Don’t look now, but the next Ryder Cup is only 300 days away. OK, so maybe it isn’t what you do close, but that didn’t stop European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and a handful of Ryder Cup hopefuls from taking a recent scouting trip to Adare Manor in Ireland.
Justin Rose, a seven-time Ryder Cupper and almost certainly a future captain, was a part of that trip, which he described as “relaxed.”
“It was the first opportunity for Luke to get the wider group together,” Rose said on Tuesday, ahead of the India DP World Championship in New Delhi. “I think it was probably an important trip for the potential or players who have not played Ryder Cups before, for some rookies to be around the team to start feeling the energy of what it feels like to be in a Ryder Cup.
“And Luke talked a little bit about how he’s thinking about the strategy and the plan for the next year or so. So it was more of a guys’ trip. Casual golf, nice dinner, and a little talk. It wasn’t very intense. It wasn’t a pressure thing. I think it was just a nice experience for the rookies and for the players before it was a nice moment for the man or the players. Go, Wow, this is going to be a special Ryder Cup. So it was a valuable trip.”
As for that European Ryder Cup 2027 team? Rose said it could be a little different next year, especially since the DP World Tour announced that LIV Golf members will not be allowed to play on the DP World Tour next seasonwhich means they will not be eligible for the Ryder Cup.
“Players have to make a choice,” said DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings BBC Sport on Monday “We have rules and regulations that are there to protect our tour and that our members must all respect. Players who are not willing to respect our rules and regulations do not have to join our tour.”
Last year at Bethpage Black, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton played on the European Ryder Cup team despite their LIV membership due to conditional releases that allow some LIV players to retain their Ryder Cup eligibility. But it will not be an option for players in 2027, although last week we discovered Rahm is no longer with LIV and Hatton’s status for LIV Golf 2.0 is unknown; he said he has several years left on his contract, although we have learned that it is not always guaranteed that a player will stay.
But as much as the DP World Tour news means that LIV players will not be eligible for the Ryder Cup, it also means that there is a more realistic path for DP World Tour members who previously had to wonder if their potential spot on the team would be taken by someone from LIV.
“I don’t know what LIV’s current situation is, other than it looks like a lot of players are starting to release to focus on the DP World Tour and put themselves in positions where they can accumulate (Ryder Cup) points,” Rose said. “I think there will be more players available for Luke to select. The way the Ryder Cup team is selected now six guys qualify and six are selected. … So I think the team may be a little different next year than it did this year, or next time because of how things seem to be played at the moment. But I haven’t really followed the ins and outs. I know there is a lot of movement.”
