LIV golfers allowed to play for U.S. Ryder Cup team

The PGA of America will allow LIV Golf members to compete for the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2025.

There had been questions as to whether members of the fledgling LIV Golf League would be eligible to compete in future Ryder Cups if a unification deal does not come to pass, especially with talks between the PGA Tour and LIV’s financial backer, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, stalling as of late. But in a statement released Thursday, the PGA of America—one of the two governing bodies in control of the Ryder Cup—said it will once again allow defectors to the Saudi-backed circuit to play for the American team in the biennial event at Bethpage Black next fall.

“To ensure the PGA Championship will continue to deliver the strongest field in golf and that the U.S. Ryder Cup team will continue to have access to the best American players, the PGA of American board has determined that LIV Golf players will be eligible for both.

“Going forward, all LIV Golf players are eligible for the PGA Championship and American player who qualifies for the Ryder Cup on points or is added to the U.S. team as a captain’s pick is eligible to compete.

“This is consistent with LIV Golf players competing the PGA Championship the past two years. Brooks Kopeka was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year.”

Part of the issue was a technicality of sorts. To be eligible for the American Ryder Cup in year’s past, team members had to also hold membership in the PGA of America. Golfers who have PGA Tour cards are automatically eligible for PGA of America membership (A-3 status), but what happened then for those who jumped to the LIV Golf League, and thus forfeited their PGA Tour status, was in question. The PGA of America’s statement would seem to eliminate this as a stumbling block with LIV Golf having been added to the approved tours where players are eligible for A-3 membership.

In a sense the PGA of America's announcement was not a surprise. During his introduction in July as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley said he wanted the “12 best players,” no matter their PGA Tour or LIV affiliation. And as mentioned above, Koepka was allowed to play in the 2023 Ryder Cup period due to a grace period with his PGA of America membership status. Koepka, along with reigning U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, would be two viable LIV candidates for 2025 inclusion.

While LIV golfers could play for the U.S. in 2023, that same exemption was not given to European players, as the team’s ruling body, the DP World Tour, did not allow those who had their tour membership suspended be eligible to compete in Rome. This culminated in former Ryder Cup star Sergio Garcia attempting to make an 11th-hour petition to pay fines in order to be on the roster, only for the Old World Circuit to shoot the request down.

As for 2025, LIV golfers will be eligible to play for Luke Donald’s European team so long as they are members of the DP World Tour in 2024. Currently, that includes Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk, all three of whom have appealed their fines/suspension on the DP World Tour for missing tournaments to play in LIV events. Until their appeals arae heard, they can compete in DP World Tour events, and as long as each plays in a minimum of four events by the end of 2024, they can either qualify or be captain’s picks for Bethpage.

There remains a chance the golf world will be unified by next year, as PGA Tour and PIF officials met last week in New York, although progress has been slow, those briefed on the matter have told Golf Digest. One of the primary issues regards what LIV’s future will look like, along with how to assimilate defectors back to their respective tours. Since the framework agreement was announced in June of 2023, the tour has made a separate deal for private-equity investment from the Strategic Sports Group, while LIV poached the reigning Masters champ Rahm from the tour.

Additionally, outside obstacles remain for the PGA Tour-PIF partnership. The U.S. Senate opened an investigation into the pending deal, citing that the alliance “raises concerns about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution.” The deal could be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which analyzes mergers regarding potential threats to the nation’s security. The tour continues to be under an antitrust probe by the U.S. Department of Justice, and PIF’s investment into the tour is expected to fall under this investigation.