Sir Nick Faldo believes that Ryder Cup stalwarts such as Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood amongst others, should have no future when it comes to either participating or captaining in the biennial tournament having made the move to LIV Golf.
The six-time Major winner thinks it’s time for a new era of golfers to break through and create a new legacy for Europe over the next decade or so.
“They shouldn’t be there because they’ve gone off and you’ve got to move on,” Faldo said while speaking to Sky Sports News (opens in new tab).
“They’re all at the age where Europe needs to find a new breed of 25-year-olds that can play half a dozen or more Ryder Cups, and I think we’re going to have that.”
Team Europe captain Luke Donald may have no choice but to herald in a new group of potential Ryder Cup stars given how difficult it will be for LIV players to earn qualification points considering they are suspended from the PGA Tour, and a hearing will take place next month to determine their DP World Tour, and Ryder Cup, futures as well.
Is it a worthwhile sacrifice? Faldo doesn’t think so. “They’re done,” said the 2008 European Ryder Cup captain. “It’s a rival tour. If you work for a company for 20 years and you then leave to go to a rival company, I can promise you your picture won’t still be on the wall. You’ve moved on. Fine, off you go
“They made that decision and I’m sure they knew it was going to cost them. They were playing the maths game. They were getting a huge chunk of money up front, and they knew it was going to lose them sponsors, but they thought ‘I still win’.”
Faldo and Greg Norman, his former rival who fronts the Saudi-backed series, have enjoyed some titanic battles on the golf course, culminating at the 1996 Masters where the Englishman won his third Green Jacket having capitalized on Norman blowing a six-shot lead.
The Englishman thinks LIV has absolutely no interest in growing the game.
“It’s a closed shop: 48 guys gave loads of money,” Faldo said. “What gripes me is it’s not growing the game of golf. That really gets me when they fly across the world to a country that’s been playing golf for 100 plus years and say, ‘we’re growing the game of golf’.
“If they keep saying they want to grow the game of golf, go and take it to new regions. Countries in the early days of being interested in golf now. Try that rather than just trying to antagonize everybody.
“Whatever they want to do, go and do it. Let these youngsters play what we deem is real, competitive golf. Once you’ve decided to retire, disappear, move on, or go to another job. No one’s going to talk about you, so just go and do your thing and get on with it.”