After Joaquin Niemann revealed he had received a special invitation to the PGA Championship, it has now been confirmed that two more LIV golfers will appear at the Valhalla Major via the same route.
Talor Gooch and David Puig are the latest to accept a special invitation to the event from the PGA of America.
Although not an official means of qualification, typically, everyone in the world’s top 100 makes it into the field for the tournaments. However, because LIV Golf is unable to offer world ranking points, neither Gooch nor Puig was ranked highly enough to book their place at the event automatically. Nevertheless, each has shown plenty of excellent form to warrant a spot.
Gooch may be ranked 644th in the world, but he has been one of the standout players on the big-money circuit for over a year.
The American won the 2023 Individual Championship helped by three victories, while he is again competing well this season. He is currently placed eighth in the standings after three top-10 finishes from the seven tournaments so far, including fourth at the most recent event at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.
Gooch announced the news on his social media platforms, writing: "I'm looking forward to Valhalla next week! Thank you for the invitation @PGA. See y'all there.”
Looking forward to Valhalla next week!Thank you for the invitation @PGA 🙏🏼 See y'all there. pic.twitter.com/0Rcm652KMPMay 6, 2024
The invitation comes just days after Gooch confirmed he wouldn’t be attempting to qualify for the third Major of the year, the US Open. His PGA Championship appearance will be just his second at the tournament after a T20 in 2022.
Per Tengolf, Puig has also accepted a special invite to appear. Even though he has largely struggled in LIV Golf events this season and sits 43rd in its individual standings, it has been a different story on the Asian Tour, where the Spaniard has appeared regularly when he has had the opportunity to do so.
In 2024, he has made four Asian Tour appearances, and claimed one victory, at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open, among three other top 10 finishes, most recently with fifth at April’s Saudi Open.
Puig would have been hoping that his start at Riyadh Golf Club would take him into the world’s top 100. However, he remains six places beneath the threshold.
Nevertheless, that has been a remarkable rise up the rankings despite his limited opportunities to accumulate the points. When he joined LIV Golf in 2022, Puig was ranked 2,819th, but he is one of the very few players who has seen his ranking rise rather than take a dramatic tumble.
The invitation means Puig is now set to make his PGA Championship debut and just his second Major appearance after a T39 at last year’s US Open.
