Luke Donald Announces One Big Change To European Ryder Cup Qualifying Process

Team Europe's Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has announced there will be just one qualifying points list for his men ahead of the 2025 event at Bethpage Black, with the process to book a spot on the visitors' roster beginning later this month.

Previously, a World Points List - which was based on Official World Golf Ranking points accrued during the qualifying period - and a European Points List, which was based on Race to Dubai Ranking points accrued during the qualifying period, has been in effect - leading to six automatic qualifiers.

While the breakdown of automatic qualifiers and captain's picks will not change for 2025 - there will remain six of each - the new streamlined Ryder Cup Points List will make it clearer as to who is in line for a coveted place in Team Europe's dozen.

Points will be earned in accordance with a new tournament banding structure implemented by Ryder Cup Europe, in consultation with captain Luke Donald. Major championships offer a total of 5,000 points, PGA Tour Signature Events, The Players, and 2025 FedEx Cup playoff tournaments offer 3,000 while DP World Tour Rolex Series events and regular PGA Tour competitions will hand out 2,000 Ryder Cup points in total.

From there, 'Back Nine' events on the DP World Tour are able to offer 1,500 points in total while regular DP World Tour tournaments and opposite events on the PGA Tour can give out 1,000 each.

Donald said: “I am delighted to be able to confirm the details of the qualification process for our 2025 Ryder Cup team. A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to get to this point and everything is now focused on doing all we can to retain the trophy in New York next September.”

The qualification process will begin at the Betfred British Masters, which takes place August 29 – September 1, 2024, and end at the culmination of the unconfirmed DP World Tour event which concludes on Sunday August 24, 2025.

However, with the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs around the corner and only one more regular event before that happens, Team Europe pointed out that the only place to earn Ryder Cup points before January 1, 2025 will be in events on the DP World Tour - which includes the remainder of the regular season and the DP World Tour playoffs.

For PGA Tour-based golfers, it will only be possible to collect Ryder Cup points from January 1, 2025 until Sunday, August 17, 2025.

Team Europe has also stated that in order to be eligible for its Ryder Cup side, players must be European - defined in accordance with the IGF National policy - and hold an active DP World Tour membership.

Guy Kinnings, CEO of PGA European Tour, the managing partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, said: “This is a major milestone moment in our journey to the 2025 Ryder Cup.

"This is without question a much cleaner and simpler qualification system than the ones utilised in previous years and we thank Luke and his Vice Captains Edoardo Molinari and Thomas Bjørn for their vital input over the past few months.”

The 2025 Ryder Cup is set to begin at Bethpage Black in New York on September 26, 2025 and end on September 28, 2025.

Team Europe are the current holders of the trophy following their 16.5-11.5 victory over Team USA at Marco Simone in 2023.