Luke Donald Overhauls European Ryder Cup Qualifying Process

Ryder Cup Europe today announced the qualification process for the 2023 European Ryder Cup Team to compete against the United States at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy, from September 25 – October 1, 2023.

Qualification for Team Europe will begin at the 2022 BMW PGA Championship, the fourth Rolex Series event of the current season, which takes place at Wentworth Club from September 8-11.

It will conclude on September 3, 2023, a full three weeks ahead of the Ryder Cup week, when the six players who qualify automatically will be confirmed. These six automatic qualifiers will comprise the three leading players on the European Points List followed by the three leading players on the World Points List.

European Captain Luke Donald will then select a further six Captain’s Picks to complete his 12-man team to face the United States.

Another change, agreed by Captain Donald, Vice Captains Thomas Bjørn and Edoardo Molinari and the DP World Tour Tournament Committee, sees a modification in the points allocation for the European Points List.

In previous years, the ratio between the highest and lowest ranked events on the DP World Tour exhibited a factor of 6:1 (12,000 points v 2,000 points). Under the new system, this is reduced to a factor of 4:1 (6,000 points v 1,500 points) as outlined in the table below:

One element which has not changed however, is that no points will be available from any tournament played anywhere in the world scheduled against a Rolex Series event on the DP World Tour.

Captain Donald said: "These changes to the qualification process for Team Europe follow in-depth analysis with the team at Ryder Cup Europe and with Thomas and Edoardo. I’m delighted that when we presented our thoughts to the Tournament Committee, they were 100% behind them.

"The revised overall process removes the need for points multipliers in the last few months of the qualifying period, and the six picks give me flexibility to ensure we have the strongest line-up at Marco Simone in terms of in-form players, players with Ryder Cup experience, and potential pairings. 

"As far as the European Points List is concerned, modifying the points allocation will give an improved chance for DP World Tour members playing predominantly on the DP World Tour to make the Ryder Cup team through one of the now three spots available from that list. 

"We have also moved the end of the qualification period forward to give the players the right amount of preparation time once they have made the team. A lot of work has already happened behind the scenes, but in many ways the start of the qualification campaign represents the true beginning of the Ryder Cup journey, so I am delighted to confirm these details today. We are all focused on reclaiming the Ryder Cup in Rome next September and this qualification system gives us the best opportunity of doing just that."

Guy Kinnings, European Ryder Cup Director, said: "We are delighted with the details of the qualification process for the 2023 European Ryder Cup team announced today. Luke has already proven himself to be a strong and resolute Captain with firm ideas on how to get the best out of Team Europe.

"He proved that throughout this consultation and analysis period and I think the fact that our Tournament Committee were fully behind his thoughts and ideas illustrated how much respect they have for him.

"Every single member of the Team Europe backroom team is excited by today’s announcement and very much looking forward not only to the start of the qualification campaign at the BMW PGA Championship, but also the full 12 month campaign leading up to Rome next September."