'Nothing has changed' says Luke Donald of Ryder Cup selection process after golf's shock merger

The exact details about what impact the new partnership will have on the game have still to be determined, but, according to Donald, nothing has changed about the likes of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson suddenly being eligible again for the Ryder Cup.

They all resigned as DP World Tour members after the circuit, having won an arbitration case earlier in the year over an initial punishment imposed on players who competed in LIV Golf events without permission, dished out fresh suspensions and fines to a total of 26 players for each breach of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation.

“Obviously when that announcement was made, my first question was, ‘does this affect anything I am doing and my selection process and my ability to select players?’” said the Englishman, speaking at Golfclub München, where he is playing in this week’s BMW International Open.

“To be honest, nothing has changed. We are still bound by the rules and regulations that the arbitration granted the DP World Tour a few months ago. To be eligible (for the Ryder Cup), you still have to be born in Europe and be a DP World Tour member. So nothing has changed.”

With just over two months left in the year-long qualifying battle, the 12-man side Donald will lead into battle at Marco Simone Golf Club on the outskirts of Rome is shaping up nicely in terms of the eligible players.

Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry are all looking certainties for the 44th edition, with a thrilling fight for the final four spots set to be closely watched by Donald and his vice captains in an upcoming run of events that include the Genesis Scottish Open at the 151st Open.

“It’s great to see a lot of the guys who have Ryder Cup experience and guys you expect to be playing well are playing well,” said the former world No 1. “They seem to be up there week in, week out. But obviously it takes 12 and there are still some spots open for people who want to make their own mark as rookies and I want everyone to keep playing as hard as they can for the next two months.”

German Yannik Paul, who spearheads a strong home challenge in this week’s $2 million event on the outskirts of Munich, is currently in one of the six automatic spots, with Edinburgh-based Frenchman and Pole Adrian Meronk also pushing hard and looking to pick up more valuable points over the next four days.

“I’ve played a few times with Yannik over the last few months and he’s obviously an impressive young player,” noted Donald. “He’s made great strides in his game and has been very consistent. Each week, he seems to be there or thereabouts and consistency is a great talent to have in golf.”