Rory McIlroy Says Ryder Cup Should Not Have LIV Players and European Team Needed a 'Rebuild'

Speaking at the site of next year's matches, McIlroy didn't call out any players now in LIV Golf from last year's losing team but said it's time for 'younger guys to maybe step up.'

Rory McIlroy is taking advantage of the DP World Tour schedule and getting a look at the venue for next year’s Ryder Cup this week outside of Rome, where he believes no LIV Golf players should be part of the European team at the 2023 competition.

“I have said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, I don’t think any of those guys should be on the Ryder Cup team,’’ McIlroy said Wednesday during a news conference at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, site of this week’s Italian Open and the Ryder Cup, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2023.

McIlroy, coming off a runner-up finish last week at the BMW PGA Championship and winning last month's FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour, is joining others who hope to be part of the team, including U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland and Francesco Molinari, who won the tournament in 2018 and went 5-0 that year at the Ryder Cup.

European captain Luke Donald is also in the field as is Molinari’s brother, Edoardo, who will be a vice captain.

McIlroy didn’t name names, but players such as Sergio Garcia—who has the most points in Ryder Cup history—Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey and Bernd Wiesberger are all part of LIV Golf now. They were part of the European team that lost 19-9 last year to the United States at Whistling Straits.

“I think the European team has a core of six or seven guys that I think we all know are pretty much going to be on that team, and then it’s up to some of the younger guys to maybe step up,” McIlroy said.

“But I think we were in need of a rebuild, anyway. It was sort of, we did well with the same guys for a very long time but again as I just said, everything comes to an end at some point. I think Whistling Straits is a good sort of demarcation, I guess.

“That’s all behind us. We have got a core group of guys but let’s build on that again, and instead of filling those three or four spots with older veterans, let’s blood some rookies and let’s get them in and build towards the future. I think that’s important.”

In addition to McIlroy, the core he mentioned likely consists of Fitzpatrick, Hovland, Hatton, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood.

If Molinari can regain his form, that would be an added boost for Europe. The emergence of twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard along with Victor Perez of France and Polish golfer Adrian Meronk give Donald plenty of hope.

Not to be forgotten is the loss to the United States side of Dustin Johnson, Brook Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed.

“ I had already committed to playing in this event before Luke was the captain and it was someone else,’’ McIlroy said, referring to Henrik Stenson, who was stripped of his captaincy when he signed with LIV Golf. “It was always a part of my schedule. I wanted to play at least one tournament here before the Ryder Cup next year. I think The Italian Open is being played in May next year. I knew that that wasn't going to fit into my schedule because of how busy it is in the United States at that time.

“So this was a good opportunity. I was already in Europe playing at Wentworth, and it was a good opportunity to see the course. But I've had discussions with Luke and you know, we are actually a few of us are meeting for dinner tonight for a little bit of team bonding but also have a talk about the course and how we think it should be set up to favor the European team.’’