FILE PHOTO: Sep 15, 2024; Bolingbrook, Illinois, USA; Brooks Koepka of the Smash GC tees off on the second hole during the final round of the LIV Golf Chicago tournament at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images/File Photo
(Reuters) -LIV Golf players have been deemed eligible to compete in the PGA Championship and for U.S. Ryder Cup teams going forward, the PGA of America said on Thursday.
The PGA of America said its board made the decision as a way to ensure the year's second major can have the strongest field possible while future U.S. Ryder Cup teams will continue to have access to the best American players.
LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka was part of last year's U.S. Ryder Cup team due to a grace period that allowed him to remain a PGA of America member through 2024, but it was not clear how the body would further handle the divide in professional golf.
That same grace period also applied to LIV Golf players competing in the PGA Championship.
"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 PGA of America said.
"This is consistent with LIV Golf players competing in the PGA Championship the past two years. Brooks Koepka was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year."
The decision clears the way for LIV golfers like reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who is third on the U.S. points list for the 2025 Ryder Cup despite being ineligible for PGA Tour events where the majority of points could be earned.
LIV Golf, which is funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, did not immediately respond when asked to comment of the PGA of America's decision.
The European Ryder Cup team has a pathway in place for those with LIV Golf to be eligible for the biennial matchplay event, with the main criteria being they must play at least four events on the Europe-based DP World Tour per year.
In addition, those players must also pay fines for competing in tournaments on the Saudi-funded circuit that conflicted with DP World Tour events without requesting permission from the European-based circuit.
Spaniard Jon Rahm, who was a key player for Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup before joining LIV Golf two months later, intends to play the required European events and has appealed the fines that the DP World Tour assessed him.
The 2025 Ryder Cup between the United States and Europe will be held next September at Bethpage Black in New York.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)
