Jon Rahm says the Ryder Cup should be contested between the best of Europe and the United States, regardless of players’ LIV Golf status.
Rahm said he was sad he would not be able to renew his partnership with fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
Garcia is ineligible for the biennial contest because he resigned from Europe’s DP World Tour after joining the Saudi-funded LIV Tour.
“It’s sad politics have got in the way of such a beautiful event,” said Rahm.
Garcia, 43, is Europe’s all-time record points scorer and went unbeaten in the three matches he played with Rahm at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits where the US enjoyed a record 19-9 victory.
“Again, it’s the best Europeans against the best Americans, period,” added two-time major winner Rahm, 28. “And whatever is going on, who is playing LIV and who is not playing LIV to me shouldn’t matter.
“It’s whoever is best suited to represent the European side. I have a hard time to believe that the best player Europe has ever had, the most successful player Europe has had on the Ryder Cup, isn’t fit to be on the team.
“A Spanish duo in the Ryder Cup I think to me is embedded into the roots of the Ryder Cup. Look what Seve [Ballesteros] and [Jose Maria Olazabal] were able to do throughout their partnership, right?
“It’s unfortunate. I will miss him.”
Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland and Henrik Stenson, who was removed as Ryder Cup captain when he joined LIV in 2022, have also resigned from the DP World Tour and are ineligible for the 2023 Ryder Cup.
In April, an arbitration panel sided with the European-based tour in its legal battle against 12 players who had appealed against being fined £100,000 and suspended from the Scottish Open for playing in LIV Golf’s inaugural event at the Centurion Club near London in June 2022 without permission.
Meanwhile, players who have been banned or resigned from the PGA Tour can still play for the US team at the event, which gets under way in Rome on 29 September.
Source – BBC Sport
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