The captaincy of Henrik Stenson’s Ryder Cup lasted four months.
The Ryder Cup Europe eliminated Stenson as captain for the 2023 matches, still 14 months away from playing in Italy, when the Swede decided to choose the guaranteed money from the rival league funded by Saudi Arabia over at the Ryder Cup.
The European tour and the PGA Tour have suspended players who signed up for LIV Golf, which is handing out massive signing bonuses to accompany its $ 36 million prize pool in eight tournaments that include 54 holes and no cuts.
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The third LIV Golf event is next week at Trump National in New Jersey. Sky Sports was one of the first to report that Stenson was abandoning the European tour for the rival league, a move he has now confirmed.
That meant resigning from a captaincy he accepted four months ago when he said, “I’m totally committed to my role as captain and working hard to get the result we want in Rome.”
The European tour did not mention LIV Golf in its brief statement after meeting with the Swedish star, only that Stenson’s captaincy “has ended with immediate effect”.
“In view of the decisions taken by Henrik in relation to his personal circumstances, it has become clear that he will not be able to fulfill certain contractual obligations with the Ryder Cup Europe that he had committed before his proclamation as captain,” he says. the statement. .
Stenson announced on Twitter that he plans to play at the LIV Golf event next week. He said he had made arrangements with LIV Golf to meet his Ryder Cup captaincy and that he was “very disappointed” to be eliminated.
“While I disagree with that decision, at the moment it is a decision I accept,” he wrote.
Stenson is number 171 in the world and five years ago he won a tournament against more than 20 players. It fits the profile of many players Greg Norman has signed up for in his LIV golf series – great champions whose best days are behind him.
In addition to Stenson, LIV Golf announced that world number 36 Jason Kokrak and Charles Howell III, both three-time PGA Tour winners, will play the event in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Stenson lost the cut last week at the British Open, while Kokrak finished tied for 42nd place. Stenson played a training round on Sunday to enter the Open with Phil Mickelson, considered one of Greg Norman’s top recruiters and his Golf LIV.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Stenson was online to get a signing bonus of approximately $ 72 million. It is believed that most contracts are in the range of three to four years.
Already disrupting major golf circuits, the latest move is having a big impact on the Ryder Cup, one of golf’s most celebrated events every two years. European players who have already joined include Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell, although none were likely to form the next team given their current form or age.
“I sincerely hope that a resolution will soon be reached between the excursions and their members and that the Ryder Cup can act as a repair mechanism between various golf courses and their members,” Stenson said in his statement.
The Americans are coming off a record defeat at Whistling Straits last year. Then the Ryder Cup goes to Marco Simone outside Rome in September 2023.
Luke Donald was also considered a European captain when the post was given to Stenson. Robert Karlsson was another option and it would be surprising for Europe to once again have Thomas Bjorn, the winning captain in France in 2018 and the strongest voice in Europe.
Stenson was thought to be the ideal candidate for the Saudi-funded league late last year, but had to weigh his legacy as captain of the Ryder Cup. First he chose one, then the other.
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