Rory McIlroy: LIV Players Will Have Harder Time Becoming European Ryder Cup Captains

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 18, 2024

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While the battle lines between LIV Golf and the rest of the sport have become less pronounced, Rory McIlroy questioned whether LIV-affiliated golfers would face a difficult adjustment to Ryder Cup captaincy duties.

On the heels of Ian Poulter expressing his hope of leading the European team at some point, McIlroy said Poulter and Lee Westwood, another experienced Ryder Cup vet, might struggle because they haven’t been interacting with golfers on the DP World Tour.

“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?” he told reporters. “You can’t see them. I think that’s a really important part of a Ryder Cup and a Ryder Cup captaincy.”

McIlroy contrasted those two with 2023 captain Luke Donald, who he said “really made an effort to come over.”

“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,” he said.

McIlroy’s remarks call to mind a common refrain about what has separated Team Europe from the United States in this event.

Whereas the U.S. has often felt like a collection of individual talent brought together for one occasion, the Europeans have come across as a collective unit motivated by a common goal. Perhaps that’s no longer a strength if Team Europe is guided by a captain who doesn’t know his golfers as well on a personal level.

Poulter, Westwood and others resigned their membership on the European tour when they signed with LIV Golf, thus making them ineligible to compete in the Ryder Cup.

For now, it’s all a moot point.