PGA of America clarifies LIV Golfers’ Ryder Cup, PGA eligibility
While LIV Golfers will remain eligible to participate in PGA Championship and Ryder Cup, the Path is still running out of methods to access it.
PGA of America, the organization that administers the major tournaments which includes the Ryder Cup on the American side also declared in a statement on Thursday that players who sign up to play at LIV Golf will still be allowed to participate in the two tournaments.
However, the statement did not go far as to unveil other paths through which the players in the new seceded league could be eligible for both events.
“Thus, to guarantee that the PGA Championship will attract the sternest competition to golf as well as to make certain that the U.S. Ryder Cup team will have access to the finest American talent, LIV Golf participants will remain qualified for bothtitre, the PGA of America board has established that LIV Golf players will be admissible for both.” “In the meantime, any golfer who competes in LIV Golf is free to participate in the PGA Championship and any American golfer who is ranked for the Ryder Cup or who is chosen by the captain of the US team is also eligible.”
The statement continues, noting that the decision is not a departure from past practice in the two years the organization has staged the events since LIV’s launch in 2022.
“This is consistent with LIV Golf players competing in the PGA Championship the past two years,” it continued. “Brooks Koepka was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year.”
The announcement follows reports in both the UK Telegraph and Sports Illustrated that the PGA of America was reluctant to allow Koepka and other LIV Golf members to retain their PGA of America memberships.
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While the PGA Tour and PGA of America are separate entities, the PGA Tour’s suspension of all players who have joined LIV Golf means they are no longer active members of the PGA as well. Koepka, who was selected as a captain’s pick by U.S. captain Zach Johnson for last year’s matches in Rome after winning the 2023 PGA, was allowed to play thanks to a grace period in the PGA membership of LIV Golfers that expires at the end of this year. The same applied to golfers competing in the PGA Championship.
Bryson DeChambeau finished second this past year before winning the U.S. Open in June and is currently third on the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings.
Now the PGA is confirming DeChambeau, Koepka and other American LIV stars such as Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed are eligible to either make the U.S. team on points or be selected for next year’s matches at Bethpage Black by captain Keegan Bradley.
But those players will still be hindered in qualifying for both events as players primarily earn entry to the PGA via the Official World Golf Ranking, which LIV events do not earn points for. Likewise, LIV events also do not award U.S. Ryder Cup team qualifying points, which are based on money earned in majors and PGA Tour events.
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The announcement, however, does not affect European LIV stars’ participation in the Ryder Cup as the European half of the event is owned by the DP World Tour. To be eligible for the European team, LIV Golfers must be members of the DP World Tour, meaning they pay the fines and serve the suspensions issued to them upon joining LIV.
Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton, two of Europe’s top stars who were a perfect 5-0-3 in Rome last year are currently still playing in the DP World Tour while they appeal those bans but they have not paid their fines.
On Wednesday, 2023 European Ryder Cup member, Justin Rose used the pressure to call for an early resolution of the current PGA Tour and DP World Tour negotiations with LIV Golf Saudi-backed rival and its parent company, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund to ensure that Rahm, Hatton, and other LIV golfers qualify for the 2025 Ryder Cup teams.
“I think we need things to pick up the pace quickly,” pointed out Rose during the recent press conference before this week’s BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour. “Of course, the young boys who started at LIV, there was a time now when, you know, there are some situations with Tyrrell [Hatton] and Jon [Rahm] who also left, but they are still relevant as far as form, as they still participate in Ryder Cup; I understand there are a couple of technicalities left before they can qualify, but, I think, the general feeling in the team .
