LIV Golf star Adrian Otaegui vows to make his Ryder Cup dream a reality in 2023, despite backlash over the possible involvement of rebels who have joined the Saudi-backed breakaway.
Otaegui became the first LIV rebel to win on the DP World Tour this month as he cruised to a superb six shot win at the Andalucia Masters. And his win at the famous Valderrama earned him a place at LIV's inaugural season-ending team event at Trump Doral in Miami, with a mammoth £44 million prize pot on the line.
The Spaniard was one of the first players to join Greg Norman's controversial invitational series, but he has recently been left out in the cold. The publicity from his triumph at Valderrama, however, has made him hot property once again and he will tee it up in the 54-hole mega-money team shootout this weekend.
DP World Tour chief Keith Pelley had tried to ban Otaegui and other LIV rebels from competing in his events this summer, but a court-ordered injunction has left them free to play. And Otaegui would likely have proved an unpopular winner at Pelley's Wentworth headquarters due to his allegiance with LIV.
A UK court ruling on the involvement of LIV players on the DP World Tour is set to be made in February, but for now, Otaegui and his fellow LIV stars can compete for the invaluable world ranking points that they have not yet been granted access to on Norman's fledgling tour.
And Otaegui has now moved into the top six positions for European Ryder Cup qualifying after his win at Valderrama. The 29-year-old is desperate to be part of Luke Donald's side, who will be looking to avenge last year's thrashing by the US at Whistling Straights.
"Making the Ryder Cup team is my big goal for 2023," Otaegui told Golf Digest. "It's been a dream of mine since I was a child. I'm going to fight to try and qualify on the golf course." He continued: "The way I see it, we all have different points of view but we should be able to remain friends and [play on the same team]. I'm not fazed by what has been said so far."
Otaegui's bullish claim comes amid palpable tension between former European Ryder Cup teammates on either side of golf's fierce civil war. New world No.1 Rory McIlroy has been adamant that next September's biennial battle should be a LIV-free zone, consistently stating that he doesn't think 'any of those guys should be on the Ryder Cup team.'
And the Northern Irishman admitted in a recent interview with the Guardian that he felt betrayed by LIV defectors, whom he had created a special bond with in golf's most prestigious team event.
"I think it is the first time in my life that I have felt betrayal, in a way," McIlroy said. "It’s an unfamiliar feeling to me. You build bonds with these people through Ryder Cups and other things. Them knowing that what they are about to do is going to jeopardise them from being a part of that ever again?"
He added:“I would like to think the Ryder Cup means as much to them as it does to me. Maybe it does. But knowing what the consequences could be, I just could never make that decision.
It had been assumed that LIV golfers will have no involvement at the Marco Simone course next year, regardless of February's court decision concerning the DP World Tour. But European great Ian Poulter, whose name has become synonymous with the Ryder Cup, has not given up hopes of making Donald's team after signing for LIV.
“We can still qualify for the team as far as I’m aware,” Poulter said. “Unless we’ve been told we can’t qualify, then I’m still ready to play as much as I possibly can and try and make that team.”
