Former world No 1 Lee Westwood has insisted he has "no regrets" about turning down the opportunity to captain Team Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup, a decision he made to join the breakaway LIV Golf circuit. Speaking candidly during a wide-ranging interview on The Chipping Forecast podcast, the 53-year-old veteran also revealed that he is currently "unemployed" after choosing not to sign with the proposed LIV 2.0 league for its anticipated 2027 relaunch.
Westwood, who has carved out one of the most distinguished careers in modern European golf, has represented Team Europe at the Ryder Cup on an incredible 11 occasions. During his last appearance at Whistling Straits in 2021, he tied Sir Nick Faldo for the most appearances by a European player at the biennial tournament, cementing his status as a pillar of the continent’s golfing history.
Having previously served as a vice-captain under Thomas Björn during Europe’s successful campaign at the 2018 Ryder Cup in France, the Englishman was naturally positioned as one of the DP World Tour’s leading candidates to step into the captaincy role for the 2023 matches in Rome.
Recalling how the pivotal juncture in his career unfolded, Westwood explained that talks regarding the captaincy began shortly after the conclusion of the 2021 contest in Wisconsin.
"Whistling Straits had happened and then quite shortly after that I had a conversation with [DP World Tour chief executive] Guy Kinnings, where he talked about the Ryder Cup captaincy and the captain in Italy," Westwood recounted. At the time, the seasoned golfer was already weighing a lucrative move to the newly formed LIV Golf circuit, which launched its inaugural events in 2022.
"It was put to me whether I’d like to be Ryder Cup captain, and I had started discussions with LIV. I think I asked: ‘If I did go to LIV, could I still be Ryder Cup captain?’"
While tournament officials did not issue an immediate, flat refusal, Westwood noted that it was made abundantly clear that accepting an offer from the Saudi-funded league would leave him with practically zero chance of leading Team Europe. Faced with a crossroads that would define the twilight of his professional career, Westwood chose to commit his future to LIV Golf.
"You make calls in life, don’t you?" Westwood reflected. "You make a choice, and I have no regrets over the choice I made."
Under the strict regulations of the DP World Tour, players who decline tour membership or fail to fulfill their minimum event obligations are ineligible to serve as Ryder Cup captains or vice-captains. Following Westwood’s departure, the captaincy for the 2023 Rome showdown was initially offered to Henrik Stenson. The Swede accepted the role before also subsequently joining LIV Golf, which resulted in him being stripped of the captaincy. The responsibility was ultimately handed to Luke Donald, who successfully led Europe to victory at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.
When asked whether he would ever consider serving as a Ryder Cup captain in the future, Westwood admitted that he remains uncertain, noting that the question is frequently put to him by fans and media alike.
"I don’t know, I get asked that question a lot," Westwood said. "I’ve always just wanted to play, I love playing golf."
Reflecting on his time spent assisting from the sidelines in 2018, Westwood offered a glimpse into the emotional toll that non-playing roles can take on competitors who are accustomed to being in the thick of the action.
"When I was vice-captain, everybody has a little say in the team room, and I said to the guys: ‘You better enjoy it as much as you can because when it’s gone, you really miss it, and I’ll tell you one thing worse than playing practice rounds in a Ryder Cup is watching other people playing practice rounds in a Ryder Cup,’" he said.
"I loved being a Ryder Cup player and getting in that environment. I don’t know whether I’d have been a good Ryder Cup captain, because of what I said in France. I don’t know whether I would have liked watching."
Elaborating further on his personal competitive philosophy, Westwood suggested that his reluctance to pursue the captaincy ultimately stemmed from a desire for individual autonomy.
"I’m not good at really pushing control," he admitted. "That’s one of the reasons I started playing golf; I played a lot of football and rugby and cricket before taking up golf. The reason I enjoy playing golf is because the buck stops with me."
"I didn’t want to have to rely on other people and that probably goes back to a little bit of the reason why the Ryder Cup captaincy wasn’t really that higher priority. When push came to shove, it wasn’t the be-all and end-all for me. I’m not sure I wanted it enough."
‘I haven’t made a decision on anything’
As the professional game continues to navigate an uncertain landscape of shifting alliances and fractured circuits, LIV golfers face an upcoming deadline of November 16 to reapply for their DP World Tour memberships if they wish to maintain any ties to the traditional European circuit. Westwood revealed that he is currently deliberating whether to submit his paperwork.
Should he choose to reapply, the veteran golfer would be required to serve a strict 10-tournament suspension as a penalty for resigning his membership in the wake of his defection to LIV.
"I haven’t signed up to anything anywhere, I haven’t made a decision on anything yet," Westwood stated. "I am yet to have everything put in front of me and I have not really had any dialogue with the DP World Tour."
"I know if I sign up, I’ve then got to serve a 10-tournament suspension. I’ve looked at the schedule, and I feel like the first event I could play in on the DP World Tour will be the Turkish Airlines Open, which is the first week in May, so I haven’t looked any further."
Looking ahead to the proposed relaunch of the breakaway league, Westwood noted that contract negotiations for the next iteration of the circuit remain unresolved, leaving his immediate playing future up in the air.
"There’s nothing that’s been presented to me that was agreeable for LIV 2.0. There are still a lot of things that would need fine-tuning; deadlines have come and gone, and I’ve heard nothing on whether I have to sign or not," Westwood said.
"I haven’t signed [for] 2.0. So, I literally am unemployed."