
Rory McIlroy has just laid down the gauntlet to his Ryder Cup teammates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
And now Chamblee has reacted to McIlroy‘s remarks on LIV Golf duo Rahm and Hatton.
McIlroy essentially told Rahm and Hatton to put their money where their mouths are by suggesting that if they really want to play at the Ryder Cup in 2027, they should just pay their DP World Tour fines.
He said: “We went really hard on the Americans about being paid to play the Ryder Cup, and we also said that we would pay to play in Ryder Cups. There’s two guys that can prove it.”
Predict who the Ryder Cup captains will be in 2027 🤔
However, that’s where it becomes slightly problematic.
After LIV Golf stopped paying players’ fines last year, Rahm insisted he had no intention of paying fines (BBC).
“I’m not a big fan of the fines,“ Rahm insisted.
“I don’t intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them (the DP World Tour) about how we can make this happen.“
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton concerns ahead of the 2027 Ryder Cup
In order to represent Team Europe at the Ryder Cup, you need to be a member of the DP World Tour.
Rahm and Hatton are currently going through an appeal process after being hit by fines from the DP World Tour for joining LIV Golf.
There is a very real prospect that neither the Spaniard nor the Englishman will be on the European Ryder Cup team at Adare Manor unless a resolution can be found.
However, as McIlroy said, he and all of his teammates insisted they would pay to be involved in the Ryder Cup so now the onus is very much on Rahm and Hatton to act.
Before the showdown at Bethpage Black in September, Chamblee criticized the US Ryder Cup players after it was revealed that they would all be getting paid to play in the event.
It was widely accepted that the American players demanding payment contributed to their defeat to the Europeans.
As McIlroy said, the Europeans have the chance to show up the Americans even more so in 2027, if Rahm and Hatton are actually prepared to pay in order to make the team.
Brandel Chamblee reacts to McIlroy’s comments on Rahm and Hatton
Chamblee took to his official X account in response to McIlroy’s comments on his European Ryder Cup teammates.
Interestingly though, he used McIlroy’s remarks as a stick to beat the US side with.
“The demands to be paid by some of the US players to play for their country, has corrupted the whole team now for going on 25 years,“ Chamblee exclaimed.
“Meanwhile Europe laughs at the US team and continues to dominate the Ryder Cup, while playing, not for profit, but for pride.“
Chamblee makes a great point here.
The fact that the US players asked for payment to represent their country at the Ryder Cup immediately gave the Europeans a psychological edge.
Can you imagine the edge Team Europe will have over the Americans if Rahm and Hatton literally pay in order to play at the Ryder Cup?
That’s exactly what McIlroy has asked of them. However, hopefully some kind of compromise can be reached whereby the two LIV players are eligible to compete at Adare Manor, regardless of whether or not they have paid their outstanding fines.
