Richard Bland: Impossible for DP World Tour players to qualify for Ryder Cup
Richard Bland: Ryder Cup Qualification Now Favors PGA Tour Players Two-time Senior Major winner Richard Bland has voiced his concerns over the revised Ryder Cup qualification process, suggesting that it heavily favors PGA Tour players at the expense of those competing full-time on the DP World Tour. Bland went so far as to describe the…
Richard Bland: Ryder Cup Qualification Now Favors PGA Tour Players
Two-time Senior Major winner Richard Bland has voiced his concerns over the revised Ryder Cup qualification process, suggesting that it heavily favors PGA Tour players at the expense of those competing full-time on the DP World Tour. Bland went so far as to describe the Ryder Cup as “just another PGA Tour event” in light of these changes.
The new qualification system for the 2025 European Ryder Cup team has streamlined the process, moving from two separate qualifying lists to a single unified ranking. Under this new system, players can earn 5,000 points for performances in Major Championships and 3,000 points in elite PGA Tour events. In comparison, Rolex Series events on the DP World Tour offer 2,000 points, the same as regular PGA Tour events, while 1,500 points are awarded at DP World Tour “back nine” events and 1,000 points at DP World Tour global events and PGA Tour opposite events.
As a result, Bland believes it will be nearly impossible for a player who exclusively competes on the DP World Tour to secure a spot on the European Ryder Cup team. He expressed his disappointment, saying, “It’s sad. I understand that the strength plays in America, but this just basically says that no one playing full-time DP World can play in the Ryder Cup. You can’t make it. Obviously, the World Rankings have gone that way and now the Ryder Cup has gone that way.”
Bland also pointed to the 2022 President’s Cup, where New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, despite finishing second in the Race to Dubai Rankings, was omitted from the International Team. “When you get someone like Foxy who was second on the DP World Tour two years ago, and he can’t play… I mean, really? It seems like it’s just a PGA Tour event. And the Ryder Cup is now just a PGA Tour event. It doesn’t say much for the guys that are up-and-coming in the game. You’ve only got to look at the World Rankings, how many guys from the DP World Tour are in the top 100 in the world? Maybe two? So yeah, I think this is a sad day for the DP World Tour, if I’m being honest.”
Bland has long been a critic of the DP World Tour’s 2020 ‘strategic alliance’ with the PGA Tour. He argues that the deal has been detrimental to the DP World Tour, particularly highlighting the ‘Ten Cards initiative,’ which grants the leading ten players from the season-ending Race to Dubai Rankings playing rights on the PGA Tour. Bland believes this initiative is a one-sided benefit for the PGA Tour, designed to siphon off the best talent from the DP World Tour.
“I think getting into bed with the Americans was completely the wrong idea,” Bland added. “Does anyone honestly think [PGA Tour commissioner] Jay Monahan cares about the DP World Tour? No, he doesn’t. For him that ‘10 player’ deal was all about how he could get the best DP World Tour players competing on the PGA Tour. They [the PGA Tour] don’t care about the DP World Tour. They never have.”
Reflecting on the past decisions, Bland concluded, “Let’s face it, anyone who knows anything about world golf knows that the DP