The PGA of America officially reinstates LIV Golfers to its ranks. LIV Golf has been added to the list of tours whose players are eligible for membership in the PGA of America. This means that LIV Golf League players are officially eligible to play in the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship. The LIV players who have competed in the PGA Championship and, like Brooks Koepka, the Ryder Cup in recent years were allowed to do so on a grace period basis, which allowed them to retain their membership status until 2024.
PGA of America accepts LIV Golf
“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,2 said the PGA of America. Kerry Haigh, Chief Championships Officer and interim CEO of the association, also told Golf Channel that it was more of a clean up. “The LIV players had previously been [PGA of America] members but had we not done this they would have had to go through more requirements which no other tour members are asked to do.”
No change to the qualification criteria
What has not yet changed for LIV golfers are the qualifying criteria for the PGA of America events. There is still no additional way for LIV golfers to secure a place in the PGA Championship and for the Ryder Cup they only have the opportunity to collect points at major tournaments. Bryson DeChambeau, for example, is currently third in the American qualifying list for the 2025 Ryder Cup after his outstanding performance in major tournaments this year.
LIV Golf and the Ryder Cup have also recently been a topic of discussion on the DP World Tour. The minimum requirements for LIV golfers at the Ryder Cup would be to maintain DP World Tour membership by playing at least four tournaments away from the majors and paying the penalty for illegal participation in LIV tournaments. Jon Rahm, who was an important member of the European Ryder Cup team in previous events, does not want to pay the fine. By appealing against the fine, however, he is buying himself some time to at least fulfil the requirements of Tour membership.