Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland, and Sergio Garcia have become ineligible for a major honor while playing in one of the most prestigious international events, the Ryder Cup. Why? Because they have resigned from their DP World Tour memberships. This has left both fans and players shocked, including Rory McIlroy, who is currently playing in the Wells Fargo Championship.

The former world no. 1 has always been extremely outspoken about the rebel league and its players, and with the LIV Golf defectors’ resignation, McIlroy has found the grounds yet again to share his thoughts about them. And of course, he is less than thrilled about it all!

Rory McIlroy lashes out at the LIV Golf defectors for turning their back on the Tour

In the previous month, the DP World Tour successfully defended its case in court against LIV Golf players who had been suspended for participating in a few Saudi-backed Tour events. As a result, the European Tour retained the ability to impose penalties and fines on the defectors.

Rex Hoggard, a prominent golf writer, shared McIlroy’s response on Twitter about the whole resignation. When Rory McIlroy was asked about the resignation, he said, “It’s a shame.” 

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After the resignation, the players will not be able to become captains of the European team, and McIlroy believes that that is more than unfortunate. “I think it’s a shame that you’ve got the highest points score ever in the Ryder Cup and two guys that when they look back on their career, that’s probably going to be at least a big chunk of their legacy is the roles that they have played in the Ryder Cup for Europe,” he stated, disappointed by the defectors’ move.

Commenting on the choices made by LIV Golf defectors and facing the consequences, McIlroy said, “But as the DP World Tour said in their statement, at the end of the day that was their choice and they knew that these were potentially going to be the consequences of those choices and of those actions and here we are. Yeah, it’s certainly a shame.”

The LIV Golf Defectors’ performance in the Ryder Cup 

Collectively, Westwood, Poulter, and Garcia had participated in 28 Ryder Cups. Sharing 50 Tour titles amongst themselves, they had already been recognized as honorary lifetime members of the DP World Tour. 

Garcia has participated in every Ryder Cup since 1999 and has won 25 matches. Poulter, too, has seen some amazing moments at the event, especially his stunning performance in 2012. He shot five back-to-back birdies, quoting one of the greatest comebacks by a European team.

Why, then, did these Ryder Cup greats give up on so much? Well, they claimed that they had been backed into a corner with the DP World Tour’s fines. And despite being deeply upset by it, resignation as their was their only way out.

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What do you think of Garcia’s, Poulter’s, Westwood’s, and Richard Bland’s Ryder Cup careers? What do you think of Rory McIlroy’s response to their resignation? Let us know in the comments below.