Lucas Glover Speaks on Ryder Cup Snub, PGA Tour Signature Events, LIV Golf

Following a career-altering run toward the end of the 2022-23 regular season, highlighted by back-to-back victories at the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship, grizzled veteran Lucas Glover made his first start of the FedExCup Fall at the World Wide Technology Championship last week in Los Cabos, Mexico. The six-time PGA Tour winner recorded a 4-under 68 during the final round to finish T59 in his first outing since the Tour Championship in late August.

After two rounds at El Cardonal, the first-ever Tiger Woods-designed course to host a PGA Tour event, Glover shared more insight on the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup team, his thoughts on the Signature Events, and whether LIV players should be allowed to return on Tour in a Q&A with Golfweek.

First, Glover spoke about why he elected to play during the FedExCup Fall after already having punched his ticket into all the 2024 Signature Events and the reasoning for his season debut to occur south of the border in Mexico.

"I had a couple of months off, and I was going to play Mississippi and just wasn't ready, and then was going to play Vegas, and then just said, 'No, I'm just not there yet.' So I decided to come to Cabo, and then [I'll] play Bermuda... Didn't want to take too much time off and show up in Hawaii with how I felt yesterday, honestly, which was rusty and kind of lost."

Glover spent nearly a decade being an afterthought on the PGA Tour while battling putting yips, and it seems wise for him to avoid too much of a layoff before Signature Events begin in early January.

Then, the Greenville, South Carolina native got into the juicy stuff, as he was asked whether he felt that he did enough to make the 2023 United States Ryder Cup team.

"I felt I had done enough then. You know, maybe not over two years, right? Keegan sure had, in my opinion. But according to the reason they have six picks, I did enough."

Glover and Keegan Bradley were semi-controversially left off the U.S. roster in favor of players such as Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and Sam Burns. Of course, the United States fell short of the Europeans at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, losing 16.5 to 11.5. Glover was also asked whether the Ryder Cup has become too much of a boys club in picking these teams.

"Seems like it, yeah."

Glover had previously expressed his disdain for the PGA Tour introducing no-cut Signature Events before his resurgence in the fall, and he was asked if he still felt the same way despite now being eligible to play in them.

"Still think they’re terrible. Glad I’m in them, but it’s terrible. I said that when I wasn’t in them. I don’t think it needs to be divided like it is. I mean, it’s basically two tours, and there’s no reason those fields shouldn’t be bigger. The ironic one to me is the Players at 144 guys is the signature event of the PGA Tour with a cut and 144 guys. So yeah, I thought they were terrible when they announced them, I think they are terrible now."

Last but certainly not least, Glover was asked if he believes players who deflected to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series should be granted permission to return to the PGA Tour.

"Probably not. I’m not sure. I haven’t thought about it. Ask me in a week, and I’ll put some thought to it."