PGA Tour players who defected to LIV Golf can play in the Ryder Cup, says the PGA of America, which owns the biennial event.
Here’s what the PGA said in a statement posted to its website.
“The PGA of America issued the following statement on Sept. 19 regarding Ryder Cup and PGA Championship eligibility for LIV Golf players:
“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 America 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 any 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 in the PGA Championship the past two years. Brooks Koepka was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year.”
Koepka was included in the US team for the biennial tournament against Europe as a wildcard pick last year, but only because of a grace period that was in place following golf’s split, the PGA told the BBC.
Golfers must be members of the PGA of America to be considered for the Ryder Cup and the body has now added LIV to its list of “approved tours,” giving those players PGA membership, the BBC reported.
LIV players can qualify for the European team but they need to have retained their membership of the DP World Tour and played in four of the organization’s events, the BBC reported.
The U.S.-vs.-Europe event will be played at Bethpage Black in New York next September.
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Featured image of the Ryder Cup courtesy of the PGA of America
