The Ryder Cup “will not be devalued” if LIV Golf players are not allowed to participate in this year’s event in Rome, says England’s Justin Rose.
USA has previously said their 12-man squad will not feature any players participating in the LIV tour.
The composition of the European team depends on this week’s arbitration hearing in London, which will establish whether LIV golfers can play on the DP World Tour.
If banned, they will have limited chances of qualifying for the Ryder Cup.
Rose, who has played in the biennial event five times, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “There is so much strength in depth that I don’t think it will be devalued.
“People like to watch Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter [who have all joined the LIV Golf circuit]. They bring a lot of passion. We will certainly miss them but that’s the way it is.
“You have the powers that be, the traditional folks who still control golf, and you have an upstart league trying to bring in a new idea and a rival product.
“It’s fine anyway, it’s just that the two can fit into this scenario.”
If players from the Saudi-backed LIV tournament are banned from playing on the DP World Tour, they will have limited chances of earning qualification points for the six automatic spots in the 12-man European squad to face the States. States in Rome from September 29 to October 1.
Plus, they’ll have fewer opportunities to impress Europe captain Luke Donald to give them one of his six wildcard picks.
There are 14 LIV golf events scheduled for 2023, but the official World Golf Rankings table does not currently award points for them.
Rose, who won her first PGA Tour event in four years on Monday to allow him to qualify for the Masters in April, added that he was considering joining LIV but it was the uncertainty around world ranking points that was “non-negotiable”.
“There have been times when everything looks pretty good on paper,” said the 42-year-old who won the 2013 US Open. “The concept itself has been around for seven years and there are elements where it sounds really, really cool.
“The fact that there was never a point in time where all the best players could be behind because there were too many unanswered questions, especially around world ranking points, that was the main obstacle I faced with the decision.
“I couldn’t escape the fact that I wanted to play major championship golf. I don’t have any exemptions down the line, so my clean path in the majors maintains a good world ranking.
“So it became null and void, non-negotiable from my point of view.”
However, Rose said he did not judge his friends for the decisions they made, including those of Swede Henrik Stenson, who was the European Ryder Cup captain for this year’s event before move to the LIV circuit, and Ian Poulter who played in the event. at many times.
“Poults and Stenson have been my partners in many Ryder Cup matches and we’ve won a lot of points together, so from that perspective I’m going to miss them there,” Rose said.
“I’ve seen them socially. I’m still texting and calling guys. Everyone can make their own decision, I don’t think badly of them for doing that and they’re still my buddies.
“There will be consequences to that decision and obviously the decisions will determine whether it’s good or bad for them.
“A good thing from a Ryder Cup perspective is that this decision will be made soon enough and whatever the outcome, there is time for relationships to heal. Clarity is what most of us want .”
“It was a punch”
Rose’s victory at last week’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California – his 11th on the PGA Tour – also put him in contention for the Ryder Cup, which he says means a lot after being left out of the squad. 2021 squad that suffered a 19-9 record. defeat at Whistling Straits on the shores of Lake Michigan.
“Missing there was a bit of a blow. You’re coming out of a period where you’re world number one and not far from it, but you can’t get into the Ryder Cup team,” said- he added.
“It was definitely a moment where you were like ‘well I know I don’t play very well but my peers know I don’t play very well’, it was kind of a wake-up call.
“These feelings aren’t great, but they’re also huge motivators.”
