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Luke Donald admits he is keen for a resolution – one way or the other – in the battle between the DP World Tour and its LIV Golf rebels.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Europe’s Ryder Cup captain admitted that his planning for this September’s match has been left in limbo by the uncertainty over whether or not the tour can stop players from participating in the biennial contest.
A UK-based dispute resolution service is expected to rule next month on whether or not the DP World Tour has the right to sanction players for competing in ‘conflicting events’ without permission.
Should the ruling go against the tour, it is understood that the likes of Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood will be free to resume their DP World Tour careers and attempt to qualify for this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome.
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“To get some clarity will definitely help me,” said the Englishman “Hopefully, we’ll have bit more of that in a few weeks. But it’s not in my control and I’ll deal with it either way.
“My job is to get 12 guys in that teamroom, all on the same page, willing to win the Ryder Cup.”
Donald added that he remains on good terms with the Ryder Cup’s record points-scorer Sergio Garcia.
The Spaniard was one of the players lured away to LIV last year and, last October, he conceded that he had probably featured in his last match.
“When I see that so many people are against it, if the team is better without me, I’d rather be out of it,” said Garcia.
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“There’s
obviously several guys who feel strongly that way. The [DP World] Tour
is on that same thought. I don’t want to be something that might hurt
the team. Obviously, it’s sad for me, how much I love the Ryder Cup and
everything I’ve been able to do with Europe. That’s the way they want
it. I’m just helping out.”
Speaking to The Telegraph, Donald said: “I have spoken to Sergio quite a few times since I’ve been captain. He’s cool with me. He understands my role and that I don’t have much influence on a lot of this stuff going on right now, so. But yeah, we’ve had some conversations, which I’ll keep private.”
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