The U.S. team is changing qualifying criteria for the Ryder Cup for the third straight time, announcing Wednesday a system based entirely on points that can only be earned during the year leading up to the 2027 matches in Ireland.
Qualifying will start at The American Express, the season opener in California, and end with the second postseason event at the BMW Championship at Liberty National in New Jersey.
The top six players in points automatically qualify for the team, and Jim Furyk will make six captain's picks after the season-ending Tour Championship.
“I have worked diligently with our team and am pleased to implement a new qualifying process for the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup team,” Furyk said in a release. “We possess an exceptional mix of veterans and rising stars, and this system will help us identify the strongest players in September 2027."
Different about this system is that it no longer bases points on PGA Tour official money.
That was on Furyk's mind at the PGA Championship in May when he talked about not only the sharp increases in money but the contrast between signature events and everything else.
"Everything is working off money. The purses are so out of whack,” Furyk said in May. “The role of (money) in golf and the tour has changed so much the landscape in the last five years, and so we really need to take a look at kind of a fair assessment of how to identify some simulations.”
Now there is a points distribution list that awards 3,000 points to the winners of majors, 2,850 points to the winner of The Players Championship, 2,250 points to the winners of signature events and the two postseason tournaments, and 1,500 for regular PGA Tour events.
Signature events with their strong fields still offer an advantage. For example, 10th place at a signature event is worth 342 points, compared with 228 points for 10th place at a regular event.
The other significant change is the start. Americans previously could earn points from the majors and The Players Championship the season prior to a Ryder Cup year. Those points were equal to a regular PGA Tour event in a Ryder Cup year.
Players cannot earn points from opposite-field events.
The Ryder Cup is Sept. 17-19, 2027, at Adare Manor in Ireland. Europe has won the last two times, and Luke Donald will try to become the first captain to win three in a row.
Europe's qualifying is largely unchanged and players began earning points two weeks ago at the British Masters. Donald also has six captain's picks.
Money first was introduced to U.S. qualifying by Paul Azinger for the 2008 matches, a key change because previously points only were awarded to the top 10 on a PGA Tour that was attracting international players. But that was long before the arrival of LIV Golf, which led to a sudden spike in prize money and elite events for the top players that had $20 million purses.
In the new system, players who make the cut will get points. For the team event at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, points will be awarded only to teams that have two eligible Americans.
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Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
