Luke Donald has said that the Ryder Cup is “bigger than any individual player” while the golf civil war with the controversial LIV Golf series rages on.
Ever since the Saudi Arabian-backed series launched in June, things have got heated between LIV, the PGA Tour and the DP-World Tour.
Many PGA Tour players defected over to the new series for the promise of more financial reward, including Henrik Stenson, who Donald replaced as Europe's Ryder Cup captain after the Swede was sacked for joining LIV Golf.
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Donald says that next year’s Ryder Cup will “unify” golf.
"The history of the Ryder Cup is vital really," said the Englishman. "The Ryder Cup is bigger than any individual player and it's a great way to unify everyone.
"I think it will continue to do that. What's so great about the Ryder Cup is that it does garner an interest in a new generation of players and fans to this game."
Major winners Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and former world number one Dustin Johnson are among the US Ryder Cup players to join LIV, which offers a $25m (£21m) prize fund at its events. In response, the PGA Tour announced in August that they would be raising the prize funds of 12 events, with an average purse of $20m (£16.9m).
Northern Irishman and four-time major champion Rory McIlroy said last month that his relationship with a number of his Europe team-mates has been "strained" by them joining LIV Golf. Alongside Tiger Woods, they have been among the PGA Tour's most vocal advocates during the ongoing power struggle with LIV Golf, watching many of their fellow stars sign up for the new tour.
The pair held a crisis meeting with fellow players ahead of the BMW Championship in Delaware back in August to address the growing threat of LIV Golf. Woods and McIlroy have also united to launch a tech-based golf league called TGL Golf in partnership with the PGA Tour. It is set to begin in 2024.
USA captain Zach Johnson has previously hinted any LIV players would not be eligible for a place in the Ryder Cup next year.
The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place in Italy, at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome from 29 September to 1 October.
