US Ryder Cup captain says LIV stars "technically eligible" for showpiece event

06 July 2023 , 10:32

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Zach Johnson could well include LIV players in his team (Image: PA)

United States Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson has admitted LIV Golf players are "technically eligible" to compete in this year's match-play tournament at Marco Simone in Rome.

Since the breakaway circuit formed last summer, one of the hottest topics surrounding LIV has been whether its players will feature at the Ryder Cup. Having been suspended from the PGA Tour following their Saudi switch, LIV stars have slumped down the Ryder Cup qualification standings.

This ban is of course only implemented by the PGA Tour, not the PGA of America, the organisation in charge of the American Ryder Cup setup. This therefore means they remain eligible for selection as one of Johnson's six captain picks come selection time.

Alluding to this, captain Johnson said: "What's transpiring in professional golf from a competitive level, competition level, is PGA Tour; right?

"It's not PGA of America. So the individuals that are Americans that play on other tours that are not the PGA Tour, they could play, I mean, technically the Latin Tour or the Asian Tour or wherever. More times than not they're going to be members of the PGA of America for a number of reasons.

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"Our liability insurance is number one and some other benefits." Leaving the door open, Johnson went on: "These guys that left the PGA Tour that had status and left to play on that other tour, the LIV Tour, they're still members of the PGA of America, so they are still able to garner points.

Zach Johnson is in charge of the US Ryder Cup team (Getty Images)

"They're able to play in the PGA Championship as a result because that's what the PGA of America runs. Obviously, technically, they can still be a part of Team USA." One man who took advantage of this PGA Championship entry was Brooks Koepka, after securing victory at Oak Hill in May.

This saw the LIV star rocket up the U.S. Ryder Cup standings where he currently sits third, with the top six qualifying automatically. Whether Koepka remains in the top six come the end of qualification remains to be seen, but his PGA Championship win and a tied-second finish at this year's Masters makes him hard to ignore for his captain.

Brooks Koepka impressed at the PGA Championship (Getty Images)

"Brooks is third on the list," commented Johnson. "The top six earn their berth after the BMW Championship in mid-August in Chicago. So after that Sunday the top six are solidified, and then we make our six picks. The next week is the Tour Championship. The Tuesday after the Tour Championship is when I make the picks.

"We'll formulate 12 by then, but he has worked his way to second after the PGA Championship because of how well he played at the Masters and at the PGA Championship, the majors kind of last year too, but they were smaller in points, he has a really good chance of making the team, earning his way on the team, which is extremely impressive."

Joshua Lees