AND THEY ALL LIVVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
Now Euro rebels could play at the Ryder Cup
EUROPE’S LIV rebels could feature in September’s Ryder Cup after yesterday’s shock peace deal with golf’s two big tours.
Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood (right, top) and Ian Poulter had been written out of the script after resigning their DP World Tour memberships following the imposition of fines and bans for defecting to the LIV Tour.
But after yesterday’s shock pact a place in Luke Donald’s team for Rome could be back on the agenda.
If any of the rebels were included it would cause issues with Rory Mcilroy who has led the opposition to the Saudibacked breakaway league.
However Jon Rahm, who played alongside Garcia (right, below) at Whistling Straits two years ago, has made no secret of his desire to do so again.
“They would have to do a number of things,” said DP World Tour chief Keith Pelley.
“They would have to request to be reinstated. They would then have to serve their suspensions and they would have to pay their fines and then they would have to qualify or be selected by Luke.
“It would have to be an exceptional circumstance to allow them to reinstate their membership based on the rules and regulations as the deadline is May 1.” The bombshell announcement followed secret face-to-face talks between a handful of representatives of the warring factions.
“The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment
Fund have announced a landmark agreement to unify the game of golf, on a global basis,” an official statement read. “The parties have signed an agreement that combines PIF’S golf-related commercial businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the commercial businesses and rights of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
“There will be a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity to ensure all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement
and competition among the game’s best players.”
Flesh will be put on the bones of the agreement over the coming weeks, but a global circuit featuring the top players competing in a limited number of mega-money supertournaments to run around the Majors now seems likely.
“I can’t predict what’s going to happen but I just think it will be better,” said Pelley.
The lack of consultation with the players was criticised by some.
“Nothing like finding out on Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with,” tweeted Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes.
But the R&A, the sport’s governing body, welcomed the peace deal.
“We are pleased an agreement has been reached which will help men’s professional golf move forward,” said chief Martin Slumbers.