The PGA Championship field was finalized earlier this month, with 16 LIV Golf players included in the 156-man lineup after receiving special invites from organizers
Rich Jones Assistant Sports Editor
19:23, 13 May 2025
Dustin Johnson received an invite to the PGA Championships(Image: Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images)
Organizers of the PGA Championship have shed light on the selection process that resulted in 16 LIV Golf stars making the cut for the year’s second major tournament.
The final roster of 156 players was confirmed earlier this month, with some notable absences, including a protege of Rory McIlroy who chose to join the LIV circuit this year. Since then, there have been changes, with a PGA Tour star dramatically securing the last spot over the weekend and a two-time champion pulling out at the eleventh hour.
The PGA Championship doesn’t offer direct qualification paths based on LIV performance, requiring players from the breakaway tour to qualify either through their Official World Golf Ranking, past major results, or special invitations.
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Certain players were assured spots. Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Martin Kaymer, Cam Smith, and Phil Mickelson earned their places in the tournament due to exemptions from previous major victories.
Tyrrell Hatton secured his place by virtue of being ranked 20th in the world rankings, while Richard Bland made the cut thanks to his victory at last year’s Senior PGA Championship.
However, special invitations from the organizers mean that Dustin Johnson, David Puig, Tom McKibbin, Patrick Reed, Dean Burmester, Sergio Garcia, John Catlin, and Joaquin Niemann will also be participating.
Phil Mickelson is among the LIV contingent taking part(Image: Getty Images)
When asked about the decision-making process, PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague stated ‘it’s about having the strongest field in golf” before chief championships officer Kerry Haigh provided further explanation.
“I’m happy to answer it,” affirmed Haigh. “Just as we have for many years, we look at every tour that’s playing worldwide golf and try and identify the best players from those respective tours.
“When we do that, we certainly look at points list or money lists or rankings and identify who we think are the better players.
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“The committee meets and talks about whether or not we should offer them invites, which is why I think through that process we were able to get worldwide players from various tours.
“We use the Federation rankings, the top four from the Federation rankings are playing this week, as well as LIV, as well as the other countries.
“It’s a worldwide field. That’s why we feel it’s the strongest field in golf because of that process where we look at all the different tours and try and include and invite those best players.”
