With some of the top players deviating from the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour to LIV Golf in 2022, there has been a havoc wreaked in the golf world. From the PGA Tour banning players who played in their events, to the European Tour not being clear about any plans for the players, there have been a lot of things that were not accepted. Out of them, was the bias that was made between the players. And well, of course, it was not taken well by a lot of them.

Ian Poulter has competed in every LIV Golf event since the breakaway league was formed in June 2022 and has co-captained the Majesticks alongside Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson, and he is not happy with how they have been treated. He appeared in the latest episode of the Flushing It Golf podcast and stated how he found the bias unfair. “Well, look, you know, just, just how, how we were not, we were not accepted or wanted or tossed to the wayside. And yet, the current situation we have today,” he said. He then went on to add that things have not been the same for everyone. For instance, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were invited to play the season on the DPWT, after the LIV season was over. 

Additionally, Jon Rahm’s decision to play at the breakaway circuit became a hindrance as he was sanctioned $1 million in fines and without paying it he couldn’t continue on the DP World Tour. But the Spaniard appealed all those sanctions and his plan to play on the European circuit worked. Taking to this, Poulter even said, “Because they went to the sport, the arbitration court for sport, for you guys. And they did it within, I assume it was about seven months, I think was when they had the hearing, and then it was to the verdict was delivered in eight, nine months, but then you have John Rahm is now played on live for a full season, and so is Tyrrell.” However, according to him, there is no update on the appeal. 

But despite having the opportunity to play for the DP World Tour events, he competed only in three of them, the last one being the Andalucia Masters. Why is that so?

Jon Rahm was only hoping for Ryder Cup eligibility 

Jon Rahm had another significant event to observe his potential teammates, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with a $9 million prize purse. The 2023 Masters champion had qualified for the first DP World Tour playoff event but opted not to participate. This is because to have a shot at the 2025 Ryder Cup team, even after paying the fine, he would have to participate in four of the DP World Tour events in a year. 

And well, with his last game at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, he was already done with his four-game tally which secured him his European Tour Card, even though this might cause trouble in him completing his LIV Golf team. After competing in four events, Rahm was ranked 10th in the Ryder Cup European Team standings, moving closer to automatic qualification. However, playing two additional events could have improved his ranking significantly, potentially securing his spot without needing a captain’s pick. Do you think after all the effort he will make it to the team?