{"id":291572,"date":"2023-09-27T22:20:46","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T22:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=291572"},"modified":"2023-09-27T22:20:46","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T22:20:46","slug":"mcilroy-shows-liv-golf-battle-scars-are-still-raw-ahead-of-ryder-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/golf\/mcilroy-shows-liv-golf-battle-scars-are-still-raw-ahead-of-ryder-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"McIlroy shows LIV Golf battle scars are still raw ahead of Ryder Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Rory McIlroy comes out swinging and shows LIV Golf battle scars are still raw as he says the likes of Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter &#8216;will miss being at the Ryder Cup more than the players will miss them&#8217;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>The Ryder Cup will be without the likes of Garcia, Poulter and Lee Westwood<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>They were among the players to defect to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>McIlroy says they will miss the Ryder Cup more than the players will miss them\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There was a moment on Wednesday at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club when the audience stilled and Rory McIlroy addressed the lingering spirits of some of Europe\u2019s Ryder Cup greats of the past as if they were in the room with us.<\/p>\n<p>Europe might be playing against the USA this week on this sharply undulating course in the hills outside the Italian capital but it was clear that, in McIlroy\u2019s mind, the absence of legends of this competition such as Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood meant that one triumph had already been secured.<\/p>\n<p>If some of us miss Poulter\u2019s panache, especially this week of all weeks, if some of us miss his unrivalled ability to wind up the Americans by guaranteeing victory and revelling in being called The Postman, because he always delivers, McIlroy is not among that number. The scars of the bitter struggle with LIV, the struggle he led, are still too raw.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018A lot of water under the bridge in the last couple years,\u2019 a journalist asked him early Wednesday morning when the fierce heat of the day had not yet taken hold outside, \u2018but in this week of all weeks, do you actually miss guys like Sergio, Poulter and Westwood?\u2019 It was a gentle question that invited a fond answer. It was an answer that never came.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I mean, it\u2019s certainly a little strange not having them around,\u2019 McIlroy said. \u2018But I think this week of all weeks, it\u2019s going to hit home with them that they are not here, and I think they are going to miss being here more than we\u2019re missing them.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/27\/19\/75905965-12567945-image-a-31_1695840607596.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ryder Cup legends including Sergio Garcia (left) and Ian Poulter (right) are absent<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/27\/19\/75905869-12567945-image-a-32_1695840667169.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Rory McIlroy says they will miss the Ryder Cup more than the players will miss them<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/27\/21\/75909007-12567945-image-m-15_1695846644894.jpg\" height=\"622\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>McIlroy (pictured with wife Erica Stroll) came out firing ahead of the Ryder Cup\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think this week is a realisation that the decision that they made has led to not being a part of this week, and that\u2019s tough. The landscape in golf is ever-changing and more dynamic, and we\u2019ll see what happens and whether they will be part of it in the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I always thought leading up to this week is when it\u2019s going to hit home that they are not going to be here.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>McIlroy gave a wry smile when he finished speaking. Two days before a ball has been hit in anger at this Ryder Cup, it felt like a victory speech.<\/p>\n<p>It may be that this Ryder Cup draws a line under the civil war that raged in golf for more than a year between those, like Poulter, Westwood and Garcia, who defected to the Saudi-funded LIV tour and those, like McIlroy, who fought instead to protect the business model built by the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n<p>An agreement of sorts has been reached now between the rival factions but the announcement of their merger did not come soon enough to alter the complexion of the Ryder Cup this year. There is only one player \u2014 Brooks Koepka \u2014 on either side from the LIV faction. For those still banished, as McIlroy pointed out, the pain of exile will cut deep.<\/p>\n<p>But the absence of the old guard in the European side, both on the course and in the team room, also concentrated attention here on the fact that this is a team in transition and that McIlroy\u2019s voice and influence is now louder and more important than it has been before. He is its leader.<\/p>\n<p>But his Ryder Cup history is a complicated picture. He does not have an outstanding record. He has won 12, lost 12 and halved four of the matches he has played in during six previous appearances. He had a particularly miserable time at Whistling Straits two years ago and he vowed then that he would redeem himself in Italy.