PGA of America makes decision on LIV golfers in Ryder Cup, allowing them to feature in next year's tournament at Bethpage - assuming they qualify or are picked by captain Keegan Bradley
Friday 20 September 2024 07:11, UK
The PGA of America has confirmed that golfers who play in the LIV Golf League will be eligible for the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship going forward.
The PGA of America has added LIV Golf to its list of "approved tours" and therefore given players on the Saudi-funded breakaway membership of the organisation, which is required to be eligible for the biennial contest against Europe.
Although LIV Golf players will not earn Ryder Cup qualifying points from their events, the move paves the way for the likes of Bryson DeChambeau to make the team at Bethpage next September - live on Sky Sports.
DeChambeau - who won the US Open in June, finished runner-up in the US PGA Championship and was sixth in the Masters - is currently third on the points list, while Brooks Koepka appeared in last year's Ryder Cup team.
The PGA of America said in a statement: "To ensure the PGA Championship will continue to deliver the strongest field in golf and that the US Ryder Cup team will continue to have access to the best American players, the PGA of America has determined that LIV Golf players will be eligible for both.
"Going forward, all LIV Golf players are eligible for the PGA Championship and any American player who qualifies for the Ryder Cup on points or is added to the US team as a captain's pick is eligible to compete.
"This is consistent with LIV Golf players competing in the PGA Championship the past two years. Brooks Koepka was a member of the US Ryder Cup team last year."
Koepka narrowly failed to qualify automatically for the American side but was given a wildcard by captain Zach Johnson.
The PGA of America's interim chief executive Kerry Haigh told GolfChannel.com: "We've added the LIV tour to the list of tour's that are eligible towards A-3membership, which all [PGA] Tour members are eligible for.
"The LIV players had previously been [PGA of America] members but had we not done this they would have had to go through more requirements which no other tour members are asked to do."
US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley had previously indicated a willingness to welcome LIV players onto his side.
"I'm going to have the best 12 players at Bethpage so the PGA of America need to figure that out, if that's their problem," he said.
"I know you have to be a PGA member to play in the Ryder Cup. That's the only stipulation. So we'll make sure if some of those guys that we think might make the team, we'll make sure that they are a member."
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