required to be considered for the Ryder Cup next year, when the United States will host the matches against Europe at Bethpage Black on New York’s Long Island.
Rahm has entered the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland and the Andalucia Masters in Spain, both in October. That would give him four starts because the men’s golf tournament at the Paris Olympics, where Rahm represented Spain this past summer, also counts toward the minimum.
The 29-year-old Spaniard is being allowed to play after appealing the DP World Tour sanctions against him for playing on the LIV circuit. He can play until an independent panel decides if he must pay fines.
A two-time major champion as the winner of the 2021 U.S. Open and the 2023 Masters, Rahm joined the Saudi-funded league late last year for a signing bonus reported to be in the $300 million to $400 million range.
Other players who defected to LIV, England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Poland’s Adrian Meronk, are going through the same appeal and are allowed into tournaments as the process plays out. Both are entered in the Open de España. Other LIV golfers expected to play in Madrid are Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra and David Puig as well as the United States’ Patrick Reed.
Rahm was a late arrival to the Spanish capital and skipped the pro-am at his home tournament because of the birth of his third child.
Rahm, who won the LIV individual title earlier this month, did not play in the LIV Golf Team Championship last week because of severe flu symptoms.
He is trying to become the first four-time winner in the 52-year history of the Open de España. He won the event in 2018, 2019 and 2022.
France’s Matthieu Pavon is the reigning champion in the tournament that this year will include England’s Tommy Fleetwood, Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Austria’s Sepp Straka.
“Winning here last year changed my life,” said Pavon regarding the first win of his DP World Tour career.
Fleetwood and Lowry are playing their third straight week on the European circuit. Straka is playing under his exemption as being on the last Ryder Cup team.
Fleetwood seeks to keep momentum
Since winning the Dubai Invitational in January, he has finished third in the Masters, won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics and missed just one cut.
“I think you never know what’s around the corner in the game,” he said. “One of the things that I’ve been sort of disappointed with this year: I played really, really well, and I’ve played at a high, consistent level, but I’ve always been half a step behind, if you like, from contending on a Sunday.”
Lowry, a six-time winner in his DP World Tour career, is making his return to this tournament after more than a decade. He won the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy in April.
“I obviously haven’t knocked one off yet on my own. Helped Rory over the line at one stage,” he said. “I’ve got four tournaments left in the season, and my main goal for the next four tournaments is to try and get a win.”