Rory McIlroy dumps cold water on LIV Golf stars' Ryder Cup captaincy hopes
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Rory McIlroy’s longstanding beef with the LIV Golf tour and its players is well-documented, and the PGA Tour star continued to voice his concerns with some aspects of the tour on Wednesday. This time, McIlroy spoke about his concerns and reservations with European LIV Golf players like Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood potentially becoming Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, according to ESPN.
“With the guys that left, Poulter, Westwood, how can these young up-and-comers, you know, build a rapport with them when they are never here? You can’t see them,” McIlroy said, per ESPN. “I think that’s a really important part of a Ryder Cup and a Ryder Cup captaincy.
“I just think with the current state of where everything is, you need someone that’s around and showing their face as much as they can. Right now, that honestly just can’t be them because they are elsewhere.”
McIlroy went on to compare that to current European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who he says built a strong rapport with the players of Team Europe before their victory over the United States last fall.
“You look at what Luke has done the last few years. He’s really made an effort to come over. He played in the Czech Republic. He was in Switzerland,” McIlroy said. “He’s making an effort to be around the players and make the players feel comfortable with him, the up-and-comers that haven’t had a chance yet to be on a team or trying to make a team.”
Camaraderie was a big topic at the 2023 Ryder Cup, as there was plenty of controversy surrounding whether U.S captain Zach Johnson made the right picks for the team and what his criteria for being selected was. The U.S then put forth a very poor showing despite a late comeback attempt as they were blown away by Europe.
McIlroy has always been very outspoken about LIV Golf and the players who have joined the tour, though his stance has softened recently. He and defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler are now taking on LIV stars Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Kopeka in the latest edition of “The Match” this December.
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