With the world’s top 100 traditionally invited, the Newtownabbey star (23) made it in 100th place after dropping one spot in the world rankings following his missed cut in last week’s Turkish Airlines Open.
As a result, he joins defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Irish golf’s Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and 2008 champion Padraig Harrington in the field at Aronimink just outside Philadelphia.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” said McKibbin, who tied for 50th on his US PGA debut at Quail Hollow last year.
“I played last year as well, and I think to do it two years in a row with not having the availability of many world ranking points and to stay around that 100 number has been pretty good.
“I think the consistency of the golf that I’ve played has been nice, sort of being in a spot to be able to qualify for some of those events.
“Yeah, it’s always nice to get to play another Major. They’re definitely the events that you want to be playing, and every time you can tick one off, it’s a great learning experience.”
The PGA of America released the names of 154 players who will play next week, with two spots reserved for this week’s winners of the Truist Championship and the Myrtle Beach Classic, if not already exempt.
Former PGA champion Phil Mickelson is listed in the field, though he has played just once this year due to an undisclosed personal issue and is not competing in LIV Virginia this week.
LIV’s Dustin Johnson, who has slipped to 468th in the world, is also among the 154 players invited.
McKibbin qualified for the Masters and the Open by winning in the Hong Kong Open last year, but he admitted he’d likely have to qualify for next month’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
The top three leading players in LIV Golf’s rankings, not including the already exempt former winners Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, will earn spots in the field.
“I mean, I’d probably have to win to get into that spot, so not really been thinking about that,” said McKibbin, who is 25th in LIV Golf’s season standings.
“To move up that far, I’d have to play pretty good. No, I haven’t really thought about that plan, just to go and play the qualifier, 36 holes, and give that a shot.”
2026 PGA Championship field
154 of 156 players
Åberg, Ludvig – SWEDEN
Ayora, Angel – SPAIN
Berg, Derek – Duvall, WA*
Berger, Daniel – Jupiter, FL
Bezuidenhout, Christiaan – SOUTH AFRICA
Bhatia, Akshay – Jupiter, FL
Bide, Francisco – ARGENTINA*
Blanchet, Chandler – Jacksonville, FL
Block, Michael – Mission Viejo, CA*
Bradley, Keegan – Woodstock, VT
Brennan, Michael – Leesburg, VA
Bridgeman, Jacob – Simpsonville, SC
Brown, Daniel – ENGLAND
Burns, Sam – Shreveport, LA
Campbell, Brian – Irvine, CA
Cantlay, Patrick – Jupiter, FL
Castillo, Ricky – Yorba Linda, CA
Cauley, Bud – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Cink, Stewart – Atlanta, GA
Clark, Wyndham – Denver, CO
Collet, Tyler – Vero Beach, FL*
Conners, Corey – CANADA
Coody, Pierceson – Plano, TX
Day, Jason – AUSTRALIA
DeChambeau, Bryson – Dallas, TX
Detry, Thomas – BELGIUM
Donald, Luke – ENGLAND
Droemer, Jesse – Houston, TX*
Dufner, Jason – Auburn, AL
Echavarria, Nico – COLOMBIA
English, Harris – Sea Island, GA
Fisher, Bryce – Oregon City, OR*
Fisk, Steven – Sea Island, FL
Fitzpatrick, Alex – ENGLAND
Fitzpatrick, Matthew – ENGLAND
Fleetwood, Tommy – ENGLAND
Fox, Ryan – NEW ZEALAND
Fowler, Rickie – Murrieta, CA
Gabriele, Chris – Huntington, NY*
Geddes, Mark – ENGLAND*
Gerard, Ryan – Raleigh, NC
Glover, Lucas – Jupiter, FL
Gotterup, Chris – Little Silver, NJ
Griffin, Ben – Chapel Hill, NC
Grillo, Emiliano – ARGENTINA
