The Northern Irishman has not held back during golf’s civil war over the past year and it would appear that he has not sympathy towards LIV Golf rebels amid their Ryder Cup absence.
Team Europe captain Luke Donald failed to pick a single LIV Golf rebel for this year’s Ryder Cup – but there will be no complaints from Rory McIlroy after a trio of former stalwarts missed out.
The Northern Irishman has made his views clear towards players who have participated in the Saudi-backed tournament in the past. He really hasn’t held back, even when it comes to his former teammates in Europe, amid the civil war that has devastated the sport over the past 18 months.
Last summer, the four-time major champion expressed his disagreement with Ian Poulter’s decision to launch an appeal against the DP World Tour. The tournament fined the defectors £100,000 and banned them from the Scottish Open, and the Briton tried to have his punishment overturned.
However, McIlroy seemed unimpressed with Poulter, with whom he has appeared six times at the Ryder Cup, accusing him of stirring up “resentment”. He told the BBC:
“I think at this point, if you’re going to play in another league, play in this one.
“You basically left all your colleagues behind to make more money, which is good. But stay there. Don’t try to come back here to play again.”
The lasting impact of his decision to join the LIV Tour was highlighted ahead of this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome. Along with Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, his defection forced them to abandon the DP World Tour until 2024, thus preventing them from qualifying for the Ryder Cup. In the case of Poulter and Garcia, this edition of the Ryder Cup marks the first time the former members of Team Europe have missed the cut since 2006. In fact, the only LIV Golf player to have made it to the qualifying round for either team at Marco. Simone is Brooks. Koepka, who was selected by Zach Johnson.
However, McIlroy was unsympathetic in his attitude towards the Rebels, who were mercilessly eliminated in the 44th edition of the competition. He admitted:
“I mean, it’s definitely a little strange not having them there, but I think this week, of all weeks, it’s going to make them realize that they’re not here.
“I think they will miss being here more than we miss them. This week they realized that their decision kept them from participating this week, and that was difficult.
He added:
“The golf landscape is always changing and more dynamic, and we’ll see what happens and whether they become a part of it in the future. I’ve always thought that between now and this week is when they’ll realize that there they are, I won’t be here.”
Leave a Reply