Fired Ryder Cup Captain Henrik Stenson is Playing Alongside His Replacement this Week

Much has been discussed about the elephant in the room that will be at Augusta National when a contingent of LIV Golf pros take part in The Masters this year.

But while a legal decision hangs in the balance between LIV golfers and the DP World Tour, we’ll see a dozen golfers from the new circuit mingling with DPWT and PGA Tour regulars this week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Among those, fired Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson playing with his replacement, Luke Donald.

In an interview with the (UK) Telegraph, Donald said it could “potentially” be an uncomfortable situation for Stenson, but he doesn’t envision any issues personally between the two of them.

“At the beginning, when I became captain we swapped some messages and there are no issues. From my standpoint it will be fine this week,” Donald said. “Potentially, it’s just a strange situation, isn’t it? But he’s obviously playing, so it seems like he is fine to be around [the Tour].”

Things could get a little awkward for Henrik Stenson in Abu Dhabi 😬https://t.co/KYlnC2OxUl

— National Club Golfer (@NCG_com) January 17, 2023

Stenson was removed from the position after joining LIV Golf in the fall. He promptly won his first LIV tournament in Bedminster, New Jersey, pocketing $4 million on top of the reported $40 million signing bonus he received.

Lee Westwood, another LIV golfer playing this week, was noticeably peeved that he and other LIV pros were left off of all the promotional materials for this week’s event.

Other LIV golfers taking part this week and next include Patrick Reed, Abraham Ancer, Ian Poulter, and Sam Horsfield.

Poulter said even if he does remain eligible and qualifies for the Ryder Cup, he may very well turn down the invitation.

Ian Poulter has suggested he could decline to play for Europe in this year’s Ryder Cup even if he qualifies, in the latest indication of the deep tensions within golf.

By @mrewanmurray https://t.co/jf78K1zQYW

— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) January 17, 2023

A court hearing is set for February that will determine whether the DPWT can ban LIV golfers from their events like the PGA Tour has successfully done.

Cover Photo via Twitter