With roughly 300 days to go before the next Ryder Cup, European captain Luke Donald has already begun evaluating talent, embarking on a scouting visit to Adare Manor in Ireland.
Seven‑time Ryder Cup veteran Justin Rose, widely tipped as a future captain, joined the trip and called the experience “relaxed.”
“It was the first opportunity for Luke to get the wider group together,” Rose said ahead of the DP World India Championship. “I think it was probably an important trip for potential players or players that haven’t played Ryder Cups before, for some rookies to be around the team to start to feel the energy of what it feels like to be in a Ryder Cup. … It was more of a boys trip. Casual golf, nice dinner, and a little bit of a discussion. It wasn’t very intense. I think it was just a nice experience for the rookies and for players that haven’t been to Adare Manor before. It was a nice moment to go, ‘Wow, this is going to be a special Ryder Cup.’ So it was a valuable trip.”
Rose added that the 2027 European Ryder Cup team could look different, noting the DP World Tour’s recent decision to bar LIV Golf members from its schedule, thereby making them ineligible for the competition.
“Players need to make a choice,” Guy Kinnings, the CEO of the DP World Tour, told BBC Sport on Monday. “We have rules and regulations which are there to protect our tour and which our members must all abide by. Players who are not willing to comply with our rules and regulations should not be seeking to join our tour.”
At last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton competed on the European team despite their LIV affiliations, thanks to conditional releases. That option will not exist for 2027. Rahm has since left LIV, while Hatton’s status remains unclear; he maintains he has years remaining on his contract, though such commitments do not always ensure continued participation.
The rule change not only excludes LIV players from Ryder Cup contention but also opens a clearer path for DP World Tour members, who no longer need to fear their spots being occupied by LIV golfers.
“I don’t know what the current LIV situation is apart from it seems like a lot of players are beginning to free themselves up to focus on the DP World Tour and put themselves in positions where they might be able to accrue some [Ryder Cup] points,” Rose said. “I think there will be more players available for Luke to select from. The way the Ryder Cup team is selected now six guys qualify and six get picked. … So I think the team may look a little bit different next year than it did this year, or next time because of how things seem to be playing out at the moment. But I haven’t really followed the ins and outs. I know there is a lot of movement.”