LIV Golf players are considered eligible to compete in the PGA Championship (a Grand Slam played in May) and for future U.S. Ryder Cup teams, the PGA of America announced Thursday. The PGA made the decision at its board meeting as a way to ensure the year's second major can have the strongest possible field, while future U.S.
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Ryder Cup teams will continue to have access to top American players.
LIV players, news
LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka was part of last year's U.S. Ryder Cup team thanks to a grace period that allowed him to remain a member of the PGA of America through 2024, but it was unclear how the body would continue to manage the division in professional golf.
That same grace period also applied to LIV Golf players competing in the PGA Championship. The decision clears the way for LIV Golf golfers such as reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who is third on the U.S. points list for the 2025 Ryder Cup despite not being eligible for PGA Tour events where the majority of points could be earned.
The European Ryder Cup team has a pathway for LIV Golf players to participate in the biennial showdown, with the main criteria being that they must play at least four DP World Tour events a year. In addition, those players will also be required to pay fines for competing in Saudi-funded tour events that conflict with DP World Tour events without seeking permission from the European-based tour.
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Jon Rahm, who was instrumental for Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup before joining LIV Golf two months later, intends to play the required European events (Open de Espaa, Alfred Dunhill Championship and Estrella Damm Andaluca Masterts), and has appealed the fines imposed on him by the DP World Tour.
The rules of golf are relatively complicated compared to other sports because they are played outdoors, close to nature and animals. Respecting the rules is a basic element in the game of golf, which, almost always based on self-control and the free conscience of the players, often sees distorted results, sometimes consciously, but often unconsciously or through carelessness, due to the failure of many players to comply with the rules of the game.
In addition to the rules, golf adheres to a code of conduct, known as etiquette, which generally means playing the game with due respect for the golf course and other players. Etiquette is an essential component of this sport.
