Rahm confident he will play at 2027 Ryder Cup

Jon Rahm is confident he will be in Europe's team to face the United States in next year's Ryder Cup despite currently being ineligible to play.

The Spaniard is embroiled in an ongoing dispute with the DP World Tour over outstanding fines - believed to total more than £2m - imposed when he played LIV Golf events which conflicted with those on the European circuit.

Last month, Rahm dropped an appeal over the sanctions but refused a deal taken by eight other players to pay fines and commit to playing six DP World Tour events, which would have resolved the situation.

The 2023 Masters champion is in Augusta for this week's opening major of the year - and when asked if he was confident of playing for Europe at Adare Manor in Ireland in September 2027, he replied: "Yes."

'I would love Irish Open return'

The 31-year-old contributed three points as Europe beat the US for the first time on American soil since 2012 at last year's staging of the biennial event. He has also been on the winning team in three of his four appearances.

It is no surprise that captain Luke Donald - who selected Rahm as one of his six wildcard picks last year - is keen to have him in his team as he tries to become the first European skipper to win three Ryder Cups.

"I didn't think that going the legal route and going to court was good for anybody," added Rahm.

"I have faith in us and the DP World Tour, that we are going to find a good solution.

"We keep talking to them and we keep trying to negotiate. I have given in quite a bit in a few things. We're going to work it out.

"As of now, the DP World Tour is doing what they need to do and following the channels they need to follow, but I'm confident this will be sorted out before I tee it up in September."

Rahm said he did not know if he was able to play DP World Tour events at present, but that did not matter because he was not planning on playing in any until after the LIV season ends in August.

That timeframe would see him potentially available to play in the Irish Open, which starts on 9 September - and he namechecked a number of other events too.

"I intend to continue to support the DP World Tour," he said.

"I've been thankful to be a member. I've been thankful to support the Tour and play some wonderful events.

"The Irish Open has been very good to me and I would love to make a return.

"Wentworth has been fantastic every single year, the Spanish Open, maybe even the Dunhill. We have some events like the French Open and the [European Masters]. Those are events I'd love to have the chance to play."

Rahm starts his quest to win a second Masters title alongside his Ryder Cup team-mate Ludvig Aberg and American Chris Gotterup at 18:08 BST on Thursday.