The PGA of America has announced that LIV Golf players will be eligible to play in the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship, a significant thaw in the ongoing split in golf. The PGA of America is a distinct organization from the PGA Tour, which is involved in ongoing discussions about the future of golf with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf’s financial backer.
Brooks Koepka played on last year’s Ryder Cup team as a member of LIV, largely as a result of his victory at the 2023 PGA Championship. LIV players have competed at the PGA Championship the last few seasons, primarily because of their existing eligibility from wins they accrued prior to joining LIV Golf.
In making the announcement, the PGA of America indicated that “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 formalizes what had been, up to now, a de facto system of opportunity for LIV players. Koepka, for instance, played well enough at the PGA Championship to make the Ryder Cup team on points. Notably, the PGA did not specify what “eligible” means, which presents a problem given that the easiest way to become “eligible” is to be ranked among the top 70 in the Official World Golf Rankings. However, the OWGR does not currently recognize LIV Golf tournaments as valid for ranking purposes, so LIV players have to play their way in through other means, or hope for special invitations from the PGA, as Joaquin Niemann did earlier this year to gain entry to the PGA Championship.
The PGA Tour and the PIF remain engaged in discussions about how to repair the schism in professional golf, well over a year after announcing that a “framework” agreement was in place. Sticking points appear to be whether to “punish” LIV players for defecting, and how to reintegrate LIV players into more events that would give those players ranking points, and therefore access to all four majors.
