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Breaking Ryder Cup News: LIV Golf Stars’ Surprising New Shift Unveiled
Luke Donald will once again captain Team Europe at the Ryder Cup next Autumn, and a new qualification process has been rolled out to determine the Englishman’s 12 players
Team Europe have revealed a new qualification process to select the 12 players that will represent captain Luke Donald and their continent at next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Having led the Europeans to a a thumping victory over their American rivals in Rome last October, Donald will get the chance to take charge again and defend his crown, this time on away territory. The way his team will be selected will be slightly different to last year’s triumph, though.
In a statement on Tuesday, it was revealed that Team Europe had scrapped its split qualification between the European Points List and World Points List, instead implementing one season-long points standing that will begin at this month’s British Masters.
Players will be rewarded for their play throughout the season on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, but LIV Golf events will not be recognised. There are still some positives for the likes of Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton, with the maximum amount of points on offer, awarded through the four major championships.
This will allow both the chance to play their way up the rankings, despite playing the majority of their golf on the LIV setup. In total, 5,000 points will be available at major championships, with 3,000 on offer at the PGA Tour’s Signature Events, the Players Championship and the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Regular season PGA Tour events will offer 2,000 points, as will the DP World Tour’s Rolex Series tournaments. Regular events on the European circuit will come with a bank of 1,000 points, with the Tour’s ‘Back 9’ swing, which includes the BMW PGA Championship handing out 1,500.
There will also be 1,000 on offer to ‘opposite’ PGA Tour events taking place in tandem with the DP World Tour. The single season standings will determine half of Donald’s team, with the top six performers automatically playing their way into the 12-man setup.
Like 2023, the other six will be selected by captain Donald. This could well prove the best path into the team for Rahm and Hatton, however players can only be picked if they remain members. As things stand the European pair have not resigned their DP World Tour membership, but will be required to play in at least four events to hold onto their card.
Rahm and Hatton will also be required to pay fines handed to them by the DP World Tour for competing in ‘conflicting’ LIV events. “We’re still in conversations with the Tour,” he said at last month’s Open. I haven’t been able to play any Tour events, so yeah, we’re going to have to sort it out… I haven’t paid [fines] yet, but again, I just don’t know when I’m going to play.”
