The Ryder Cup rosters will look a little different than usual when the United States and Europe face off in Rome this weekend. LIV Golf players have been excluded from the European team, and only one member of LIV Golf will compete for the Americans. Rory McIlroy is the most experienced Ryder Cup player on either team, and he recognizes that it's different with some European mainstays being forced to miss the tournament.
Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell—all former members of Team Europe in the Ryder Cup—had no chance to be part of the roster as a result of their LIV Golf membership. Rory McIlroy believes they will be forced to confront their controversial decisions when the 2023 Ryder Cup is going on without them.
“It's certainly a little strange not having them around,” McIlroy said of his former Ryder Cup teammates, via ESPN. “But I think this week of all weeks, it's going to hit home with them that, you know, they are not here, and I think they are going to miss being here more than we're missing them.”
Brooks Koepka is the only LIV Golf player who will participate in the Ryder Cup. Koepka is part of the United States' team.
Along with McIlroy, Jon Rahm will look to prevent the Americans from winning a second straight Ryder Cup. Rahm has spoken to Garcia and Poulter ahead of this tournament.
“He [Garcia] showed me a lot of what to do at Whistling [Straits in 2021] and in Paris [in 2018],” Rahm said. “I did have a little bit of a chat with him, as recently as [Monday] and with Poulter as well. It's not going to be easy to take on the role that those two had both on and off the golf course, but [I] just [wanted] to hear them talk about what they thought and what they felt is invaluable information.”