Golf’s 2024 men’s Major season is well underway. Just a month after Scottie Scheffler slipped on his second Green Jacket at The Masters, the PGA Championship takes place at Valhalla, where 156 of the best players in the game battle it out for the Wanamaker Trophy.
As with every men’s Major at the moment, there will be the added intrigue with the PGA Tour vs LIV Golf battle. Given the ongoing stalemate between the two sides of the great divide, the Majors have taken on even greater significance as they are now the only tournaments on the men’s schedule that bring together all the top players.
So, with that in mind, here is a rundown of all the LIV players exempt for this year’s PGA Championship.
Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka will be at Valhalla, barring unforeseen circumstances, as a past champion. LIV’s Smash GC captain lifted the Wanamaker Trophy for a third time at Oak Hill last year, repelling Viktor Hovland to land his fifth Major.
Phil Mickelson
Like Koepka, Phil Mickelson has a lifetime exemption having previously won the event.
The American captured his first PGA Championship in 2005 at Baltusrol before creating history at Kiawah Island in 2021 as he fended off the world’s best to etch his name onto the Wanamaker Trophy for a second time and become the oldest-ever winner of a Major.
Martin Kaymer
Cleeks GC’s Martin Kaymer also has a lifetime pass into the PGA Championship after he prevailed in a playoff to beat Bubba Watson and clinch the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
Jon Rahm
Winners of Majors in the last five years are also exempt, meaning Jon Rahm, who won the 2021 US Open and claimed a maiden Green Jacket in 2023, will be at Valhalla hoping for a third Major title.
Dustin Johnson
Rahm will be joined in the field as a recent Masters champion by Dustin Johnson, although this is the 4Aces GC captain’s final year of that particular exemption after he won at Augusta National in 2020.
Bryson DeChambeau
Similarly, the last five US Open champions qualify. That means Bryson DeChambeau, who cruised to a six-shot victory in 2020 at Winged Foot, is also in.
Cameron Smith
Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith produced an epic final round at the 2022 Open at St Andrews to lift the Claret Jug and, because of that, he will be exempt into the PGA Championship until at least 2027 as a result. The Major offers him another chance to achieve a dream by accumulating the world ranking points needed to make Australia's Olympics team.
Tyrrell Hatton
Rounding out those who had no concerns about featuring at Valhalla is Tyrrell Hatton. The Englishman is the only non-Major winner on the list but secured a spot in the field this year thanks to a T15 in 2023.
Adrian Meronk
Anyone in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking the week before the event usually receives an invite, and that's no exception in 2024, with four players receiving invites on that basis, one of which is Meronk, who is ranked 63rd. Meronk will be making his second PGA Championship start after a T40 in 2023.
Lucas Herbert
Like Meronk, Herbert only moved to LIV Golf at the start of the year, and as a result, his world ranking has yet to suffer to the degree that he misses out. The Australian will be looking to improve on his best finish of T13, which came in 2022.
Joaquin Niemann
Niemann knew over two months before the event that he would be playing in it after confirming a special invite in March. The Chilean has been one of the most in-form players in the world in 2024, and he'll be looking to continue that with his maiden Major title.
Patrick Reed
Reed's one Major win came at the 2018 Masters, and his exemptions to the other three have now expired. His T12 at Augusta National in April propelled him into the top 100, and he remains above the threshold in time to take his place.
Talor Gooch
Three players received special invites despite being outside the top 100 the week before the tournament. Gooch was way off the threshold, in 644th, but the American is in the field thanks to some excellent form in recent times, including three LIV Golf victories in 2023 that helped him become individual champion.
David Puig
Spaniard Puig is one of the few LIV golfers who has seen his world ranking improve since joining the circuit, and that's largely down to his fine form on the Asian Tour. This year alone, he has four top-10 finishes on it, including victory at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open, and despite being 106th in the world, he gets the nod to appear.
Dean Burmester
Burmester was 25 places below the threshold the week before the Major, but he has enjoyed great success in recent months, including two DP World Tour wins and victory at LIV Golf Miami, and he will hope to continue that at Valhalla.
Andy Ogletree
Ogletree has earned his place at the Major after finishing second in the Official World Golf Ranking's Federation Ranking system, which it notes is a "tool for tournament organizers to use in identifying competitive and upcoming international players competing on the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, and the Sunshine Tour."
It will be the American's first PGA Championship and only his third Major start.
2024 PGA Championship Qualifying Criteria
- All former winners of the PGA Championship;
- Winners of the last five Masters (2020-24);
- Winners of the last five U.S. Opens (2019-23);
- Winners of the last five Open Championships (2018-23);
- Winners of the last three Players Championships (2022-24);
- Top three on the International Federation Official World Golf Ranking List as of April 29
- Winner of 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship;
- The top 15 finishers and ties from the 2023 PGA Championship;
- The top 20 finishers from the 2024 PGA Professional Championship;
- The top 70 players who are eligible and have earned the most PGA Championship points from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (ending May 5);
- Playing members of the last named US and European Ryder Cup teams (2023), provided they remain in the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking as of May 6;
- Winners of PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved tournaments whose victories are considered official, from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic (ending May 12);
- The PGA of America reserves the right to invite additional players not included in the categories listed above (the PGA has traditionally invited the top 100 from the OWGR as of the week before the championship);
- If necessary to complete the field, those players beyond the top 70 players who are eligible and who have earned the most PGA Championship points through the same time period as criteria No. 10, in order of their position on such a list.
