Jon Rahm has reiterated that he feels that LIV Golf players should continue to be allowed to feature at the Ryder Cup.
Last year, a wide array of players departed the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in order to link up with the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf, fronted by legendary former player Greg Norman.
At the time, both tours reacted by handing out suspensions to the perceived defectors, those punishments being challenged by some players involved but recently upheld.
As well as being prevented from featuring on each tour and handed fines, it has been deemed that LIV players are now ineligible to continue representing their respective teams in the famous event.
There had been a perception that players who had switched to the limited LIV Golf tour would lose their competitive edge, yet Brooks Koepka won the US PGA Championship earlier this month after nearly securing the Masters in April.
Furthermore, Sergio Garcia recently earned a spot at next month's US Open having decided to participate in qualifying, a route that others may follow at the final qualifying events before the main tournament at Los Angeles Country Club.
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Speaking at a press conference ahead of this week's Memorial Tournament, Rahm admitted that he wanted to see a change of ruling to preserve tradition, enabling him to play alongside Spanish compatriot Garcia.
As quoted by BBC Sport, Rahm said: ""It's sad politics have got in the way of such a beautiful event.
"Again, it's the best Europeans against the best Americans, period, and whatever is going on, who is playing LIV and who is not playing LIV to me shouldn't matter.
"It's whoever is best suited to represent the European side. I have a hard time to believe that the best player Europe has ever had, the most successful player Europe has had on the Ryder Cup, isn't fit to be on the team.
"A Spanish duo in the Ryder Cup I think to me is embedded into the roots of the Ryder Cup. Look what Seve [Ballesteros] and [Jose Maria Olazabal] were able to do throughout their partnership, right? It's unfortunate. I will miss him."
The next staging of the Ryder Cup is between September 29 and October 1 when the teams compete at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.
Darren Plant
