NEW YORK — Keegan Bradley, along with the PGA of America, announced Team USA's selection criteria for the 2025 Ryder Cup. The process is similar to the one that took place when Europeans defeated Americans in Rome in 2023.
However, one notable difference stands out. In 2025, major champions will not receive bonus points for winning.
Major winners in 2023 will receive two points for every $1,000 won at the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or British Open. This effectively anchored all four major champions on the team, including Brooks Koepka, who became the first active LIV player to win a major at Oak Hill.
No such prizes will be awarded this year.
Instead, the PGA of America will retain 1.5 points for every $1,000 earned in majors and will continue to use those points in 2023. However, the winner will not receive anything additional. That means if a LIV golfer wins a major next year, he won't receive the same premium that Koepka received at Oak Hill.
Koepka almost made the team in the win at Rochester and was among the top six players for most of the season. However, Koepka narrowly finished seventh in the final standings determined at the end of the 2023 BMW Championship. However, captain Zach Johnson was forced to use one of his six captain designations on Koepka because of his strong play.
The top six players automatically earned spots on the team, but Johnson had six captain picks at his disposal. The same formula applies to Bradley's 2025 team.
Still, Bradley insists he will have the best 12 players on his team, regardless of which tour he plays on.
“We're going to take our 12 best players with us,” Bradley said Tuesday.
“So if we feel like there's a few people out there, one, two, we'll do that. But we're too far out to understand how this is going to play out. But we're definitely going to get the best 12 players, whatever happens.”
As for the remaining criteria, all American players, including LIV golfers, had the opportunity to earn points at four majors and The Players Championship in 2024. Athletes earned one Ryder Cup point for every $1,000 they received in these five tournaments. Unsurprisingly, Scottie Schaeffler and Xander Schauffele lead the current Ryder Cup standings.
And in 2025, players who compete in PGA Tour events will be able to earn prize money from January 1, 2025 until August 1, the end of the BMW Championship, the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. You will receive 1 point for every $1,000 you spend. 17th, 2025. This includes The Players Championship. However, this system does not include opposed-field events such as the Corales Punta Cana Championship, as players must compete in regular PGA Tour events to earn points.
This proves that Bradley only wants the best.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
