LIV players granted eligibility for PGA Championship, U.S. Ryder Cup team

The PGA of America announced Thursday that it's granted LIV Golf players eligibility to compete in the PGA Championship and to be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

"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," the organization's statement reads.

The move grants all LIV players a membership to the PGA of America, which is required to compete on the U.S. Ryder Cup team and in the PGA Championship. Players who defected from the PGA TOUR to LIV Golf were expected to lose those memberships at the end of 2024.

"We've added the LIV tour to the list of tours that are eligible towards A-3 membership, which all (PGA) TOUR members are eligible for," Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America's chief championships officer and interim CEO, told GolfChannel's Rex Hoggard. "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."

LIV players will not, however, collect Ryder Cup points for their LIV Golf finishes.

Brooks Koepka was the only LIV Golf player on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2023, making the squad as a captain's pick.

The decision clears the way for players such as Bryson DeChambeau - the 2024 PGA Championship runner-up - to continue to be able to play in the tournament and take spots on the U.S. Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in 2025. DeChambeau is currently third on the U.S. points list.

"All these players would have still been eligible in the short term, but they would have had to do additional requirements (to maintain membership)," Haigh said. "LIV players have always been eligible, and this cleanup of the bylaws just makes it more consistent with the other tours and will allow the best players in the world to play the PGA Championship and represent the U.S. team at the Ryder Cup, which has always been the case."

The PGA of America's announcement has no effect on the European Ryder Cup team, which is controlled by the DP World Tour. Jon Rahm, for example, plans to play in three more DP World Tour events before the end of the year in order to remain eligible for the Ryder Cup. The Spaniard has refused to pay DP World Tour fines for joining LIV.