The debate over whether LIV Golf players should be eligible to play in the 2023 Ryder Cup continues to rage, and now one of the European side’s most prolific participants has added his two cents.
Rory McIlroy, a Ryder Cup veteran and leader for the European side, has been outspoken in his belief that those who made the jump to LIV Golf should not be on the team bound for Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome, Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Jon Rahm has stated he’d be in favor of LIV players, such as Sergio Garcia, being on the team.
And 2022 US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick said he would support LIV players being in the mix for the biennial bash against the Americans next fall because he wants the Euros to field the strongest team possible by selecting the best dozen players.
But Sir Nick Faldo feels otherwise, as he indicated in a frank interview with Sky Sports that was released this week.
“They shouldn’t be there because they’ve gone off and you’ve got to move on,” Faldo told Sky Sports News.
“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.”
Faldo, 65, won 33 times internationally and another nine on the PGA Tour. He won three green jackets at the Masters and three British Opens. His best finish in the US Open was solo second in 1988; he also tied for second in the 1992 PGA Championship. Along the way, he held the top spot on the Official World Golf Ranking for 97 weeks. He was a TV analyst for nearly two decades.
And his success in Ryder Cup play was substantial, as he held a 23-19-4 record in the competition.
“What gripes me is that (LIV Golf) is 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’,” Faldo said. “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.”
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