Super League Predictions
- Edited
I think the main reason (U.S. players anyway) care about the Ryder Cup is because their sponsors want the visibility of them playing in the Ryder Cup. I would imagine the players that jumped to LIV have already factored in the probable loss of sponsorship into their economic risk/benefit calculation. Now it just remains to be seen if they've miscalculated.
ode moreso an issue for future captaincy Westwood, Garcia, Poulter. Those guys might get there shot anyway as who else do they have to choose from
I'd also include McDowell on that list of potential European captains who decided to go down the LIV route.
That said, there are still a few decent options - Casey, Donald, Molinari, Rose - or ask a previous captain if they would like to do the job again.
Spuzz But it is a special brand of regional genius! 
johnnydoom I would imagine the players that jumped to LIV have already factored in the probable loss of sponsorship into their economic risk/benefit calculation
Speaking of Sponsors:
Those that jumped ship speak of family time (and yes maybe some of it is BS) but not having a sponsor also frees up some family time, or more personal time, for charities and whatever.
It would be a large assumption that the top tier LIV guys would not be supporting their favorite charities with all this "found" money rolling in. It would also be another discussion if said charities would accept "blood" money, but that's a chat for down the road.
In reality, if an up and coming Amateur intends to join the PGA Tour, he must already have a bag full of cash, or a Sponsor. I have always thought that it's the rich kids that play golf, and having an empty bank account means is a pipe dream unless you are an absolute lock (like Tiger). There are more fails than succeeds. To me, not all of that is due to lack of skills. Some, or most, of that, must be due to lack of monetary support.
No guaranteed income from a just one week's worth of time and effort and expenses can only go on for a short time.
So what if the AMs hit the LIV Tour (if it's possible) before they join the PGA? I mean down the road a bit, if that tour takes off? Interesting to me.
As I said before, it looks like the PGA has no Plan B or foresight and have played the Tiger card for far too long and now are between a rock and a hard place regarding promotion of the names. Some huge compromises are on the horizon.
Adapt or die as they say.
Just some Spuzzmusings
Spuzz It would be a large assumption that the top tier LIV guys would not be supporting their favorite charities with all this "found" money rolling in.
If the total amount of money being paid is real, the top LIV guys could probably donate 10% each and beat out the Tour's total annual charity donation.
Par4QC I think it kind of odd, that these fellas would be European captains. They seldom play there, and they've all been living in the U.S. for several years. Just doesn't seem right, for some reason.
It's pretty much inevitable with the changes to world golf over the last 30-40 years - it's much easier now for the best European players to be members of the PGA Tour (which has the highest standards and deepest fields, on average) and still maintain membership of the European/DP World Tour. For the top players in the 1980s and 1990s, the choice was either to play mainly in Europe and only be able to play 6-8 events in the US (including the majors) or commit to being a full member of both tours and have to play something like at least 15 events on both tours, with all of the travelling that this would require. More recently, there are a number of events (majors and WGCs, and maybe a few others) that effectively count towards the membership requirements on both tours, so it's much easier to be a member of both tours. It also means that the balance has shifted the other way - it's now possible to be a member of the European Tour and only play something like 6 or 8 events on that tour (which most guys based in the US get by playing the Middle East events early in the year, the Scottish Open as part of Open Championship preparation and the big European Tour events like the PGA Championship at Wentworth and the season-ending Tour Championship).
Spuzz Agreed, the number that jumped proved the PGA Tour heavy-handed didn't stop people from jumping. The European Tour had to adapt to the Euros going for the money in the PGA Tour and nobody said dick. LPGA went to China and nobody cared about this chasing money effort. PGA Tour has approved in the past players playing in Saudia Arabia but always a one-off, nobody cared these players were paid to play. Now they are jockeying to be the Anti-Christ????
Perhaps we take a view of where some PGA Tour events are played and look at their past. Nope, can't be bothered.
Now people want to cancel Pumpkin Ridge, wherever it is (I know where it is but am not a fan of Oregon) because it will host a LIV tournament. Seriously? Close a course and be happy? Kicked people off because they play slow, don't know how to repair a divot, stand in the line, and don't let others play through........ Complain about etiquette but people do not have the right to select their path???
Hard to understand why people care so much one way or the other. Sounds like another thread.
PGA Tour is not a charity, it is a business with charity protections. In fact, they canceled Mickelson's sponsor of a tournament that hurt those charities, Not transparent either.
Sponsors are strange too. UPS dropped two players but continues to deliver "stuff" to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Fund owns stakes in Boeing, CitGroup, and anybody boycotting them. Disney??? Hell, RBC played a lead role in the IPO of Saudi Aramco, and yet they sponsor a PGA Tour Tournament.
Bravopilot. There is so much hypocrisy surrounding the LIV it's ridiculous, as you've pointed out. 99.9% of the people complaining would jump at the chance to earn generational money for their families. They're just jealous it isn't being offered to them.
Par4QC I don't think that there are any specific requirements to be captain (on either side), but I suspect that it's expected that 1) the captain should meet the same eligibility criteria as the players, 2) the captain has played in several Ryder Cups with a reasonable degree of success, 3) the captain is reasonably popular on Tour, and 4) the captain is likely to be competent at all aspects of the job.
One thing that doesn't seem to be stated explicitly (but is implicit, on both sides) is that any player/captain needs to be from either the US or from Europe. For example, Brooks Koepka was never eligible for the European Ryder Cup team in 2014 despite playing primarily in Europe that year and finishing in the top 10 of that year's Race to Dubai.