The Ryder Cup is one of the most exciting golf tournaments played between two teams, Team U.S. and Team Europe. It’s a biennial competition contested every two years, with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The competition is played in a Match Play format, co-organized by PGA Tour and European Tour.
The first Ryder Cup tournament took place back in 1927 in the United States. The most recent one took place in September 2021, at the Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, U.S. Team U.S., led by captain Steve Stricker, beat Team Europe by 19-9.
In the 2018 Ryder Cup in Le Golf National in France, Team Europe, led by Thomas Bjorn, won by 17.5-10.5 against Team U.S.
But how do players qualify for the Ryder Cup? Here we will try to make it easy for you to understand how your favorite golfer can qualify for the Ryder Cup.
Team U.S. Ryder Cup Qualifying
In the Ryder Cup, Team U.S. is formed by 12 golfers. The team will be led by a non-playing captain and several non-playing vice-captains.
For the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, Zach Johnson is selected to lead the team U.S. Zach Johnson, and the vice-captains will face an intriguing decision to pick 6 of the 12 golfers for the team, known as captain’s picks.
The other 6 players will automatically make the team who has the highest points.
The players start collecting points from January 1 of the year that precedes the Ryder Cup. So for the 2023 Ryder Cup, the competitors have started collecting points from January 1, 2022.
Point System
The earning of points is related to winning money. Here’s the pointing system:
- Events between January 1st and the BMW Championship will give 1 point per $1000 winnings.
- The winner of the Majors – Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and The Open – will earn 2 points per $1000 earned.
- 1.5 points per $1000 earned for making the cut at Majors.
Team Europe Ryder Cup Qualifying
Similarly, 12 golfers play for Team Europe, led by a non-playing captain and several non-playing vice-captains. Luke Donald will lead the European side in the 2023 Ryder Cup. 6 players will enter based on the captain’s picks.
The other 6 spots will be occupied by the top 3 European players, according to the Official World Golf Rankings, and 3 players with the highest points on the European points list.
Hence, both teams will have 12 golfers, 6 automatic spots, and 6 by captain’s picks.
