LIV Golf player Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra has revealed he has had contact with Team Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.
The Spaniard, who signed for LIV Golf in time for the second tournament of its inaugural season in Portland, Oregon, revealed the news to Spanish newspaper Marca. He said: “Luke Donald sent me a couple of messages and it is always an honour that someone like him, who is the captain of the Ryder, thinks of you and follows you. I have always wanted to play the Ryder Cup and it is one of my long-term goals. I have to keep working and wait for everything to return to normal.”
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While Lopez-Chacarra has longer-term ambitions of representing Team Europe in the Ryder Cup, the news will also encourage LIV Golf players with aspirations of making next year's team, with the likes of Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood having expressed their desire to play despite making the move to LIV Golf..
The qualifying process for the Ryder Cup has been overhauled by Donald. As well as six automatic qualifiers featuring the three leading players on the European Points List and the three leading players on the World Points List, he has six captain’s picks, which could yet offer a way for certain LIV Golf players to make the 12-man team.
Before September's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, Donald spoke about his captain’s picks, where he suggested the ongoing legal issues over the eligibility of LIV Golf players on the DP World Tour will be a factor. He said: “It’s all hypotheticals and to be honest I haven’t really been spending any kind of my energy on it because there’s so many unknowns right now. Once this legal situation passes and then I’ll have a better understanding.”
With the hearing to determine whether the DP World Tour has the right to suspend LIV Golf players scheduled for February, it looks increasingly likely that the outcome will be pivotal to Donald’s decision-making process as he works towards finalising his team.
One LIV Golf player who is unlikely to feature in next year's tournament is Lopez-Chacarra's compatriot and Fireballs GC teammate Sergio Garcia. Europe's all-time leading points scorer didn't play the minimum number of DP World Tour events last season to retain his membership. The 2023 Ryder Cup takes place at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club between 29 September and 1 October.
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