One of the perpetrators caught on camera trying the door of a house in Kildimo
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21 Jan 2026
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21 Jan 2026
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Rory McIlroy wants Ryder Cup team-mates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton to put their money where their mouths are and pay their DP World Tour fines.
The pair were sanctioned for playing in LIV Golf events while still members of the DP World Tour, though they appealed and their cases have yet to be resolved.
That allowed them to be eligible for Europe’s Ryder Cup team, for whom they both put in a strong showing as Luke Donald’s side claimed a famous victory at Bethpage Black last year.
It was at that tournament where a patriotic European team said they would pay to play in the event, rather than be paid as their United States counterparts were.
England’s Hatton and Spaniard Rahm, who are team-mates on the Legion XIII team, will need their case to be resolved successfully in order to be selected for the 2027 Ryder Cup team and McIlroy says there is an easy way to do it.
Asked at a press conference ahead of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic whether things would be easier if the pair just paid their fines, he replied: “Absolutely, yeah.
“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 are two guys that can prove it.”
“I think any organisation or any members’ organisation like this has a right to uphold its rules and regulations,” added the reigning Masters champion.
“What the DP World Tour is doing is upholding its rules and regulations. We, as members, sign a document at the start of every year, which has you agree to these rules and regulations.
"I love coming back to Dubai. It holds so many great memories for me."
Rory talks about his affinity with @DubaiDCGolf 20 years on from making his tournament debut. #HeroDubaiDesertClassic | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/bSRekuREnL
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 21, 2026
“The people that made the option to go to LIV knew what they were. So I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”
Despite American Brooks Koepka defecting from the LIV tour back to the PGA Tour, McIlroy does not see a unified game any time soon.
“I would say that’s Solution A. It matters,” he added. “But I just don’t see a world where it can happen at this point.
“Just I don’t see a world where the two or three sides or whoever it is will give up enough.
“Like for reunification to happen, every side is going to feel like they will have lost, where you really want every side to feel like they have won.
“I think they are just too far apart for that to happen.”
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