Lee Westwood calls out tour for “manipulating” Ryder Cup situation

Lee Westwood has accused the DP World Tour of “manipulating” its rules after the exodus of Ryder Cup stars to LIV Golf.

Westwood – a stalwart of 11 Ryder Cups – saw his prospects of representing Team Europe again in any capacity end abruptly following his move to LIV Golf in 2022.

But, in an interview with The i Paper, Westwood now insists he still “would love to be Ryder Cup captain.”

The 51-year-old Englishman – alongside former teammates Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson – resigned his DP World Tour card after losing an appeal against mounting fines and suspensions for playing in LIV events, meaning he is no longer eligible for any role in the biennial match.

However, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are still considered likely to play at Bethpage in September, despite their own lucrative LIV moves.

Rahm and Hatton are eligible to compete on the DP World Tour pending an appeal into their own fines which has not been given a set date, while Garcia has made a dramatic late push for a comeback by recovering his own card and settling his hefty fines.

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“The tour have not treated everyone the same way,” Westwood said. “They have not treated Rahm and Hatton the same way they treated me, Poults [Poulter] and Stenson and the like.

“They have manipulated the situation. They haven’t paid their fines either, but their appeal dates have been pushed back until after the Ryder Cup.

“They have basically kicked the can down the road for those players. They keep fining them but they will be eligible for the team.”

The DP World Tour’s response read: “We have been consistent in our administration of our members’ regulations which, as the Sports Resolution Panel stated, is ‘necessary and proportionate’ to protect the rights and collective interest of the Tour’s membership.

“The fact remains, any player is able to be a member of the DP World Tour provided they comply with the members’ regulations each player signs up to. Some players have done that and remained in membership, while others have returned to membership and fulfilled their outstanding sanctions.

“In terms of appeals, our disciplinary process, set out in our members’ regulations, gives a member the right to appeal against any sanctions imposed and continue to play while that appeal is pending. Some players have exercised that right recently, the same as a number of players did in 2022/23, including Lee Westwood.”

Westwood added he no longer has a relationship with the Wentworth-based circuit, owing to fines worth £857,000 for competing in conflicting LIV events that he has chosen not to settle.

“The appeal went the way of the tour so I resigned my membership because I wasn’t prepared to keep getting fined,” he said. “I would love to sit down with them and carve a way to come back together.”

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And if a solution does come to pass in future negotiations, Westwood says he wouldn’t hesitate to lead Europe at a future Ryder Cup.

“They sounded me out for Italy,” he said. “I thought you can’t go from playing in one to being captain in the next. I feel you should at least give yourself a chance to play another one.

“Also, I knew LIV was on the horizon, so I didn’t want to put myself in the position Henrik found himself in. So, for a few reasons, it didn’t feel like the right time.

“If I was asked to be captain at Adare Manor, I would jump at the chance. But certain things have to change. Rapprochement is necessary.”