Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are not competing in this year's Ryder Cup due to their departures from LIV. criticized by Rory McIlroy Photo: Action Images/Paul Childs
Just five minutes after the conclusion of the lavish opening ceremony in Rome, a message arrived from absent friends. It was Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson, and they wanted everyone to know that they were launching a 'live from the dressing room' series to document all the behind-the-scenes hijinks of their LIV team, the Majesticks. The theme of the first episode? Their Ryder Cup memories. You can hardly help but be struck by the pathos of the topic and the timeliness.
It was the day Stenson was due to make his speech as European captain in front of a television audience of millions around the world. Instead, he played up nostalgia in the name of a fictional franchise that wasn't even spelled correctly. His fireside chat with Poulter and Westwood lacked insight and detail into the 91 Ryder Cup matches they played between them. The problem was that no one was watching. In the first three hours of broadcasting the memories on YouTube, they received only 174 views.
This is the result of exchanging traditional loyalty for Saudi rewards with LIV, a world that offers huge financial rewards but minimal exposure to the mass public. It underlined what Rory McIlroy meant when he quipped of defectors: “They’ll miss us more than we miss them.” Because when Westwood recalled Seve Ballesteros telling him to put Q-tips in his ears to block out the crowd noise, or when Poulter talked about how much he loved hitting his first tee shot, they looked like they were hungry for the Ryder Cup. ancient revelry.
Ultimately, these rebels are the masterminds of their own exile. They forfeited any right to public sympathy when, with more money in the bank than they could ever spend, they accepted Riyadh's patronage at the expense of their European allegiance. Yet here in Marco Simone, it comes as a shock when we see how brutally they were disowned. Westwood, Poulter and Sergio Garcia — the host team's standout figures for 24 years, scoring a combined 68.5 points — do not appear on any posters around the field or in any official social media videos. The only exception is the command room, where Donald kept an image of Garcia. Otherwise, their excommunication is final.
The Ryder Cup stalwarts are no more. Photo: Getty Images/Warren Little
Rumor has it that the LIV gang are not very happy with their treatment, least of all McIlroy's attack. Poulter admits his snub, which has prevented him from serving Europe even as vice-captain, «saddens» him. In response, on the eve of golf's biggest and brightest show yet, three old members released a video in a desperate attempt to ensure they weren't forgotten. It was a reminder of how deep the divide in the game has become and how bitter grievances remain.
The chaos caused by the LIV breakaway wiped out future European captains for a decade. If you look at Donald's team, you will realize that it lacks the usual core of experienced specialists. And yet the irony, as much as it upset Poulter and his colleagues, is that the line-up has rarely looked stronger or more cohesive. McIlroy appears buoyed by the absence of players he blames for splitting the sport in two, with the pair of young Scandinavian stars Ludwig Aberg and Viktor Hovland representing one of the most exciting double acts in Europe in recent years.
Make no mistake, LIV's shadow still hangs heavily over the spectacle. “I didn’t notice,” Brooks Koepka joked darkly when reminded that he was the only player present from the Saudi-funded project. Despite all the pleasantries exchanged among tour executives, there is deep uncertainty about what the world golf schedule will look like next year when the LIV merger with the two major tours takes effect. But crucially, the Ryder Cup shows no sign that it has been damaged or diminished by off-track shenanigans. On the contrary, it is made all the more interesting by the lack of subplots about players accepting obscene salary increases in order to compete less.
Poulter tried, albeit ludicrously, to argue that there were similarities in the presentation of Europe and Majesticks. In reality, the distance between them could not have been greater. One is the pinnacle of team sport where, no matter your contribution, memories are made to last a lifetime. The second is an exercise in stuffing your own nest, where your teams only offer a way to earn even bigger bonuses. One is about the soul, the other is about profit. The LIV renegades made their choice, and now they will have to live with the consequences. After an orgy of greed, their game needed the Ryder Cup more than ever.
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