Two years after the Americans triumphed over the Europeans at Whistling Straits to claim the Ryder Cup, the 44th edition of the match at Marco Simone belonged to the Europeans. Led by Luke Donald, the team won by 5 points. Win meant more as it was on their home soil. But before the showdown began, the team had time to enjoy the lavish gala in Rome, which is a tradition. 

Just after the team returned from the dinner, they got to see the little snippets from it, leading it to a very heartwarming moment that would end with Jon Rahm sobbing like they do when you have a breakup in a movie.

Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg, and Nicolai Hojgaard were sitting together on a couch. As they saw the snippets, one of them showed little Frankie Fleetwood talking to his daddy. At such tournaments, emotions are running high. Family means so much more, so a small moment like this got a very emotional reaction. Ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup selections, the official YouTube page of the event shared an hour-and-a-half-long video, depicting the story of the win. They called it Una Famiglia: Team Europe’s story.

Jon Rahm emotionally said, “It hit hard afterward in the team room. Frankie Fleetwood talking to Tommy. Tommy starts crying and I lose it right after him. I mean this is full-on movie breakup.” Tommy Fleetwood then continued, adding how at that moment he just let everything out. These were the players Fleetwood competed with every weekend, so to sit there getting emotional with them and crying was a special moment.

“You know how many times you going to sit there crying with like somebody that you play against every week it was um and be so absolutely okay with it like it was uh, you just let everything,g you just let everything out you let everything go,” said Fleetwood. And that is when Rahm noticed that he and Fleetwood were bawling their eyes out in front of Aberg and Hojgaard, who were rookies last season on the PGA Tour.

Rahm then added, “Then we see those, 21 and 23 YOs next to us just looking at me and Tommy like what is this.” Seeing such emotions was eye-opening for Ludvig Aberg. He stated how he had no idea how much competing in the biennial event meant for the players, but seeing those emotions helped him understand, and that was what ignited him to do even better. The Swede said, “For me, coming in I didn’t realize that it meant that much to some of those guys. It was an eye-opener for me because those guys were showing so much emotion, and obviously, they care so much it makes me want to play even better and win for them.”

Well, after a historic and rather emotional feat last year, Jon Rahm moved to LIV Golf to play in the 2024 season. So, where does his chance of once again being a part of Team Europe in 2025 stand?

Jon Rahm is eligible for the Ryder Cup despite his deflection

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, both key members of the victorious European Ryder Cup team at Marco Simone last fall, remain eligible for the 2025 team at Bethpage Black under the current guidelines set by the DP World Tour. However, it comes with terms and conditions.

A waiver was given to players who wanted to be part of the Ryder Cup team. If they pay off the fines they can join the previous league again, and then they also have to serve a period of suspension. Rahm was bound to pay a significant figure of $1,176,000 (below $2 million) if he wanted to continue playing on the European Tour.

However, like Tyrrell Hatton, he too signed for an appeal after the DPWT refused to take the fines that LIV Golf was willing to pay on behalf of the Spaniard. But Rahm also said that he would go to any extent to play in the Ryder Cup. This was not all for the conditions. It is only after appearing in four events in the European Tour a year that the players will be eligible, which he has already done. But as it turns out, things might get a lot easier after DPWT announced its merger with LIV Golf. It will make all the LIV golfers easily eligible for the teams.

What do you think about Jon Rahm’s appearances at the Ryder Cup? Why do you think it is so important for him? Let us know in the comments section below!