LIV rebels will feel the pain of missing out on the Ryder Cup

RORY McIlroy believes the Ryder Cup absence of Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood will be felt more keenly by the LIV rebels than it will by the European team in Rome.

- CARL MARKHAM

The trio have been stalwarts of the event for two decades but made themselves ineligible after joining the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway and resigning their tour memberships.

Despite Garcia, the Ryder Cup’s all-time leading points scorer, making a forlorn late attempt to find a way back into the reckoning, McIlroy said the current side would not be dwelling on former team-mates.

“I mean, it’s certainly a little strange not having them around,” said the Northern Irishman.

“But I think this week of all weeks it’s going to hit home with them that they are not here and I think they are going to miss being here more than we’re missing them.

“It’s just more this week is a realisation that the decision they made has led to not being a part of this week and that’s tough.

“The landscape in golf is everchanging and more dynamic, and we’ll see what happens and whether they will be part of it in the future.”

This summer’s surprise decision to merge LIV Golf into the PGA Tour is likely to offer a way back for all those players who initially defected, but there is plenty of negotiation and trade-offs to be done before that picture becomes clear.