PGA Championship announces LIV golfers eligible for the major

There is some relief for LIV Golfers as the PGA of America has announced that golfers from the Saudi-backed circuit will be eligible to play in the upcoming PGA Championship later this year.

The PGA of America released its eligibility requirements for the 2023 PGA Championship on Wednesday. There were speculations earlier that LIV associate professionals might not get to compete for the Wanamaker Trophy at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y. later this year.

Seth Waugh, CEO of PGA of America, said that the decision was made in the best interest of the PGA of America and the tournament.

“Sadly the current division in the professional game is not good for the sport or the future of the game," Waugh added. "We hope there might be some resolution soon. In the meantime, as always, our focus will be on our mission to grow the game and improve the lives of our members, who work so hard to impact millions of lives every day.”

The championship policy required players to be a member of the PGA of America to compete in the Championship and membership is given to PGA Tour members. This meant that LIV defectors would lose their PGA of America membership after getting banned from the PGA Tour. Waugh even reiterated this during last year's Championship, stating that his comments "still stand".

However, in the latest developments, all past PGA Championship winners will receive an invite, including those who have switched to the Saudi-backed league. The names include the likes of Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Martin Kaymer.

Along with the previous winners, all the major winners of the past five years and the Players Championship winner of the last three years will also be able to appear at Southern Hills. Mito Pereira and Brendan Steele, who recently switched to LIV, finished in the top 15 last year. As a result, they will also get to play in the Championship.

Earlier on Tuesday, R&A had also announced that LIV golfers will be eligible to play in the Open Championship. The other two associations, Augusta National and USGA, have already announced that they will not bar the LIV golf members from their respective tournaments.

---

PGA Championship eligibility requirements

PGA of America has announced the eligibility criteria for the upcoming Championship

The total field of the PGA Championship will have a maximum of 156 players. The eligible players include:

• All past winners of the PGA Championship
• The champions of the previous five Masters tournaments, the US Open, and the British Open Championship
• Players who have won the last three THE PLAYERS Championships
• The three highest-ranked players on the International Federation Rankings List of the Official World Golf Rankings (by April 24)
• Winner of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship 2022
• The top 15 of the 2022 PGA Championship and the top 20 of the 2023 PGA Professional Championship
• The top 70 eligible players who have earned the most PGA Championship points from the 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson through the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship
• Playing members of the last named U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams (2021), only if they are in the top 100 as of May 7, 2023
• Winners of PGA TOUR co-sponsored or approved tournaments whose wins are considered official, from the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson.