The Ryder Cup will pit Europe against the United States the next year, but a number of players have defected to the dissident LIV Golf Invitational Series, so the competition may be a mere shell of what it once was.
The competition in Italy, which begins on September 29, 2023, will be promoted as Europe’s chance to take vengeance for a humiliating loss in Whistling Straits last year, but it is unclear who will compete.
Henrik Stenson lost his position as captain of the European squad this week, and fellow European greats Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, and Graeme McDowell all run the possibility of missing future Ryder Cup competitions.
Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, and Brooks Koepka, all Americans, are currently out of the running to be chosen for the US team at the competition at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome.
Last month, the PGA Tour promptly suspended its defectors, thereby excluding them from competing in the biannual team competition because they would not be able to accrue the necessary points.
Heavy fines and three-event bans were enforced by the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, on participants in the inaugural LIV competition in London.
However, the sanctions have not stopped players from enrolling in the Saudi-funded LIV series, and it is uncertain how events will pan out as golf’s internal conflict intensifies.
The news on Wednesday that Stenson was leaving the tour and will compete in the third LIV event in Bedminster, New Jersey, the following week was a crushing blow to the sport of golf.
The 46-year-old Swede, who was named captain in March, claimed to have disagreed with the choice but had accepted it anyhow.
I genuinely hope that the circuits and their players can come to an agreement soon and that the Ryder Cup may serve as a catalyst for reconciliation between the various golfing organizations and their members.
Westwood and Garcia have stated they see no justification for being disqualified from participating in LIV competitions, and with 14 months left, there is still time to negotiate an agreement.
Zach Johnson, the US Ryder Cup captain, has made it plain that players must earn their spot on the team through the PGA Tour.
The Ryder Cup, a three-day event that brings together 12-member teams from the United States and Europe every two years, is golf’s premier team competition in a sport that is predominately individual.
Before Stenson was relieved of his leadership position, Colin Montgomerie told Sky Sports that leading the Ryder Cup squad was the “highest honor that can be conferred on any European Tour player.”
Padraig Harrington, who took over for Stenson as captain, expressed regret that his former European teammate hadn’t waited until after the 2023 competition to join LIV.
Harrington seemed optimistic despite his displeasure, telling Sky, “He has left us plenty of time.
It will not interfere at all, and we have plenty of time to get someone in place and get a feel for what they’re doing in fifteen months.
However, Tony Jacklin, a former captain of the European team and two-time champion, has issued a dire warning that the Ryder Cup may suffer irreparable harm.
The two-time major champion penned in the Telegraph, “The way things stand right now, next year’s Ryder Cup is just going to be a joke.”
The only way the sad story will be resolved is through the courts, he continued.
“The whole sorry situation is a tremendous mess.”
At last week’s British Open, when fellow Spaniard Garcia announced his intention to leave the DP World Tour, ending his prospects of competing in the Ryder Cup, former world number one Jon Rahm expressed his disgust over the situation.
My family and I started playing this sport because of the Ryder Cup, and many other people do too, according to Rahm.
“I find it difficult to comprehend and accept what is occurring if it means that (Garcia) the best player Europe has ever had cannot play.
The Ryder Cup is the competition that gives golf the most global exposure, so the fact that people like him are prohibited from competing there infuriates me even more.