Ryder Cup 2023: Rory McIlroy says this is week absent LIVers will feel consequences of defection

Rory McIlroy can’t seem to escape the topic of LIV Golf. But of all weeks in professional golf, the topic of the rival league was always going to come up at the Ryder Cup, given the impact Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia had on the European team over the past 20 years before joining LIV last year.

This week’s Cup at Marco Simone Country Club is the first time since the 1995 edition without Westwood, Poulter, Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Henrik Stenson in the team. Garcia was Europe’s all-time leading points scorer (28.5) while Stenson was stripped of the European captaincy he was originally assigned for Rome. LIV golfers became ineligible for Europe after joining the Saudi-backed league and getting sanctioned by the DP World Tour, which runs Europe’s Ryder Cup squad.

On Wednesday, six-time Ryder Cupper McIlroy was asked if he’ll miss the trio. The Northern Irishman has…