Lucas Glover breaks silence on Ryder Cup snub, ‘heartbroken’ with pay-to-play drama
Lucas Glover appeared on Sirius XM’s PGA Tour Radio this week to talk about the Ryder Cup for the first time.
The Europeans trounced the Americans at the Ryder Cup, but that is not why Lucas Glover felt heartbroken.
His Ryder Cup snub did not invoke that emotion either.
Instead, the reported rift within the American team—supposedly led by Patrick Cantlay—broke Glover’s heart.
Cantlay’s refusal to wear a hat during the competition allegedly stemmed from his stance on whether or not players should be compensated at the Ryder Cup. He feels players should get paid, but U.S. captains refuted that report.
Glover heard otherwise.
“It broke my heart the week after to hear about how splintered the room was and things about money and different things,” Glover said on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio this week.
The Ryder Cup didn't fall the Americans' way, but the result isn't the only thing about the event that saddened @Lucas_Glover_.
— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) October 20, 2023
He talked about the drama on the U.S. side w/Taylor Zarzour.
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“That’s not at all what the Ryder Cup stands for. And I’m not just going on what I’ve read and been told; I’ve talked to some people who were there in the fight, and it breaks my heart to hear that because that’s not what it’s about; that’s not what it stands for, and it’s not why I want to play on that team.”
Back in July, Glover was nowhere to be found on U.S. Captain Zach Johnson’s radar. Then, he won the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship in August, which vaulted him up the FedEx Cup rankings and into the Ryder Cup captain picks discussion.
“It’s easy to say three weeks after, two weeks after, and unfortunately, they lost, but yeah, I would have liked to have been there,” Glover said. “I think I could have brought some different things to the table.”
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Photo by Jason Allen/ISI Photos/Getty Images
Perhaps Glover will continue to play well over the next couple of years and earn a spot on the American team in 2025.
That would be pretty special for the former Clemson Tiger, as Glover won the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black.
The Long Island course will host the Ryder Cup for the first time in 2025.
“It’s about the only thing I haven’t done, and I still want to,” Glover said of playing in the Ryder Cup.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.