Rory McIlroy believes the absence of LIV trio Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter benefited Europe in their Ryder Cup victory over the United States.
“It’s a new era, and it’s a pretty good one,” McIlroy said.
“Not having these big personalities in the team room allowed other guys to have the chance to flourish and shine: Viktor (Hovland), Jon (Rahm), myself.”
McIlroy won four points – his best tally in the Ryder Cup – while Hovland and Rahm also impressed as Europe beat the Americans 16½-11½ in Rome.
Garcia, Westwood and Poulter resigned from the DP World Tour after joining the Saudi-backed LIV Tour.
They were key players in the Ryder Cup with Garcia’s return of 28½ in 10 appearances making him the European points record while Westwood won 24 points and Poulter was nicknamed “the postman” as he always delivered during the event.
“They had incredible Ryder Cup careers and they made their choices, and they did what they did and no one can take away the impact they had on the European team over the years “, added four-time major winner McIlroy.
“There wasn’t a lot of space taken up in that room by some of the other big personalities, and I think that just allowed the rest of the team to flourish.”
Fellow Irishman Shane Lowry agreed that Europe was entering a new era as he looked forward to defending the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York in 2025.
“I mean it and I’m not even talking about the 12 players that are here. I’m talking about Rasmus Hojgaard, Vincent Norrman and Adrian Meronk,” said Lowry, who had 1½ points for Europe in Rome.
“Look at all the young European players coming through, we now have a good foundation for the future and I think it’s a great opportunity to look to the future.”