Harrington tweaks Ryder Cup qualifying process
The 43rd edition of The Ryder Cup will be played on the Straits Course at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin from September 21-26, 2021.
The European Tour has confirmed that the qualification process for next year’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin will resume on January 1, 2021 and conclude at the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday September 12, 2021.
The process, which began at last September’s BMW PGA Championship, was suspended after the conclusion of the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic which shut down the European Tour at that point.
Upon the Tour’s resumption in July, and due to the fractured nature of the season, it was decided then to freeze the Ryder Cup points for the remainder of the year although all points gained prior to the suspension still counted.
However, to recognise the in-form European players around the world, when the qualification process resumes next month it will feature a new weighting as the season progresses, a specific request from European Captain Pádraig Harrington that was ratified by the Tour’s Tournament Committee.
Firstly, all Race to Dubai and Official World Golf Ranking points earned between January 1 and May 9 will be multiplied by 1.5. This means that the Sentry Tournament of Champions on the PGA TOUR (Jan 7-10) will restart the World Points List while the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 21-24) will do the same for the European Points List.
Furthermore, all points earned from the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, which concludes on May 12, through to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, ending on September 12, will be multiplied by 2.
The 12-man European Team will comprise the first four players from the European Points List, followed by the leading five players from the World Points List. Captain Harrington then has three wild card picks to complete his line-up, a decision which will be unveiled in the week after the 2021 BMW PGA Championship.
European Captain Pádraig Harrington said: “I am delighted to see the qualification campaign getting back underway next month. The weighting of the points will further reward our in-form players and will give added interest to what already looks like an exciting season ahead.
“I have been keeping a keen eye on all European players in action on both sides of the Atlantic in recent months and have been very encouraged by what I have seen. I look forward to seeing how that form translates into points on the two respective lists in the coming months.”
Similar to the process for The 2018 Ryder Cup, qualification points will not be available anywhere in the world from a tournament played opposite a Rolex Series event – excluding Challenge Tour tournaments – nor from the 2021 Men’s Olympic Golf Tournament.
Tommy Fleetwood, who made his Ryder Cup debut at Le Golf National in 2018, currently leads the European Points list, while Tyrrell Hatton, who also made his first Ryder Cup appearance in Paris is currently the first qualifier from the World Points List.
The 43rd edition of The Ryder Cup will be played on the Straits Course at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin from September 21-26, 2021.
