The European Tour’s tournament committee has announced three key changes to the Ryder Cup qualification process for 2018.
In the first place, there will be a greater weighting for points earned in tournaments in the latter stages of the process “to help ensure the European team reflects those players in form nearer the time of the Ryder Cup itself”. Race to Dubai and world ranking points earned in these tournaments will be multiplied by 1.5 for the two respective qualification lists, with the first counting event to benefit from this increased weighting in the 2018 season being the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
The 2018 schedule is not yet finalised, and the last counting event for Le Golf National in Paris in September 2018 has not been confirmed, but the starting point will be the D+D Real Czech Masters at the Albatross Golf Resort in Prague from August 31 to September 3 this year.
The second change has been made following the introduction of the Rolex Series. No Ryder Cup qualification points will be available from tournaments staged anywhere in the world played in the same week as these events in both 2017 and 2018. The tour noted, “While this change takes into account the significance of the Rolex Series for the European Tour, it also recognises it will mean fewer qualification points being available globally outside of these tournaments; hence captain Thomas Bjørn will have an extra wild card pick at his disposal for the 2018 team – the third change.”
This means the 12-man European team for the 2018 Ryder Cup will comprise the first four players from the European points list, followed by the leading four players from the world points list and completed by four wild cards.
Commenting on the changes, Bjørn said, “I am delighted that the tournament committee passed these regulations, which I believe will considerably benefit the European Ryder Cup team in 2018 without compromising the strength or importance of the European Tour. In my role as chairman of the tournament committee for the past 10 years and now as Ryder Cup captain, I fully appreciate the need to balance both of these essential elements, and I think we have managed to do that.”
Bjørn stood down as chairman of the tournament committee this week, and former Ryder Cup player David Howell was unanimously voted as his successor.
In addition to these changes to the qualification process, the tournament committee upheld the current general stipulation that a player must be a European Tour member to be eligible to play for Europe in the biennial contest against the United States. The committee also introduced a new regulation stating that players cannot be a European Ryder Cup captain or a vice-captain if they decline membership of the European Tour or fail to fulfil their minimum event obligation in any season, from 2018 onwards.
At the same meeting the tournament committee ratified a change to the tour’s membership regulations for the 2018 season, with players only required to compete in a minimum of four European Tour-sanctioned tournaments outside the major championships and World Golf Championships next season.
According to tour chief executive Keith Pelley, “The change to our minimum tournament requirement will help many of our members who play around the world but who, at the same time, wish to remain loyal to the European Tour.”
