Rory McIlroy: 'A shame' Jon Rahm rejected DP World Tour deal - ESPN

ORLANDO, Fla. — Rory McIlroy says it's «a shame» that Jon Rahm is the only LIV Golf player unwilling to accept the terms of a DP World Tour deal to eliminate future fines, and he brushed off concerns the Spaniard might not be eligible for the Ryder Cup team.

«The Ryder Cup is bigger than any one person,» McIlroy said Wednesday.

Rahm's future in the matches was placed in doubt this week when he refused the terms of the European tour's offer — pay previous fines for not getting a release to play LIV Golf events, drop any appeals and add two tournaments to the minimum four required for DP World Tour membership.

Rahm said at LIV Golf Hong Kong on Tuesday that the DP World Tour was «extorting players» by forcing them to play two additional tournaments. Rahm said if the deal was to pay fines, drop appeals and play the minimum four events, he would have signed.

«I just don't like the situation,» Rahm said. «I think we should be able to freely play where we want and have the choice to play where we want and not be dictated what we do.»

Tyrrell Hatton and seven other Europeans who play for Saudi-funded LIV Golf agreed to the conditions. The DP World Tour would help decide which tournaments to play in an effort to boost the tournaments on the schedule.

«In my opinion, it's a really generous deal,» McIlroy said, adding that it was «much softer» than what the PGA Tour required of Brooks Koepka to return.

Koepka had to pay $5 million to charity, was ineligible for PGA Tour equity shares for five years and did not have access to FedEx Cup bonus money this year. He also could not play in the $20 million signature events unless he qualified.

«The European tour can only do so much to accommodate these guys,» McIlroy said. «If you want to