As the golfing calendar makes it way towards the men's second Major of the year, we are seeing the field being finalised for the PGA Championship. However, surrounding Major participation, it has been LIV's Talor Gooch who has caught the headlines, with the American claiming that he is no longer in the field for the US Open.
The news came after Gooch said that the USGA had changed their qualification criteria – despite him previously thinking he’d made it into the US Open. However, just a day later it was revealed that he had secured an invite to the PGA Championship, which takes place a month prior, with Gooch not the only player from the LIV Golf League to actually secure an invitation.
First reported by Joy Chakravarty in the Hindustan Times, Anirban Lahiri has also secured a spot in the field at the PGA Championship.
Speaking at LIV Golf Singapore, Lahiri stated that: “Regarding the PGA Championship, I am delighted they decided to give me a spot. This validates my very tough decision to go to the International Series Vietnam when all that was going on back home.”
He went on to add: “I am thankful to the PGA of America that their decision was not swayed by other things going on in the world of golf. This is going to be special for me. My last Major was the PGA Championship last year. There can’t be a bigger reward in golf than playing in Majors.”
So, how did Lahiri secure his invite you may ask? Well, despite the fact that LIV is still without Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, Lahiri managed a runner-up finish in the recent International Series event in Vietnam. The top 100 in the world rankings will qualify for the PGA Championship and, because he had managed to vault back to 95th in the world with that performance, he claimed an invite.
Regarding Gooch, who became the first player to win back-to-back LIV Golf events after success in Adelaide and Singapore, he also secured an invite due to his standing in the OWGR, which is currently World No.60.
The American's focus will now be on a decent performance at Oak Hill Country Club to book a spot in the US Open, with his most likely route being to ensure he is still in the world's top 60 two weeks before the tournament.
