Europe change Ryder Cup qualification rules as LIV Golf players impacted

LIV Golf Tour golfers must pay fines and serve suspensions to qualify for next year’s Ryder Cup in America, with captains Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley having to adapt to new rules.

Events on the breakaway LIV Tour will not count towards selection for the coveted competition, as players must be part of the European-based DP World Tour or USA’s PGA Tour to be eligible for qualification.

The LIV tour features the likes of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who will need to pay fines and serve suspensions in order to play in the DP World Tour – should they wish to be part of Donald’s side, that is.

Before selecting his 12-man team, Donald will be presented with a single qualifying list consisting of six automatic picks, based on players’ performances in the DP World Tour.

He will, however, retain six wildcard picks, hoping to defend the title that he won in impressive fashion last year.

“A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to get to this point and everything is now focused on doing all we can to retain the trophy in New York next September,” Donald told BBC Sport.

The qualifying period will kick off on August 29 at the British Masters, and points can only be earned in 2024 in DP World Tour events, giving Europe’s biggest stars more of an incentive to compete in their continent.

In previous years, automatic selection was determined by two separate lists, with three players qualifying as a result of their performances on the DP World Tour and the other three based on their world ranking points collected in the qualification period.

But European Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings has embraced the change, describing it as a “major milestone”.

“This is without question a much cleaner and simpler qualification system than the ones utilised in previous years,” he said.

The qualifying period will run until August 24 next year, ahead of the Ryder Cup in September.