Greyserman, Max – Short Hills, NJ
Gumberg, Jordan – Delray Beach, FL
Hall, Harry – ENGLAND
Harman, Brian – Sea Island, GA
Harrington, Pádraig – IRELAND
Hatton, Tyrrell – ENGLAND
Haynes, Zach – Bowling Green, KY*
Henley, Russell – Columbus, GA
Higa, Kazuki – JAPAN
Higgo, Garrick – SOUTH AFRICA
Highsmith, Joe – Lakewood, WA
Hillier, Daniel – NEW ZEALAND
Hisatsune, Ryo – JAPAN
Hoey, Rico – PHILIPPINES
Højgaard, Nicolai – DENMARK
Højgaard, Rasmus – DENMARK
Holt, Ian – Stow, OH
Horschel, Billy – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Hovland, Viktor – NORWAY
Hurt, Austin – Bainbridge Island, WA*
Im, Sungjae – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Jaeger, Stephan – GERMANY
Jarvis, Casey – SOUTH AFRICA
Johnson, Dustin – Jupiter, FL
Jones, Jared – Dublin, OH*
Kaneko, Kota – JAPAN
Katrude, Michael – West Palm Beach, FL*
Kaymer, Martin – GERMANY
Keefer, John – San Antonio, TX
Kern, Ben – Grove City, OH*
Kim, Michael – Dallas, TX
Kim, Si Woo – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Kirk, Chris – Watkinsville, GA
Kitayama, Kurt – Chico, CA
Knapp, Jake – Scottsdale, AZ
Koepka, Brooks – West Palm Beach, FL
Lee, Min Woo – AUSTRALIA
Lenahan, Ryan – New Hudson, MI*
Li, Haotong – PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Lindberg, Mikael – SWEDEN
Lipsky, David – Las Vegas, NV
Lowry, Shane – IRELAND
MacIntyre, Robert – SCOTLAND
Matsuyama, Hideki – JAPAN
McCarthy, Denny – Jupiter, FL
McCarty, Matt – Scottsdale, AZ
McClure, Paul – Mobile, AL*
McGreevy, Max – Edmond, OK
McIlroy, Rory – NORTHERN IRELAND
McKibbin, Tom – NORTHERN IRELAND
McNealy, Maverick – Las Vegas, NV
Micheel, Shaun – Collierville, TN
Mickelson, Phil – Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Mitchell, Keith – Sea Island, GA
Morikawa, Collin – La Canada, CA
Mouw, William – Chino Hills, CA
Neergaard-Petersen, Rasmus – DENMARK
Niemann, Joaquin – CHILE
Noren, Alex – SWEDEN
Novak, Andrew – Sea Island, GA
Parry, John – ENGLAND
Pendrith, Taylor – CANADA
Penge, Marco – ENGLAND
Polland, Ben – Wilson, WY*
Poston, J.T. – Sea Island, GA
Potgieter, Aldrich – SOUTH AFRICA
Puig, David – SPAIN
Putnam, Andrew – Lakewood, WA
Rahm, Jon – SPAIN
Rai, Aaron – ENGLAND
Reed, Patrick – The Woodlands, TX
Reitan, Kristoffer – NORWAY
Rodgers, Patrick – Avon, IN
Rose, Justin – ENGLAND
Riley, Davis – Hattiesburg, MS
Saddier, Adrien – FRANCE
Sapp, Garrett – Cypress, CA*
Schaper, Jayden – SOUTH AFRICA
Schauffele, Xander – San Diego, CA
Scheffler, Scottie – Dallas, TX
Schenk, Adam – Vincennes, IN
Schmid, Matti – GERMANY
Scott, Adam – AUSTRALIA
Shattuck, Braden – Aston, PA*
Smalley, Alex – Greensboro, NC
Smith, Cameron – AUSTRALIA
Smith, Jordan – ENGLAND
Smotherman, Austin – Dallas, TX
Smylie, Elvis – AUSTRALIA
Smyth, Travis – AUSTRALIA
Spaun, J.J. – Los Angeles, CA
Spieth, Jordan – Dallas, TX
Stevens, Sam -Wichita, KS
Straka, Sepp – AUSTRIA
Sullivan, Andy – ENGLAND
Taylor, Nick – CANADA
Theegala, Sahith – Chino Hills, CA
Thomas, Justin – Jupiter, FL
Thorbjornsen, Michael – Wellesley, MA
Valimaki, Sami – FINLAND
Vegas, Jhonattan – VENEZUELA
Vermeer, Ryan – Elkhorn, NE*
Walker, Jimmy – San Antonio, TX
Wallace, Matt – ENGLAND
Wiesberger, Bernd – AUSTRIA
Wiseman, Timothy – New Albany, IN*
Woodland, Gary – Topeka, KS
Yang, Y.E. – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Young, Cameron – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
* – PGA of America club professional
ALTERNATES
1. Homa, Max – Scottsdale, AZ
2. Yellamaraju, Sudarshan – CANADA
3. Hoge, Tom – Fargo, ND
4. Yu, Kevin – CHINESE TAIPEI
5. Meissner, Mac – Dallas, TX
6. Finau, Tony – Lehi, UT
7. Roy, Kevin – Lakewood Ranch, FL
8. Thompson, Davis – Sea Island, GA
ENDS