10 December 2023 , 15:57
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Lee Westwood has hit back at Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman claimed the sacking of former captain Henrik Stenson was the "best thing to happen" to the European Ryder Cup team.
McIlroy helped Europe win the Ryder Cup over their American rivals at Marco Simone in October, under the guidance of captain Luke Donald. Donald was a second choice for European bosses, after former Open champion Stenson was initially handed the role for 2023. The Swede however was sacked from his captaincy position last summer, after opting to join fellow European stalwarts Westwood and Ian Poulter at LIV Golf.
Donald was then handed the position, and it was a decision that reaped reward as the former world No. 1 lead Europe to a dominant display in Rome. His heroics in Italy were then rewarded, as the Englishman was handed the captaincy for their title defence in the U.S. in 2025, becoming the first back-to-back skipper since Bernard Gallacher in 1995.
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One man who may not be at the Bethpage in two years' time, is McIlroy's star teammate Jon Rahm, who shocked the world of golf this week by joining the LIV setup. This has of course put his Ryder Cup future in doubt, but one of LIV's biggest critics in McIlroy appeared to have softened his stance by calling for a change in the rules to allow the Spaniard to compete.
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After calling for his rule change, the question was then put to him on social media as to whether he would like to Stenson given the same treatment too. He brutally responded on X: "The best thing to happen to the 2023 Euro Ryder Cup team was Henrik going to LIV!"
Unsurprisingly McIlroy's tweet once again split opinion in the world of golf, and prompted a response from his former Ryder Cup teammate Westwood. Taking a sarcastic approach to the four-time major winner's post, he replied: "Nice to see the season of good will in full swing! Merry Christmas!!!"
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Like Stenson and Rahm, Westwood would be another that would change from a potential rule change for LIV golfers, having previously been tipped as a dead-cert to captain Europe in the future prior to his Saudi switch. Speaking in Italy this Autumn though, McIlroy appears to be at peace with his former teammates not being involved in the future.
As a result, the four-time major champion believes it is a case of the Westwood and co missing the Ryder Cup rather Donald's team missing them. "It’s certainly a little strange not having them around,” claimed the former Open champion in September.
"But I think this week of all weeks it’s going to hit home with them they are not here. They are going to miss being here more than we’re missing them. This week is a realisation that the decision that they made has led to not being a part of this week and that’s tough. The landscape in golf is ever-changing and more dynamic and we’ll see what happens and whether they will be part of it in the future. I always thought leading up to this week is when it’s going to hit home that they are not going to be here.”