Padraig Harrington speaks out on Ryder Cup return for LIV Golf rebels
Padraig Harrington has revealed he has 'no problem' with LIV Golf players being involved in the European Ryder Cup team.
Following the formation of LIV last summer, a whole host of European stalwarts opted to join up with the breakaway circuit. The likes of Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood all signed on the dotted line with Greg Norman and co, but this went on to put their Ryder Cup future in jeopardy. Most notably former world No. 1 Henrik Stenson was stripped from his post as European captain after making the Saudi switch last July.
In May, all of Poulter, Garcia, Westwood and Stenson resigned their DP World Tour memberships due to their LIV allegiances, seemingly ending their future involvement at the Ryder Cup. The resignations signalled a sad end for four of Europe's greatest matchplay names.
Their impressive European CV's made Poulter and co the perfect fit for Ryder Cup captains later down the line, but the sacking of Stenson showed their futures with Team Europe were all but over.
These tensions appeared to have eased in recent months though, after the PGA Tour announced a shock agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), that would see them work unison with their LIV rivals, as well as the DP World Tour. The deal appeared to re-open the door for LIV players to reapply for membership back to both the DP World and PGA Tour, thus making them once again eligible to represent their continent on the Ryder Cup stage.
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Whilst the agreement has come too late to make a return at this year's event in Rome, former European captain Harrington has admitted he would welcome the return of his former players and teammates further down the line. Speaking to Mirror Sport, he said: "I have no problem with them [LIV Golf members] coming back as players or captains.
"They have to meet the criteria at that particular time, so clearly if you want to be a player you are going to have to play x amount of events, but I certainly wouldn't stop anyone becoming a captain, or I wouldn't stop anyone being a player." Whilst there has been plenty of discussion surrounding the future of the PGA Tour and LIV on the back of the PIF deal, it feels there has once again been little mention on what impact it could have on European golf.
Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia are two of Europe's greatest players (Getty Images)Following the emergence of LIV last summer, the DP World Tour opted to take the side of their partners PGA Tour through a 'strategic alliance'. Whether this has benefited golf in Europe has been questioned by many on the continent, with the Wentworth-based circuit since being coined a 'feeder tour' to its older brother in the States.
What the future holds for the DP World Tour - and the whole of professional golf for that matter - remains unknown, but Harrington would like to the world's best players split across both tours. "I think there is enough room in world golf for at least two big tours," the Irishman commented.
"I have no problem with big tournaments going on on the same week around the world. I don't think the best players should play together every week, I think it gets quite boring when the same names turn up every week. I think it is quite exciting when you have good players turning up in Europe like we did back in the day.
Padraig Harrington would like to see stronger fields on the DP World Tour (Getty Images)"You had good European players playing in Europe and good players playing in the States. Then they would come together at a major or a big event and it created a bit of a buzz." Calling on Europe's rising stars to stick with the DP World Tour for longer rather than making the PGA Tour leap too early, he added: "Keeping players on their home tour actually creates a lot of excitement, and a lot of buzz.
"I'd be very afraid for the careers of the players who take up their [PGA Tour] card. 10 players get the U.S. card this year and a lot of them will go when they are just starting to ramp up their own careers, and all of sudden they are being thrown in with a lot of mature players at their peak... You are going to unfamiliar golf courses, unfamiliar territory and we have seen a lot of good players take a big step back by going a little too early in the States. I'm a great believer in being a big fish in a small pond, and developing before you jump into that big pond."
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