Rory McIlroy reveals fallout with Ryder Cup team-mates who have joined LIV Golf

Rory McIlroy admits his relationship with a number of Ryder Cup team-mates has taken a serious knock following their switch to LIV Golf.

Four of his teammates at last year’s Ryder Cup – Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Bernd Wiesberger – are among the LIV contingent in the field for this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, a factor McIlroy said he would find “hard to stomach”.

Asked about his relationship with the four, McIlroy admitted: “I wouldn’t say I’ve got much of a relationship with them at the minute.

“They are here. They are playing the golf tournament. My opinion is they shouldn’t be here, but again that’s just my opinion.

“But if you’re just talking about Ryder Cup, that’s not the future of the Ryder Cup team. They’ve played in probably a combined 25, 30 Ryder Cups, whatever it is.

“The Hojgaards (Rasmus and Nicolai), Bobby Mac (Robert MacIntyre), whoever else is coming up. They are the future of the Ryder Cup team. That’s what we should be thinking about and talking about.”

Asked about the prospect of facing a LIV player in the final round on Sunday, he said: “I’ll be trying to win a golf tournament regardless. They are going to be pretty tired on Sunday – it will be the fourth day.”

As for the possibility of LIV players getting back on to the traditional tours if they wanted to return, the four-time major winner said: “I mean they can always go through Q-School, yeah.”

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