"I think the proposals are fair to all players involved in the qualification process, whether they have already amassed points or will be looking to do so from next January onwards." - Padraig Harrington
Wednesday 8 July 2020 17:13, UK
Ryder Cup qualifying points for the European team have been frozen for the rest of this year after it was announced the contest has been postponed until 2021.
The qualification process was initially put on hold during the coronavirus shutdown and both the world and European points lists were scheduled to resume upon the return of European Tour competition this week.
But, now that the 43rd Ryder Cup will take place a year later than planned, the Tour's tournament committee voted unanimously to suspend all qualifying points until January 1, 2021.
The Tour also confirmed that all points earned from the start of the qualifying process, last year's BMW PGA Championship, to the last event to finish in Qatar in March will continue to count, and that captain Padraig Harrington will still have three wildcard picks.
A European Tour statement added: "One or more points multipliers may be introduced during the course of the 2021 European Tour season to ensure that strong performance closer to the match in September 2021 is given added importance.
"These will be agreed once the 2021 European Tour schedule has been announced and communicated to the Membership prior to January 1.
"As in 2020, Qualification points will not be available anywhere in the world during 2021 from a tournament played opposite a Rolex Series event, further enhancing the status of the premier series of events on the European Tour.
"Overall, there will be no modification to the qualifying criteria ratified by the Tournament Committee last year: i.e. The first four qualifiers for Team Europe will come from the European Points list, the next five from the World Points list and Captain Padraig Harrington will have three wildcard picks.
"The change to the qualifying process maintains the normal length of the qualification period plus a further two months, as January and February in both 2020 and 2021 are included. The end date of the qualification period will be confirmed when the 2021 Race to Dubai schedule is announced."
Harrington said: "I think the proposals that have been outlined today are fair to all players involved in the qualification process, whether they have already amassed points or will be looking to do so from next January onwards.
"The 2020 season has already been heavily disrupted, and may continue to be further impacted, by a number of COVID-19 related issues in terms of travel restrictions, quarantine regulations and individual personal concerns.
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"I feel that players should not feel under pressure to play and therefore the points tables should not apply from now until the end of the year from a schedule that could change further.
"However, while that is the case, notable performances will still very much count in my considerations for picks as I maintain a keen interest in the form of all possible Ryder Cup team members in tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic."
