Paul Lawrie says it would be ‘a joke’ if Henrik Stenson’s replacement as European Ryder Cup captain was not one of the three remaining original candidates.
The 1999 Open champion insists “it has to be the same as before” in the light of Stenson’s removal as skipper for the matches in Rome next year. He added “it will be fun and games” if that was not the case.
Lawrie, Luke Donald and Robert Karlsson were the three others in the four-man field deliberated on by the selection panel earlier this year.
Immediate past captains Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Padriag Harrington chose Stenson as captain, advised by DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley and Tournament Committee chairman David Howell.
Stenson was ousted as captain on Tuesday – 127 days after being appointed – when he confirmed he’d joined the Saudi-backed rebel tour LIV Golf.
Now Lawrie thinks Stenson’s replacement has to be picked from the other candidates.
“The process is the process,” he said after his first round at the Senior Open at Gleneagles. “My situation has not changed, I assume they just go back to the way they did it before, with the five guys voting on the other three people who were up for the job initially.
“I’m led to believe that might not be the case. And if it’s not the case then it’s a joke, to be honest. It has to be the same way as it was before.
“You hear Thomas (Bjorn)’s name is being banded about now. I don’t see how that can be the case. He’s voting. How can you get the job when you are voting?
‘You can’t change the rules. The process is the process’
🇪🇺 Thomas Bjorn is the odds-on favorite to lead Team Europe in next year's Ryder Cup following Henrik Stenson's dismissal.
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) July 21, 2022
“The four people who were up for the job, five people voted on that four. Now that Henrik is out of the picture, surely the same five people vote for the three who were up for the job in the first place.
“You can’t change the rules. The process is the process. Let’s see. It’ll be fun and games if it’s not, I’m telling you.”
Bjorn, who played with Lawrie at the Senior Open at Gleneagles on Thursday, wouldn’t speak directly about the issue or the possibility of him being captain again, but pleaded for calm.
“I’d like to digest it before I have anything to say,” said the 2018 captain. “There’s just all so much to think about. It’s emotional and I just want to digest it all.
“Was it a shock? Nothing shocks me at the moment if I’m going to be honest. It really doesn’t.
“We’ve got time and it’ll be sorted. But I just think we all need to deal with what’s right in front of us now. Just kind of breathe a little. It’s emotional at the moment.”
Stephen Ames and Glen Day lead after the first day at Gleneagles on six-under. 2016 Senior Open champion Paul Broadhurst, Americans Jerry Kelly and Kent Jones and the 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke are a shot behind.