Rory McIlroy can look back on countless happy memories at the Ryder Cup shared with Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and Sergio Garcia, but the events of recent days have marked the end of an era.
Regardless of your opinion on LIV Golf and its participants, the events of the last week have arguably been a period of sadness for the DP World Tour.
Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, and Ian Poulter pulled the curtain down on their illustrious Ryder Cup careers by resigning from the tour, having been sanctioned with $100,000 fines for moving to LIV.
Even one of the Saudi-backed league’s biggest critics Rory McIlroy expressed a hint of solemness when he was asked about the trio of resignations at the Wells Fargo Championship.
“It’s a shame you’ve got the highest points scorer ever in the Ryder Cup and two guys that when they look back on their career, that’s probably going to be at least a big chunk of their legacy is the roles they have played in the Ryder Cup for Europe,” he said.
“For those three guys to not captain Europe one day, it’s a shame.
“But as the DP World Tour said in their statement, at the end of the day that was their choice and they knew these were potentially going to be the consequences of those choices and of those actions and here we are. It’s certainly a shame.”
McIlroy was often paired with Poulter in the matches against America, while he was also partnered with Garcia in 2014 and 2018.
It’s been no secret McIlroy and Garcia’s relationship has been split by the hostility between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. The Spaniard accused McIlroy of lacking maturity since making the decision to join LIV.
Garcia, who is yet to pay his fine from the DP World Tour, is the all-time Ryder Cup points scorer, an accolade he achieved at the 2018 matches in France.
Westwood tied Sir Nick Faldo’s record of 11 appearances for the blue side in 2021 and was virtually guaranteed to become captain in one of the upcoming renewals.
As for Poulter, he created countless memories for European fans with his passionate fist-pumping antics since his debut in 2004. The Englishman never lost a singles match.
Source : National Club Golfer
