Rory McIlroy: Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter will miss Ryder Cup more than Team Europe miss them
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Updated 27/09/2023 at 14:07 GMT
The 2023 Ryder Cup will be missing several European stalwarts, including Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood. The trio are not in Rome after joining the LIV Golf tour, and Rory McIlroy expects this week it will "hit home with them they are not here". Even though Team Europe are missing experienced players, Justin Rose thinks there is "a lot of winning culture still in the team".
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Rory McIlroy believes Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood will miss the Ryder Cup more than Team Europe misses them this week.
Garcia, Poulter and Westwood have been stalwarts of the European team over the last decade.
However, along with Henrik Stenson, they will not be involved in the 2023 edition in Rome after joining the breakaway LIV Golf tour.
Stenson was originally set to be captain of the team before being replaced by Luke Donald.
“It’s certainly a little strange not having them around,” said McIlroy.
“But I think this week of all weeks it’s going to hit home with them they are not here. They are going to miss being here more than we’re missing them.
“This week is a realisation that the decision that they made has led to not being a part of this week and that’s tough. The landscape in golf is ever-changing and more dynamic and we’ll see what happens and whether they will be part of it in the future.
“I always thought leading up to this week is when it’s going to hit home that they are not going to be here.”
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The door could be ajar for the LIV players to return to the Ryder Cup in the future as a merger has been agreed between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Their absence from this year’s edition in Rome strips plenty of experience from the European team.
However, Justin Rose, who is the oldest team member at 43, doesn’t think having a young side is cause for concern.
“There’s a lot of winning culture still in the team,” said Rose, who will be competing at his sixth Ryder Cup.
“With the people in and around the team, the captain, the vice captains. Luke has got an incredible Ryder Cup record. The most winning from a percentage point of view. So the winning culture in our team is as strong as ever.
“Obviously Westy, Poults, as captains or vice captains or however they may or may not be involved in the future, they do have a lot to offer, of course, from experiences and that point of view.
“But the more we can kind of blood the younger generation coming through, the quicker you’re going to kind of skip through that transition phase.
“I think my job as one of the experienced players on the team is to have an open-door policy. If I just make them feel comfortable enough that they want to ask a question, let’s hear it and I’ll do my best to give some type of perspective.
“But I think until that point, just let them roll and I think that’s what they bring to the team, and that’s why they are a very important aspect to the team and I think this team has a beautiful blend to it because of that.”
The Ryder Cup starts on Friday, September 29.
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