04 May 2023 , 17:01
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Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has broken his silence after a group of LIV Golf stars resigned their membership from the DP World Tour.
Three of Europe's greatest Ryder Cup players in Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia are now ineligible to ever compete in the match play team event again after giving up their Tour memberships on Wednesday. Their resignation came after Sports Resolutions ruled in favour of the DP World Tour during an ugly legal battle with LIV Golf.
The decision ensured the Tour were now able to inflict £100,000 fines and tournament suspensions to any of their playing membership that competed on the Saudi-funded circuit.
Poulter, Westwood and Garcia have played an integral part in Europe's successes over their American rivals over the last two decades. This year's captain Donald however will be without the trio ahead of the tournament at Marco Simone in Rome in September.
The skipper himself is competing at the Roman course in this week's Italian Open, and has claimed it is a 'shame' to see the back of the LIV trio. He told BBC Sport: "It's sad we've got to this point but this was always a possibility.
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Luke Donald will captain Europe later this year (Getty Images)"I played with all three and they've been stalwarts of, and given a lot to, both the Ryder Cup and European Tour... It is a shame. They've got a lot of history when it comes to the Ryder Cup. Ultimately this is their choice and I wish them well.
"They feel like this was the best choice for them and now I've got choices to make that are best for me." It signals a sad end for three of Europe's greatest Ryder Cup players, but many within professional golf have little sympathy with the LIV rebels, with the consequences about joining the breakaway circuit often outlined.
Lee Westwood's Ryder Cup career is over (LIV Golf/AP/REX/Shutterstock)25-time DP World Tour champion Westwood though, believes the extent of the punishments were never made clear ahead of his Saudi switch. He told the Telegraph: "People say I knew exactly what would happen, but nobody told us the extent of the punishments,” he added. And they continue to do that.
"The way I view it is that, as a European Tour member, I was allowed to be a member of the PGA Tour without any problem for all those years. Tell me, what is the difference? Just because LIV is funded by the Saudis – a country where my tour used to play and where we were encouraged to play?"