PGA Tour & LIV implications as Ryder Cup selection changes

New rules mean performances on the US-based PGA Tour will count directly towards qualification for the European team for next year’s Ryder Cup in America.

A single qualifying list – which will be decided by performances in tournaments on the European-based DP World Tour and the PGA Tour – will establish the six automatic picks for Luke Donald’s 12-man team.

As expected, events on the breakaway LIV Tour that features Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who were both part of Donald’s winning team last year, will not count towards qualification.

European players must be members of the DP World Tour to be eligible for Ryder Cup selection and players on the LIV circuit must pay fines and serve suspensions to remain part of the tour.

Donald retains six wildcard picks for the defence against Keegan Bradley’s US side at Bethpage Black next September.

Automatic selection was previously determined by two separate lists.

Three players got in as a result of performances solely on the DP World Tour and three more via a list of world ranking points collected in the qualification period.

European Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings described the changes as a “major milestone”.

“This is without question a much cleaner and simpler qualification system than the ones utilised in previous years,” he said.

The qualifying period will begin at the British Masters, starting at The Belfry on 29 August.

Points can only be earned in 2024 in DP World Tour events, which should encourage the continent’s biggest stars to play on this side of the Atlantic.

Tournaments on the PGA Tour will count towards European qualifying from the new year, with the high-end ‘Signature Events’ as well as The Players Championship and FedEx Cup play-offs each carrying 3,000 qualifying points.

The four majors count even more heavily – the Masters, US PGA, US Open and The Open are each worth 5,000 points – and are likely to be Rahm and Hatton’s best chances to make the team automatically.

The DP World Tour’s elite Rolex Series tournaments carry 2,000 points, the same value as standard PGA Tour competitions.

“A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to get to this point and everything is now focused on doing all we can to retain the trophy in New York next September,” said Donald.

The qualifying period will run until Sunday, 24 August 2025. The concluding tournament for that date has yet to be decided. – bbc.com