JUSTIN ROSE BELIEVES the Ryder Cup will not be “devalued” if LIV Golf players are not allowed to compete at this year’s contest in Rome.
American players who joined the Saudi-funded circuit are ineligible as they have been suspended by, or resigned from, the PGA Tour and are therefore not members of the PGA of America, which jointly runs the biennial contest with Ryder Cup Europe.
The possible make-up of the European team hinges on this week’s arbitration hearing in London, which will decide if the DP World Tour can enforce sanctions for playing in LIV Golf events without receiving a required “conflicting event” release.
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Rose, whose victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday boosted his chances of making a sixth Ryder Cup appearance, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “There is so much strength in depth, I don’t think it will be devalued.
“People like watching Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter. They bring a lot of passion. They will be missed, for sure, but it is what it is.
“You have the powers that be, the traditional people who kind of still have control of golf, and you have an upstart league which is trying to bring in a fresh idea and rival product.
“It’s all good either way, it’s just can both fit together in this scenario?”
The emergence of LIV Golf has caused a seismic rift in the men’s professional game, with Rory McIlroy detailing how his previously close friendship with Sergio Garcia has broken down.
However, Rose has remained friends with the likes of Poulter and Henrik Stenson, who was stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy after joining LIV.
“Poults and Stenson have been partners of mine in many Ryder Cup matches and we’ve won an awful lot of points together so, from that point of view, I’ll miss them out there,” the former US Open champion said.
“I have seen them socially. I still text and call guys. Everyone can make their own decision, I do not think badly of them for doing that and they are still my mates.
“There are going to be consequences to that decision and obviously the rulings will determine whether that is good or bad for them.
“One good thing from a Ryder Cup point of view is this decision will be done early enough and whatever the outcome, there’s time for relationships to heal. Clarity is what most of us want.”
