There is tension in the air. With a LIV Golf – PGA Tour deal still not seeing any conclusions, there is a smoking gun slowly forming on the side of the DP World Tour. And holding the torch is none other than LIV Golfer, Lee Westwood, who feels that the DP World Tour is being manipulative with their dealings. With an impending Ryder Cup happening, a membership card on the DP World Tour is required for selection to Team Europe for the event at Bethpage, New York, and the discussion surrounding selections is gaining momentum. So, several top players are hoping to be a part of the much-awaited event that happens once in two years.

However, as mentioned, Lee Westwood felt that the DP World Tour was showing preferential treatment to a certain set of players while ignoring the plights of the other. “The tour have not treated everyone the same way. They have not treated Rahm and Hatton the same way they treated me, Poults and Stenson.”

The LIV Golfer is mainly trying to draw focus onto the Ryder Cup, as both Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are on the Ryder Cup selection list, while he, Poulter, and Henrik Stenson are not. In fact, Hatton is eligible for direct selection thanks to his recent victory at the Dubai Desert Classic. “They have manipulated the situation. They haven’t paid their fines either, but their appeal dates have been pushed back until after the Ryder Cup.”

According to Westwood, the duo is already being supported to be included in the Ryder Cup and DP World Tour has been pushing for their inclusion.“They have basically kicked the can down the road for those players. They keep fining them but they will be eligible for the team,” the 25-time DP World Tour winner explained.

Westwood did try to appeal against the fines north of $1 million that he was due to pay. However, once he lost his appeal, the two-time PGA Tour winner decided to quit the European Tour because he was not willing to get fined. This loss of membership card is what is preventing him from featuring in the Ryder Cup rankings list.

A DP World Tour spokesperson added their context to the situation, implying that they are following the same process that they followed with Westwood beforehand. “In terms of appeals, our disciplinary process, set out in our members’ regulations, gives a member the right to appeal against any sanctions imposed and continue to play while that appeal is pending. Some players have exercised that right recently, the same as a number of players did in 2022-23, including Lee Westwood,” stated the representative.

With the Ryder Cup bearing down on us, the Team Europe that is headed to Bethpage is shaping up. At least the six confirmed qualifiers

Team Europe’s Ryder Cup selection

Currently, the top six confirmed selections are World No.2 Rory McIlroy, Rasmus Højgaard, Shane Lowry, Ludvig Aberg, and Thomas Detry. Among them, Tyrrell Hatton. Detry, Aberg, and McIlroy have already proven themselves on the PGA Tour this season with titles, while Lowry and Højgaard have been very consistent as well.

Luke Donald will have to wreck his brain to pick the next six. Former LIV golfer Laurie Canter, Tommy Fleetwood, MacIntyre, John Parry, and Niklas Norgaard are high up the rankings. Instead, the Team Europe captain could go with one of his trusted sidekicks like Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, or even Jon Rahm, who is currently 35 on the list.

Luke Donald is known for making tough decisions, and the looming question would be whether Rahm would make the team. Do you think Rahm deserves a shot if he does well at the Masters?