The hot topic this week has been whether the LIV Golf players should be able to play in the Ryder Cup.
Jon Rahm raised the issue when he admitted he was disappointed that fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia will not be in the European team in Italy this autumn.
Garcia is among the players who are ineligible to represent Europe following their decision to join LIV.
However players who have been banned or resigned from the PGA Tour can still play for the United States in Rome in the biennial event which starts on September 29.
Rory McIlroy also shared his feelings, saying he is still opposed to Europe’s LIV Golf players taking part but added that he feels this year’s US PGA champion Brooks Koepka merits a spot on the USA team.
I understand where both players are coming from. I don’t have a problem with a player who is in great form, such as Koepka, playing in the Ryder Cup.
He was close to winning the Masters and then won the US PGA. The US will have a better team with him in it and I would argue more people will be watching the Ryder Cup if Brooks is playing.
A fairway bunker dart being thrown by @PaulLawriegolf in 2012 🎯 pic.twitter.com/qhva16creT
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) May 31, 2023
Sergio is Europe’s all-time leading points scorer but would he be the best person on the team? That is not a clear-cut decision, based on his current form and there are other in-form players who make a really valid claim.
Europe lost heavily in Whistling Straits and they need to look to the future. Even if none of the LIV Golf stuff had happened, this Ryder Cup was going to be a changing of the guard for Europe with younger players given their chance at the expense of the older ones.
America did that a few years ago and they benefited down the line from blooding those young players. That experience of playing in a Ryder Cup is so vital.
It would obviously have been better if it had been made clear before the players switched to LIV Golf whether or not they would be ineligible for the Ryder Cup.
The PGA Tour don’t own the Ryder Cup when it is played on American soil, that comes under the PGA of America, whereas the European Tour own most of the Ryder Cup when it is played in Europe so there is a direct link there.
Currently leading the European Points List:
1⃣ @JonRahmpga
2⃣ @McIlroyRory
3⃣ @v_perez2— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) May 30, 2023
You also have to consider how disruptive any player selected could be as it is so important to get the team environment right.
European teams have tended to have really good camaraderie so I’m sure this year’s captain Luke Donald won’t want to upset that.
If you were comparing a LIV Golf player against a player from the DP World Tour or PGA Tour and they had similar results and would likely make a similar impact then it would be a safer bet to go with the player from the main tours.
Block to bounce back?
Michael Block will return to the PGA Tour next week when he plays in the RBC Canadian Open.
He followed up his impressive tied-15th finish at the US PGA Championship by finishing last at the Charles Schwab Challenge the following week when he was playing on an invite.
His success at Oak Hill was a great story and we don’t have enough of those underdog tales because there are more designated and limited field events.
Imagine you had a qualifier for a designated event and a club pro ended up playing for $20million against the likes of Rory McIlroy.
I think Block got a bit carried away with some of his comments after that success at Oak Hill, such as saying he would be one of the best players in the world if he could hit the ball as far as McIlroy.
That was probably a reason why he didn’t play so well the following week because he had heaped a lot of pressure on himself.
It will be interesting to see how he performs on his second invite in Canada next week.
A rollercoaster start to the season
I’m not playing this week’s Porsche European Open in Hamburg.
The course doesn’t really suit my game. It favours the players who hit the ball a long way, especially when they play off the back tees and it is almost 8,000 yards long.
If it rains and the ball isn’t rolling then it can play very long.
The course has been improving over the years and Porsche are a great sponsor but other courses will play to my strengths better so it felt like the right week to take a break and prepare for the challenges ahead.
Last week’s KLM Open suited me a lot more and I was disappointed with my tied 39th finish because I put myself in a good position and was sitting second at one stage but didn’t capitalise.
My start to the season has been a bit of a rollercoaster with lots of ups and downs.
My game is feeling really good and I had a really positive week at the Soudal Open last month when I finished tied seventh.
I feel I am shooting the highest possible number every time which is incredibly frustrating so hopefully my luck is about to change as we head into a busy stretch of tournaments.
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