European Ryder Cup Team Revamps Qualifying for 2025 Matches at Bethpage

Team Europe, the defending champions, will now use one qualifying points list, not two, with the most points available in majors and the PGA Tour’s biggest events.

Team Europe will look to retain the Ryder Cup on American soil in 2025. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The 2025 European Ryder Cup team will be built in part via a new single points system that will reward more points from top events on the PGA Tour than the DP World Tour.

Ryder Cup Europe announced the changes Tuesday, noting that captain Luke Donald was involved with the changes and that he will still have six captain’s picks for Bethpage in 2025, as was the case in 2023 when Donald’s European team easily defeated the U.S. at Marco Simone. The new points list will determine the first six players.

Last year, the team was built using two points lists—a “World Points List” based on Official World Golf Ranking points and a “European Points List” based on Race to Dubai ranking points, i.e., points from DP World Tour events.

The new list will award the most points from major championships (5,000 available), then PGA Tour signature events/FedEx Cup playoff events and the Players Championship (3,000 available). DP World Tour Rolex Series events will have 2,000 points available, along with PGA Tour regular season events. The DP World Tour’s “Back 9” tournaments will award 1,500 points, and finally DP World Tour Global Series events and PGA Tour opposite-field events will award 1,000 points.

In short, the new list will better serve players who hold dual memberships on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, with a recognition that the PGA Tour has the biggest events in pro golf outside of the majors. The PGA Tour and DP World Tour have a strategic alliance that includes awarding PGA Tour cards to the top 10 points earners on the DP World Tour each year.

The qualifying period for the 2025 Ryder Cup starts Aug. 29 and the only points available the rest of this year will be from events on the DP World Tour. PGA Tour events will count on the points list starting with its new season in January.

European players must still be DP World Tour members, which is of particular concern to Spain’s Jon Rahm, who hopes to play in his fourth Ryder Cup at Bethpage. He is now a member of LIV Golf, whose tournaments are not considered in the points system, but can maintain his DP World Tour membership provided he plays four events before 2025 (in addition to paying fines from his departure). Last week’s Olympic tournament counts as one of those four, and Rahm said he’d like to play the Spanish Open after LIV’s season ends, though his wife’s pregnancy may play a role in his schedule.

If Rahm is able to maintain his DP World Tour membership, he would then be eligible for one of Donald’s six captain’s picks if he doesn't otherwise qualify through the top six in points.

“This is a major milestone moment in our journey to the 2025 Ryder Cup,” said DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings. “This is without question a much cleaner and simpler qualification system than the ones utilized in previous years and we thank Luke and his vice captains Edoardo Molinari and Thomas Bjorn for their vital input over the past few months.”