Luke Donald says “it’s a shame” that Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia are ineligible for the Ryder Cup after resigning from the DP World Tour.
They quit the European circuit after being sanctioned for breaking rules when joining breakaway tour LIV Golf.
“It’s sad we’ve got to this point but this was always a possibility,” Europe captain Donald told BBC Sport.
“I played with all three and they’ve been stalwarts of, and given a lot to, both the Ryder Cup and European Tour.”
European players must be members of the DP World Tour to be eligible to play in the Ryder Cup.
Donald took over as captain last summer after Henrik Stenson was sacked for joining the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV circuit.
“I have a little more clarity now,” added the 45-year-old Englishman, who played in four Ryder Cups from 2004 until 2012 and was on the winning side on each occasion.
“I know they’re not an option to play in, or be any part of my team.”
Garcia is Europe’s all-time record points scorer in the biennial contest against the United States, while Westwood played in a record 11 matches for Europe and Poulter was unbeaten in all seven of his singles matches.
“It is a shame,” continued Donald. “They’ve got a lot of history when it comes to the Ryder Cup.
“Ultimately this is their choice and I wish them well. They feel like this was the best choice for them and now I’ve got choices to make that are best for me.”
In a statement, the DP World Tour confirmed the resignations, saying the players had been “sanctioned for serious breaches of the tour’s conflicting tournament regulations”. It added that the players’ resignations, and the sanctions incurred, “are a consequence of their own choices”.
Former world number one Rory McIlroy echoed Donald’s sentiment.
“I think it’s a shame that you’ve got the highest points scorer 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,” said McIlroy.
“For those three guys to not captain Europe one day, it’s a shame.
“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.”
DP World Tour plans ‘appropriate action’ against Garcia
Garcia, Poulter and Westwood are among 17 players to have been fined £100,000 by the DP World Tour for appearing in LIV Golf’s opening event in Hertfordshire last June without permission.
The sanction, originally imposed last July, was upheld by an independent panel, with the players given until Wednesday to pay the fines.
Garcia is the only one of the 17 players not to have paid, with the DP World Tour saying on Thursday he had not “given any indication that he intends to”.
The tour added that it would take “appropriate action” if the fine was not paid.
Westwood critical of ‘strategic alliance’
Westwood, who has also paid the fine, has accused the DP World Tour – as the European Tour was renamed in 2022 – of being “fully in bed” with the PGA Tour.
He added that the European-based circuit was now like a “feeder” to the more dominant American set-up.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the 50-year-old Englishman said: “I’ve been a dual member of the European Tour and PGA Tour, but always said I was a European Tour member first and foremost and that I had fears about the US circuit basically being bullies and doing everything it could to secure global dominance.
“But now, in my opinion, the European Tour has jumped fully in bed with the PGA Tour and even though Keith [Pelley, the chief executive] says he hates to hear it, it is now a feeder tour for the PGA Tour.
“The top 10 players on the tour, not already exempt this year, have a pathway to the PGA Tour, that’s giving our talent away. That was never the tour’s policy before this ‘strategic alliance’.
“Sorry, I don’t want to play under that sort of regime. I just didn’t like the thought of the tour continuously hitting us with more fines and bans that would have been hanging over me.
“I’ve paid my [£100,000] fine out of respect for the arbitration panel and have then taken the decisions out of the tour’s hands. I honestly want to move on.”
‘There’s great momentum in European golf’
Donald said he was “excited” about selecting his team despite losing key players to LIV Golf.
He added: “There are generational shifts throughout the history of the Ryder Cup and maybe this is one.
“We certainly have plenty of great players to look at and pick from and I’m certainly excited about how everyone has played this year so far.
“There’s great momentum with European golf, we’ve already had seven winners in the US [this season] and a bunch of people who haven’t played in the Ryder Cup have played great this year on the DP World Tour so I’m excited about the make-up of this team.”
Donald is playing at this week’s Italian Open at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, near Rome, which will host the Ryder Cup later this year.
“It’s shaping up well, certainly it’s playing more difficult this year than last year,” he added.
“The fairways give you enough room but if you miss them, the rough is pretty thick and it’s tough to control the ball from there.”
