Will LIV golfers be allowed to play in the 2023 Ryder Cup?
With the PGA, the DP World Tour and LIV Golf now the best of friends, the door to the 2023 Ryder Cup is once again open to those who were exiled.
In September of this year, Team Europe will host Team USA in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, and by the looks of things, those who currently play for LIV Golf will be allowed to participate after news of a proposed merger with the PGA Tour rocked the golf world earlier this week.
LIV Golf players can play in 2023 Ryder Cup...if they qualify
BY now, you’ve surely seen the multitude of articles and soundbites in the wake of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf announcing that they will merge into a single entity. From questions about whether ongoing litigation between the two will continue - it won’t - to whether banned players can return, there have been countless discussion points. One of the latest of those, is whether LIV Golf’s players would be allowed to play in this year’s Ryder Cup. The simple answer to that question is: assuming they can qualify.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that the PGA of America, which controls eligibility for Team USA, had previously indicated that American players who resigned from the PGA Tour would still be eligible for this year’s contest, however, as legal battles intensified there was real doubt as to whether that would finally be the case. As things now stand, they’re good to go. Among the U.S. players competing in LIV Golf are Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, and Phil Mickelson. The U.S. team will be made up of six players who qualify through a points system and six players who the team captain chooses. The players currently sitting in the top 10 spots in the point standings are Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, and Jordan Spieth.
Team U.S.A. captain Zach Johnson shares his thoughts
With the intense chatter surrounding this week’s developments between the two rival golf leagues, the American was asked plenty of LIV-related questions following his appearance at the 2023 PGA Championship, from what his opinion of Brooks Koepka’s form, to whether he watches LIV events and if he’d feel comfortable with them on the team. “Yeah, he’s on the team. He’s got direct ownership in that, absolutely,” Johnson said before admitting that he could in fact include players from the Saudi-backed league on his 12-man team in September. On the other hand, he wouldn’t be drawn on whether he’s comfortable with the idea.
“I don’t know. I can’t answer that,” he said. “I’ll say this: The guys that are on the PGA Tour that make that team, they have direct ownership in that collectively. So for me to stand here and say that I would feel comfortable or uncomfortable with it would be, I would think, responsible on my behalf because it’s not my team.” When asked about Koepka directly, he was again reluctant to give a clear answer. “I think it’s too premature, frankly irresponsible, to even have any sort of opinion about that,” Johnson said. This year’s Ryder Cup will tee off Sept. 25 to Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.