United States Ryder Cup team captain Zach Johnson warned that players who have joined the LIV golf league would be excluded from the Ryder Cup.

Speaking at a Thursday news conference ahead of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run, Johnson reminded players that they must be members of the PGA Tour to qualify for the Ryder Cup, ESPN reported.

“So what I know is this: In order to play on the Ryder Cup team whether you’re top-six or a pick, you must garner Ryder Cup points through the PGA of America,” Johnson said when asked about the 2023 Cup. “In order to garner Ryder Cup points through the PGA of America, you have to be a member of the PGA of America. The way that we’re members of the PGA of America is through the PGA Tour. I’ll let you connect the dots from there.”

U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Zach Johnson (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Johnson, though, would not fall for the media’s attempt to turn him against the pros who joined the Saudi-backed LIV.

“I got some friends that have decided to go that route,” he said. “A lot of individuals that I’m for. I mean, these are my friends. I’m for them. I want them to do well. I want them to, you know, find contentment or happiness in whatever it may be. It’s not for me to say how that develops or how they find that. I will say I have the utmost respect for them individually.”

The DP World Tour (part of the European Tour) has also banned pros who joined LIV. But pro Lee Westwood, one of those fined and banned by DP, says it makes no sense to ban players who joined LIV and prevent them from being eligible for Cup slots.

“I mean, why should it [Cup eligibility] be threatened?” Westwood asked. “I’ve been playing Ryder Cup golf since 1997, and the criteria has been to be a member of the European Tour. Now, the criteria for being a member of the European Tour is to play four events. Why should they change that now?”

Westwood added that players who fulfill the number of games required to be part of the European Tour should also qualify for the Ryder Cup like always.

“I’ve been a member of the PGA Tour and still played four events on the European Tour,” he said, “and why would the European Tour change their rules so dramatically because another tour doesn’t like it or feels financially threatened? There’s just a bit too much protection going on for my liking and not enough transparency.”

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