Team Europe will take different Ryder Cup approach after Team USA's LIV call
Europe's Ryder Cup team are not set to follow in the footsteps of their American rivals in including LIV Golf players in their 12-man squad ahead of next month's event in Rome.
Brooks Koepka became the first LIV player to earn a Ryder Cup spot, as he joined Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns as Zach Johnson's captain's picks. Koepka was one of a number of LIV players bidding to make the team.
The likes of Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Talor Gooch had all been included in the pre-selection conversation but it was only Koepka who made the final 12. Team Europe now also has a decision to make when naming their team.
Following the formation of LIV Golf last summer, the threat of a Ryder Cup ban was posed to players on the back of their Saudi switches having been punished by both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Over 12 months on though it seems the risk was worth it for Koepka, who will play in his fourth-straight Ryder Cup.
The same can not be said for breakaway circuit members wanting to make the European team. though A whole host of Team Europe's biggest names opted to make the decision to join LIV Golf in 2022. European stalwarts Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood all made the jump, but it has come at a cost.
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Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia are two of Europe's greatest players (Getty Images)All three had announced themselves as Ryder Cup greats throughout their careers, but for now their association with the Team Europe setup is over. Whilst Koepka is able to continue to compete on the Ryder Cup stage, things are slightly different on the European side.
To be eligible for Team USA, a player is required to be a PGA of America member, which Koepka is. Alternatively, to make the European team players must be members of the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), something Poulter and co gave up earlier this year.
After a year-long dispute, it was finally ruled in April that the DP World Tour were able to issue financial sanctions and bans to players who opted to join LIV Golf. On the back of Sports Resolutions' decision, Poulter, Garcia and Westwood handed in their memberships to avoid further punishment, alongside the likes of Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson.
Henrik Stenson was sacked as Ryder Cup captain last year (Getty Images)This means skipper Luke Donald will not be able to call on any of their experience when it is his turn to confirm his team next week. Whether Donald would have included the likes of Poulter and Westwood in his team seems unlikely, but their current status also rules them out of taking on any off-course roles in future too.
There is no doubting a number of LIV's European stars would have been shoe-ins to vice-captain and captain their continent further down the line - Stenson being the perfect example having been initially named as skipper for this year's events before being sacked following his Saudi switch. But as long as they continue to play without DP World Tour membership, their association with the team they helped to so much success in recent years is over.
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