Why can't LIV Golfers play at the 2024 Presidents Cup? Real reason explored
The next edition of the Presidents Cup is almost a year away, as it will be played at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in September 2024. The integration of the teams will not be announced until about a month before the event, but the matter is already causing controversy.
This Wednesday, it was announced that players playing in LIV Golf will not be eligible to play in the Presidents Cup. It is a somewhat surprising decision considering that Brooks Koepka was allowed to play in the Ryder Cup.
Simply put, the reason LIV Golf players are not eligible to play in the Presidents Cup is because they play on the LIV Golf circuit. Of course, this is something with much more context and legal support.
The team composition rules for the 2024 Presidents Cup have been changed. Both teams must consist only of players eligible to play on the PGA Tour for the 2024 season. This includes automatic qualifiers and captain's picks.
This leaves out of the picture the players playing on LIV Golf, who were suspended from PGA Tour membership from the moment they decided to switch to the circuit financially backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Such a suspension stripped the privileges of stars such as Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson.
Even Brooks Koepka, winner of a major tournament in 2023, will be suspended for the 2024 PGA Tour season and thus from the Presidents Cup.
How will the team integration system work for the 2024 Presidents Cup?
The U.S. team will be integrated using a points system based on the FedEx Cup standings. The international team will be integrated based on the Official World Golf Ranking. Both captains (Jim Furyk and Mike Weir, respectively) decided to reserve six spots for their teams.
According to the event's official website, the American team will be integrated as follows:
The top six (6) U.S. PGA TOUR members who have earned the most FedExCup points from January 1, 2023, through August 25, 2024, are weighted as follows:
- 2023 The Sentry through 2023 BMW Championship: 1 FedExCup point = 1 point
- 2023 Fortinet Championship through 2023 RSM Classic: 1 FedExCup point = 1 point
- 2024 The Sentry through 2024 BMW Championship: THE PLAYERS and Major Championships (1 FedExCup point = 2 points), 2024 Signature Events and Playoffs (1 FedExCup point = 1.5 points), 2024 All other Events (1 FedExCup point = 1.5 points).
- Six (6) captain’s picks, to be named on a date to be defined.
El equipo Internacional será integrado de la siguiente manera:
- The automatic qualifiers will be the top six (6) eligible International players (excluding those eligible for the European Ryder Cup team) in the OWGR standings after completion of the 2024 BMW Championship. The Captain will select six (6) picks the week of the 2024 TOUR Championship, at a date to be determined later
- To be eligible for automatic qualification players need to compete in 15 or more OWGR-rated events from September 12, 2022 through the 2024 BMW Championship (August 26, 2024); however, a player will not be penalized for missing time due to injury, illness or serious personal emergency. There is no minimum number of events for captain’s picks
- There is no set time period for OWGR point accumulation. All OWGR points awarded through the 2024 BMW Championship will apply towards determining the top six (6) automatic qualifiers
All players (both teams automatic qualifiers and captain’s picks) must be eligible to compete in PGA Tour sanctioned tournament competitions.