<\/p>\n<p>His seniority and his achievements on the course over the years, as well as his forthright opinions, have earned him that right to be deemed the leader of the team in Rome even if several players on the European side have won majors a lot more recently than he has.<\/p>\n<p>McIlroy is without a major victory since 2014 and as new stars like Ryder Cup rookie Ludvig Aberg come to the fore, there are more and more threats to his ability to add another to the four he has to his name.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/27\/21\/75909011-12567945-image-a-13_1695846574932.jpg\" height=\"382\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>McIlroy\u00a0 fought to protect the business model built by the PGA Tour while the likes of Poulter, Garcia and Lee Westwood defected to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/27\/21\/75908887-12567945-image-a-7_1695846184499.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The absence of the old guard in the European side means McIlroy will have a bigger influence<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Paul McGinley in 2014 was really the first captain who I felt utilised me in a certain way or wanted me to do certain things,\u2019 McIlroy said, \u2018and ever since then, certain captains have asked certain things from me.<\/p>\n<h3>Rory&#8217;s Ryder Cup record\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Rory McIlroy has been on the winning side in four of his six Ryder Cups but he has a mixed individual record.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>2010 (Celtic Manor, won) Won 1, Lost 1, Halved 2 Pts: 2<\/p>\n<p>2012 (Medinah, won) Won 3, Lost 2, Halved 0 Pts: 3<\/p>\n<p>2014 (Gleneagles, won) Won 2, Lost 1, Halved 2 Pts: 3<\/p>\n<p>2016 (Hazeltine, lost) Won 3, Lost 2, Halved 0 Pts: 3<\/p>\n<p>2018 (Le Golf National, won) Won 2, Lost 3, Halved 0 Pts: 2<\/p>\n<p>2021 (Whistling Straits, lost) Won 1, Lost 3, Halved 0 Pts: 1<\/p>\n<p>Overall Won 12, Lost 12, Halved 4 Pts: 14<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Again, I\u2019m not there giving rallying cries and team speeches. When we came on the practice trip here recently, I said to every guy, \u201cI\u2019m older than people and I have more experience, and some of these guys have watched me play on TV, but I don\u2019t want anyone looking up to me\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I just want everyone looking at the side. I want them looking over to me. I don\u2019t want them looking up to me in any way. I want them to see me like I\u2019m on their level. And there\u2019s no hierarchy on our team. It\u2019s like we are all one part of a 12-man team and we all go forward together. I guess that\u2019s the one message I\u2019ve tried to relay to some of the younger guys on the team.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>McIlroy was also asked to address once more the fact that, 14 years ago, he had dismissed the Ryder Cup as \u2018an exhibition\u2019. He said that he had been too busy building his fledgling career to think about team events but now he was fully in thrall to the glories that the week brings.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I think in 2009, I was just so focused on myself and trying to get my career off the ground that I felt like I had sort of bigger and better things to achieve for my individual goals and stuff like that,\u2019 McIlroy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I just didn\u2019t put any emphasis on making a Ryder Cup team until I made one, and then you never want to be off one again. That\u2019s the crux of it. So I love being a part of this team.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018My most enjoyable moments in my career have been being a part of European Ryder Cup teams. I\u2019m still very, very proud \u2014 and probably proudest \u2014 of the things I\u2019ve done as an individual, but nothing \u2014 nothing, beats this week. It\u2019s an amazing experience and I want to be a part of it for as long as I can.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>His message, clearly, was that playing the Ryder Cup was a privilege that no amount of money could buy. This week, he got his revenge in early. Now, it\u2019s time to turn his focus to the Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/golf\/article-12567945\/Rory-McIlroy-comes-swinging-shows-LIV-Golf-battle-scars-raw-says-likes-Sergio-Garcia-Ian-Poulter-miss-Ryder-Cup-players-miss-them.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rory McIlroy comes out swinging and shows LIV Golf battle scars are still raw as he says the likes of Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter &#8216;will miss being at the Ryder Cup more than the players will miss them&#8217; The Ryder Cup will be without the likes of Garcia, Poulter and Lee Westwood They were [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>McIlroy shows LIV Golf battle scars are still raw ahead of Ryder Cup - Sports Life Tale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/golf\/mcilroy-shows-liv-golf-battle-scars-are-still-raw-ahead-of-ryder-cup\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"McIlroy shows LIV Golf battle scars are still raw ahead of Ryder Cup - Sports Life Tale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rory McIlroy comes out swinging and shows LIV Golf battle scars are still raw as he says the likes of Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter &#8216;will miss being at the Ryder Cup more than the players will miss them&#8217; 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