Luke Donald: Rahm knows what he needs to do if he wants to play Ryder Cup

European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald says he won’t change Ryder Cup eligibility rules for anyone as speculation as to whether Jon Rahm will be part of next year’s contest in New York intensifies.

With the three-time DP World Tour Championship winner moving to LIV Golf last December, the chances of the Spaniard securing one of the six automatic spaces on Donald’s team are pretty low as LIV Golf events do not receive any qualification points.

An upturn in his Major Championship form next year could potentially see him book an automatic slot, but it’s more than likely he will require a Captain’s Pick if he is to appear in the contest for a fourth time.

That surely won’t be a problem given that Rahm is one of the standout stars on the European team?

Except there is one stumbling block – you must be a DP World Tour member to be eligible for selection. To remain a member, players must feature in four DP World Tour events a year outside of the four Major Championships.

While Rahm currently remains a member, he has only played one counting event this season, the Olympic Games. It remains unknown whether he will play three more before the season comes to an end at the DP World Tour Championship.

His LIV Golf teammate, Tyrrell Hatton, is playing this week’s British Masters after lodging an appeal against the sanctions imposed for playing LIV events without a release from the Wentworth-based circuit.

It is understood he has served the required suspensions, and payment of any fines is stayed until the outcome of his appeal.

According to a source from the DP World Tour, Rahm is yet to pay his fines of appeal the sanctions, which could lead to the very real possibility of a Rahm-less European Ryder Cup team at Bethpage.

"There's not going to be a situation where we're singling out one person to change the rule," Donald told BBC Sport.

"It's quite clear with the policy that you either pay the fines or you can appeal them, and within that appeal time you can still play some DP World Tour events, so Jon absolutely knows what is required.

"He wants to play a few events and be eligible. I hope he does either pay the fines, or appeals and becomes eligible for my team because I would dearly love to have him be a part of that."

After hearing the news of Rahm’s moved to the breakaway circuit last year, Rory McIlroy said the DP World Tour "is going to have to rewrite the rules for Ryder Cup eligibility" because "we'd certainly miss and need Jon at Bethpage".

That won’t be the case, as confirmed by Donald, but there is still time for Rahm to make a last ditch attempt at retaining membership on the European circuit.

The 29-year-old has two LIV events left to play this year, in Chicago from 13-15 September and Dallas a week later.

That rules him out of the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship, but he could return to action at the Spanish Open the following week and then the the Dunhill Links Championship, with Hatton already confirming his attendance in both events.

That would leave Rahm needing to play just one more tournament, which would more than likely be the Andalucía Masters on home soil.

Depending on how he fared in those appearances, he could play his way into the top 70 of the Race to Dubai Rankings to qualify for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. If he were to be in the top 50 following that event, he would return to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where he is seeking a record-extending fourth title.

The situation remains in Rahm’s hands, but time is running out.