Rory McIlroy rejects Ian Poulter’s dream of Ryder Cup captaincy in brutal takedown after LIV rebel admitted he still hopes to lead Europe in future
- McIlroy does not see Poulter as a future Ryder Cup captain for Europe
- Poulter’s reduced presence on regular tours is a major reason why
- Poulter is a seven-time Ryder Cup veteran but joined LIV Golf in 2022
Rory McIlroy can’t imagine Ian Poulter becoming a Ryder Cup captain in the future. According to him, the LIV rebel has lost touch with the younger players of Europe.
Poulter, whose rise to the role once seemed inevitable, admitted this week he still hopes to lead Europe once golf’s civil war is over.
But McIlroy has cast doubt on the reality of those dreams, pointing to Poulter’s absence from the regular tours since his departure in 2022. As a result, he has become a stranger to the golfers coming through the ranks.
“It’s tough because we don’t really see them anymore,” McIlroy said ahead of the BMW PGA Championship, which starts today at Wentworth.
‘You look at what Luke (Donald, the current captain) has done over the last few years, he has really made an effort to get across. He has played in the Czech Republic. He has been in Switzerland. He makes an effort to be with the players and make the players feel comfortable with him.
Rory McIlroy said he doesn’t expect LIV Golf’s Ian Poulter to ever become a Ryder Cup captain
McIlroy pointed to Poulter’s lack of presence on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour as a major factor
Poulter hopes a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will bring him back to the Ryder Cup
‘How can these young talents build a bond with the guys who have left, Poulter, (Lee) Westwood, if they are never there?
“That’s a very important part of a Ryder Cup and a Ryder Cup captaincy. I’m not saying Poulter doesn’t have the right credentials, I just think with the way things are going you need someone who’s there and showing their face as much as possible.
“They can’t be there now because they’re somewhere else.”
Poulter, a seven-time Ryder Cup veteran, is pinning his hopes on golf’s merger talks creating a path back to the biennial event after he resigned from the DP World Tour at the height of last year’s furore. The Tour confirmed yesterday that he is ineligible to captain the team under its current rules, so his prospects depend on those talks creating a provision for those who resigned their membership when they joined LIV.
Asked if he would ever be prepared to play in the Cup under a LIV Rebel, McIlroy, who is battling a virus, replied: ‘It’s such a grey area.
“There are some that I would be okay with and some that I wouldn’t be okay with. Sorry to lump them all together.”