Lee Westwood has no regrets over turning down Ryder Cup captaincy

Lee Westwood says he has no regrets about turning down the chance to captain Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup in order to join LIV Golf. In an interview, the Englishman also discussed his future, saying he has not signed with LIV 2.0 and has yet to receive an offer from the league that he finds acceptable.

Westwood said the captaincy possibility arose after he had already started discussions with LIV. “I was asked whether I wanted to be Ryder Cup captain, and I had started discussions with LIV. I asked: if I went to LIV, could I still be captain?” he recalled. He said he was not told an outright no, but understood that his chances would be very limited. He then chose LIV. “You make calls in life, don’t you?” he added.

The role was not his overriding priority. Westwood says he has always wanted to play and is unsure whether he wanted the captaincy enough. He also described how difficult it would be to watch others play rather than take part himself at the Ryder Cup. “I loved being a Ryder Cup player and getting in that environment,” he said, while acknowledging he did not know whether he would have enjoyed being captain. He added that he prefers to have control over his own game rather than rely on other people.

The circumstances behind the decision go back to a conversation with Guy Kinnings, the DP World Tour chief executive, after Whistling Straits. Westwood joined LIV Golf in 2022. The DP World Tour bars a player from serving as a European Ryder Cup captain or vice-captain if they decline tour membership or fail to meet their minimum event obligations.

The Ryder Cup has nevertheless been a major part of his career: Westwood has represented Team Europe 11 times. At his last appearance, at Whistling Straits in 2021, he tied Sir Nick Faldo’s record. He was a vice-captain to Thomas Bjørn at the 2018 Ryder Cup in France, and the DP World Tour was considering the Englishman as a leading candidate to captain the 2023 tournament in Rome. Sky Sports notes that he jointly holds the record for most European appearances in the competition.

His future across the tours remains unresolved. Westwood says he has not signed anything and has made no decision. He says a return to the DP World Tour would require him to serve a 10-tournament suspension, and believes the Turkish Airlines Open, in the first week of May, would be the first event he could play. LIV Golf players have until November 16 to reapply for tour membership, and Westwood says he is considering whether to do so. As for LIV 2.0, he says he has received no acceptable proposal and has not signed. “I literally am unemployed,” he said.