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The last Ryder Cup was held in 2021, which the United States won by beating team Europe 19-9, creating a tournament record for the largest margin of victory.
Names like Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Bernd Wiesberger, Lee Westwood, and Paul Casey, who were part of the biennial event that year, switched to the LIV Golf circuit in 2022.
The defection of many top players to the breakaway league resulted in their suspension from the PGA and DP World Tour sanction events.
The league's events were barred from OWGR points. This meant LIV players had very little chance of increasing their ranking points and most of them had slipped drastically over the years.
It must be noted that players can be picked by the US team in two ways, either by finishing in the top 6 of the USA standings by the end of August or by being the captain's pick.
However, the ray of hope came in the form of major tournaments where few of them could participate. Brooks Koepka and Mickelson finished tied runner-up and Patrick Reed finished T-4 at the 2023 Masters earlier this month. This gave a major boost to their rankings.
At the moment, none of the LIV-associated players are in the top 6 of the USA standings, with Brooks Koepka sitting at No. 17 followed by Phil Mickelson at 22nd, Dustin Johnson(30), and Patrick Reed(34).
Saudi-backed circuit players may still be selected for the 12-man team for the Ryder Cup as they are still considered associate members of the PGA of America due to their participation in the PGA Tour.
Even though these professionals have moved to the PIF Sponsored Circuit, they will continue to hold their membership until July 2024, as per the grace period policy of the organization.
The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place in Rome, Italy, from September 29 to October 1. The event is just five months away but there is still no clarity over what the eventual squad will be for both teams.
While the likes of Koepka and Johnson have expressed their desire to compete at the tournament, it will be interesting to see if they make it to the 12-man US team that Zach Johnson will captain.
When will the 2023 Ryder Cup happen?
The 2023 Ryder Cup is scheduled to take place from September 29 to October 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy. It is the first time in history that Italy is hosting the tournament.
The tournament is named after English businessman Samuel Ryder and is played between teams from Europe and the United States. The host nation gets altered between the two.
Since 1979, when Team Britain was changed to Team Europe, Team Europe has won 11 times compared to USA's nine times. Phil Mickelson holds the record for most appearances in the Ryder Cup as he was in team US 12 times between 1995 and 2018.
