“Ryder Cup is now just a PGA Tour event” - LIV Golf’s Richard Bland cries foul in new qualification process, dubs it a ‘sad day’ for European Tour

LIV Golf pro Richard Bland is unhappy with Team Europe's new Ryder Cup qualification process. The 51-year-old veteran believes that the new system is 'another nail in the coffin of the DP World Tour'.

According to the new system announced on Tuesday, Team Europe for the 2025 Ryder Cup will be picked based on the 'World Points List' and will not include the 'European Points List' as before. Bland slammed the changes and dubbed it a ‘sad day’ for the European Tour as it offers more opportunity to players competing on the American-based PGA Tour.

Bland, who played over 20 years on the DP World Tour before defecting to LIV Golf, stated that the new changes don’t allow “golfers playing full-time DP World can play in the Ryder Cup.” The reigning US Senior Open champion went on to state that the “Ryder Cup is now just a PGA Tour event” with the apparent omission of European players.

Commenting on Team Europe’s Ryder Cup qualification changes ahead of the International Series England on the Asian Tour, Richard Bland said, as quoted by Golf Digest:

“It's sad. I understand that the strength plays in America, but this just basically says that no one playing full time DP World can play in the Ryder Cup. You can't make it. Obviously, the World Rankings have gone that way and now the Ryder Cup has gone that way.”

The English golfer recalled New Zealander Ryan Fox’s omission from the 2022 International team. It is pertinent to note that Fox wasn’t a PGA Tour member at the time. Bland opined that similar instances could repeat with the new Ryder Cup.

He added:

“When you get someone like Foxy (Ryan Fox) who was second on the DP World Tour two years ago, and he can’t play. I mean, really? It seems like it's just a PGA Tour event. And the Ryder Cup is now just a PGA Tour event… You’ve only got to look at the World Rankings, how many guys from the DP World Tour are in the top 100 in the world? Maybe two? So yeah, I think this is a sad day for the DP World Tour, if I’m being honest.”

Europe's Ryder Cup victory celebration at Rome 2023 (Image via Imagn)

He opined that the new changes “don’t say much” for the young up-and-coming golfers as it favors the top-ranked players. It is pertinent to note that Bland himself is ineligible to play on the PGA Tour or the PGA Tour Champions due to his commitment to LIV Golf.

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Team Europe's new Ryder Cup qualification system

The European team on Tuesday announced its new Ryder Cup qualification rule changes. Previously for the 2023 event in Rome, the first six spots on the side were earned by players from two different sets of standings - the World Points List and the European Points List. However, this has now been scrapped and the qualification for 2025 will be done on world points alone.

According to the officials, the top six players on the world rankings will earn automatic spots on Luke Donald's team for Bethpage. Notably, the points for this list will be disturbed through the four major championships, as well as events on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

However, criticism arose as more points are now on offer to those competing on the PGA Tour rather. As per the system, 2,000 points will be available at DP World Tour Rolex events and regular PGA Tour events while 1500 will be up for grabs at DP World Tour “back nine” events. Only 1,000 will be available at DP World Tour global events and PGA Tour opposite events.

A whopping 5,000 points will be available to take in major championships, while elite PGA Tour events offer 3,000 points. Players like Richard Bland has spoken out against this disparity of points distribution between the PGA and the European Tours.