Ryder Cup told Henrik Stenson's LIV defection makes 'mockery' of prestigious tournament

European skipper Henrik Stenson's controversial move to join the rebel LIV Tour has made "a mockery" of the Ryder Cup, according to Tony Jacklin.

The Ryder Cup legend believes 46-year-old Swede Stenson's decision to turn his back on the captaincy is "a complete disaster" and he wonders whether the biennial team event will ever be the same again.

"Stenson's decision makes a mockery of the matches," Jacklin told Express Sport. "It's the end of the Ryder Cup as we know it, it's bound to be.

"You cannot call it a credible event any more, and you can say the same for the Presidents Cup now too.

"Once the teams involved are not represented by the strongest players and individuals, the credibility of the competition is spent.

"The whole thing is screwed up. It's all come down to money, how much of it the players can earn, and we're only at the first round of it.

"It's a complete disaster and an extremely sad state of affairs. The LIV players are laughing all the way to the bank - they are having a honeymoon with all the money.

"But what is very different at this point in time is figuring out what the

long-term consequences will be for golf's officialdom, organisations like the R&A, the USGA, The Masters. All these institutions are affected by this crazy situation.

"They've got about 250 days until The Masters, the next Major championship, to sort all this out. Who's going to be allowed to play in which events going forward, that's the next question."

Jacklin, who ushered in a new era of European Ryder Cup dominance when he was captain in the Eighties, believes the only solution to golf's civil war is for the Saudi-backed LIV Tour to be recognised as a legitimate circuit allowed to operate alongside the traditional tournaments.