While world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, the head of the PGA Tour players' advisory board, has been harshly critical of his former teammates.
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Matt Fitzpatrick stated that he wants Europe to field the strongest squad possible for the 2023 Ryder Cup, which will include team-mates who have departed the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf. The Ryder Cup will be contested by Europe against the USA in Rome in the fall, but their preparations have been disrupted by golf’s civil war, which resulted in Henrik Stenson losing his captaincy and raised questions over the eligibility of a number of players. While world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, the head of the PGA Tour players’ advisory board, has been harshly critical of his former teammates, Ryder Cup veterans Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, and Ian Poulter all joined the Saudi-funded LIV circuit.
Europe will begin the Ryder Cup as underdogs due to the overwhelming quality of the USA team, hoping to avoid their first home Ryder Cup defeat since 1993. The USA have a 12-5 edge over players in the top 20 players, despite the fact that Fitzpatrick, the world No. 9, is one of four Europeans now placed in the top 10.
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US Open champion Fitzpatrick agreed that Europe should select the 12 best players available. Fitzpatrick said, “It might be some players from other places in the world. I think there definitely are a few personal relationships that have been dented by this. I’m not bothered, I just want to win, and I’m sure those boys do too. Sergio would be the one that would stand out for me, particularly. I don’t know the details of [his relationship with McIlroy]. I’m happy to share a room with him, if that’s going to be the case, I can corner him off for everyone else.”
“It was a tough one because he [Stenson] had started gearing up for Rome, making notes and putting plans together. And then it’s like, ‘sorry, lads, I’m off. As long as you go and don’t come back, I don’t have an issue. Go take the money, go play wherever you want, I could not care less, just don’t come back and then take spots from other guys that want to play. I understand that there’s the likes of Westy, Poulter and Sergio that have played a lot in Europe over the years and have done their bit, and they have. I can’t ever knock them for that, they’ve done way more than I have for the European Tour, “Fitzpatrick said.
