Rory McIlroy: "I'm not saying that [Ian] Poulter doesn't have the credentials to be a Ryder Cup captain... but you need someone that's around and showing their face as much as they can"; Poulter resigned his DP World Tour membership on joining LIV Golf
Thursday 19 September 2024 06:14, UK
Rory McIlroy believes it will be difficult for Ian Poulter or Lee Westwood to be future Ryder Cup captains because they no longer have a connection with Europe's emerging stars.
Former Team Europe stars Poulter, Westwood and Sergio Garcia have resigned their DP World Tour memberships since joining the LIV tour, rendering them ineligible for the Ryder Cup.
When quizzed on the prospect of a future Team Europe captain coming from LIV, McIlroy said: "There's some that I would be okay with and others I wouldn't be okay with."
In an interview with Al Arabiya English this week, Poulter said: "It has been a huge part of my golfing life, some of the proudest moments of my career.
"I'm hopeful one day there's a sense of coming together that would enable the likes of myself the opportunity to be able to become captain.
"There's going to need to be some compromise. I'm hopeful one day we'll see it."
McIlroy was asked for his thoughts on Poulter's comments in his press conference ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth - live on Sky Sports Golf from 8.30am, Thursday - and said: "I think it's hard because we don't really see them anymore.
"You look at what [current captain] Luke [Donald] has done the last few years, he's really making an effort to be around the players, making the players feel comfortable with him, those who haven't had a chance yet to be on a team or trying to make a team.
"With the guys that left, Poulter, Westwood, how can these young up-and-comers build a rapport with them when they are never here? You can't see them.
"I'm not saying that Poulter doesn't have the credentials to be a Ryder Cup captain, but I just think with the current state of where everything is, you need someone that's around and showing their face as much as they can."
Tommy Fleetwood said similar on the potential of a future captain coming from LIV. "There's clearly a few guys, obvious names, that have been such a huge part of Team Europe, and you can't take away what they have done over that period of time and the success that they have had," he said.
"Players' opinions don't necessarily matter that much. The captain will have earnt that right to be the captain, but I think you have to have a strong current relationship with whoever is playing because it will struggle to work otherwise."
Former world No 1 Jon Rahm still harbours hopes of teeing it up for Team Europe at Bethpage in New York next year, with the Spaniard launching an appeal last week against outstanding fines for defecting to LIV.
In order to remain eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup, Rahm has to play in four DP World Tour events this season - the Olympics counting as one - and had to either pay his fines or appeal in order to be allowed to enter the Spanish Open, Dunhill Links Championship and Andalucia Masters, in which he is included in the field.
Asked on the prospect of a Rahm-less Team Europe in 12 months time, were the two-time major winner to be ruled out, McIlroy said: "From my understanding, he is following the rules.
"He appealed the decision or whatever it is that he did, so that makes him eligible, as long as he plays his minimum number of events.
"As a member of the tour, you know what the rules are to be able to play a Ryder Cup and be eligible, and as long as you meet that criteria, then you're okay to play."
He added: "Rahm, the way he's playing right now, and the way he's played since he turned pro in 2016 or '17, he is a wonderful addition to the European Team."
Fleetwood, who played alongside McIlroy and Rahm as part of Europe's triumphant 2023 team in Rome, believes that the Ryder Cup is "bigger than any individual player".
"You look at the last Ryder Cup team, there was a big deal made about who we were missing," he said.
"Playing is one side and presence in a team room is another, and we didn't have a lot of big characters in the last one.
"You don't want to lose anybody that you know that you can have there but at the same time, the Ryder Cup is much bigger than all of us."
Watch the BMW PGA Championship on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday with Featured Groups from 8.30am ahead of full coverage from midday on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the DP World Tour and more with NOW.
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