Golf is a better place when it’s a Ryder Cup year and when it comes to Team Europe, there’s every chance we see one or two fresh faces involved in the team.
Luke Donald is likely to stick with the majority of the players he went with in 2023 but with the LIV Golf players not getting the same amount of OWGR points as their PGA and DP World Tour peers, Donald’s final 12 could end up looking different.
The likes of Matt Wallace are keen to make the team, and while Donald is allowed to pick players from LIV Golf, if Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton don’t have enough points automatically, then they immediately take two of his picks.
However, the inclusion of LIV Golf stars might not end with Hatton and Rahm, with another LIV player starring so far in 2025.
David Puig could force himself into the Ryder Cup team
While at the moment David Puig is not going to be qualifying automatically due to his situation with the points, there is every chance he ends up being considered among Donald’s picks.
Puig, who is still just 23, is already impressing over on the LIV Golf scene but it’s his form so far on the DP World Tour that is eye-catching as well.
Despite being yet to win on the DP World Tour or in the couple of events he played on the PGA Tour, Puig is very much a rising star in golf right now.
Indeed, his form so far in 2025 has very much been of a player who is destined to win soon.
Puig finished third in this week’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship, building on some impressive performances at the backend of last season.
Puig finished 12th in the Andalucia Masters, fourth at the Alfred Dunhill, and third at the Spanish Open in Madrid. That means he’s finished top 12 or better in each of his last four starts, putting him among the form players in the world right now.
Why David Puig joined LIV Golf
With every new LIV signing, there is always a lot of media attention but the furore around Puig was understandable due to his reputation in the amateur game.
However, for Puig himself, it was a pretty straight forward choice to move to LIV and not pursue the PGA Tour.
“Why now?” Puig said at the time. “You know, I actually think I had a pretty good amateur career, and I didn’t get a lot of — or basically just one opportunity — to play with pros before LIV even started. LIV was very supportive, and they gave me two exemptions as an amateur, which I really appreciated them a lot.”
Puig is currently part of the Sergio Garcia led Fireballs team in LIV and going into the 2025 season, he’ll be hoping to register a first win and put himself in the headlines.
As for the Ryder Cup, if he continues to finish top five on a consistent basis and get that win, then he could do what Ludvig Aberg did in 2023 and sneak into the team under Donald.
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