Former Europe Ryder Cup Captain and eleven time European Ryder Cup player, Sir Nick Faldo, believes that any golfer who plays at LIV should be banned from the competition. The six-time major champion believes the LIV Golf Invitational Series is bad for the sport and doesn’t help grow the game of golf.
Sir Nick Faldo Doesn’t Want LIV Golfers Anywhere Near The Ryder Cup
Sir Nick Faldo hasn’t pulled any punches in a recent interview discussing the Ryder Cup and LIV Golf. The 2008 European Ryder Cup captain is very much against the Saudi-funded golf league and insists that any player playing at LIV should be banned from competing at the Ryder Cup going forward.
The Ryder Cup veteran feels that LIV golfers have made their bed, so they must now lie in it. Faldo voiced strong opinions in a recent interview with Sky Sports News and insists that no LIV golfer should be anywhere near the Ryder Cup. Whether that be in a playing capacity or in a captain/vice-captaincy role.
If this does end up being the case, both Team USA and Europe will lose several integral players. From an American perspective, captain Zach Johnson will be without the likes of Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson to name but a few. From a European standpoint, captain Luke Donald would be without stalwarts such as Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey.
When talking to Sky Sports News this week, Faldo was of the opinion that the LIV players have burned their bridges with the Ryder Cup and shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the biennial event:
“They shouldn’t be there because they’ve gone off and you’ve got to move on.
“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.”
There has already been drama of course regarding the LIV Golf and Ryder Cup clash. Swedish golf star Henrick Stenson was originally selected to captain Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. However, due to him moving over to LIV, he was stripped of his captaincy with Luke Donald stepping up to replace him.
It is highly unlikely that any LIV players are able to quality for the Ryder Cup. This is due to the fact they won’t be able to earn the requisite points needed to quality as they aren’t currently competing on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.
The Ryder Cup veteran believes that neither any of the European nor Americans who have gone to LIV should be allowed to compete at the Ryder Cup from now on:
“They’re done,” the three-time Masters champion said. “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’ve 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 Believes LIV Does Nothing To Help Grow The Game Of Golf
Faldo went on to say that LIV Golf does nothing in terms of growing the game of golf. The 65-year-old former world number one believes that the LIV golf Invitational Series is ‘meaningless’ and is purely antagonistic to the existing tours.
“It’s a closed shop: 48 guys given 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 antagonise 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.”
Of course, Faldo has history with Greg Norman, the fronter of LIV Golf. The Englishman and Norman were long-term rivals back in the 80s and 90s, competing against each other in several big tournaments on the PGA Tour.
Team America are the overriding favourites with the best offshore sportsbooks to retain the Ryder Cup at a price of -190. Europe on the other hand are +190 underdogs to win the Ryder Cup with the best sports betting apps in the US.
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