Why are LIV golfers allowed to play in the PGA Championship? Rules explained

Similar to the Masters, the PGA Championship playing field won't be devoid of LIV golfers, as nine associated professionals will compete at the second Major of the year.

The PGA Championship is set to be played from Thursday, May 16 to Sunday, May 19 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. This will be the fourth time the Valhalla Golf Club will host the event and the first time since 2014.

While Augusta National featured 13 LIV Golf professionals, the PGA Championship will feature four fewer players. All professionals qualified via different eligible criteria set by the tournament.

Some of these criteria include:

• Former PGA Champion
• The Masters Champion in the last five seasons/editions
• The US Open Champion in the last five seasons/editions
• The Open Champion in the last five seasons/editions
• Won the Players Championship in the last five season/editions
• Top 100 in OWGR
• Top 70 in PGA Championship points list
• Finished in the low 15 in the recent PGA Championship
• Part of the recent Ryder Cup

---

Which LIV golfers are competing at the PGA Championship? Players explored

Among the nine selected players, Brooks Koepka, Martin Kaymer, and Phil Mickelson are former champions. Defending champion Koepka, however, qualified via several exemptions, such as being in the top 100 in the OWGR, being part of the recent Ryder Cup, and being in the top 70 in the PGA Championship points list.

Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau qualified as they won Majors in the last five editions and finished inside the top 15 last year. Smith also won the Players Championship (2022) in one of the past three editions. Tyrrell Hatton got in for being among the low 15 in 2023 and inside the top 100 OWGR.

Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson are eligible to compete at the PGA Championship for being Major champions in the last five years. While Johnson had only this exemption, Rahm is a top-100-ranked player, won the US Open 2021, and was also part of the recently concluded Ryder Cup.

Joaquin Niemann is the only player from the Saudi-backed circuit who has earned a special invite for the second Major of the season. For the uninitiated, he also earned a special invite to the Masters Tournament last month. Notably, he won the Australian Open in December before winning two titles on the PIF-sponsored circuit.

While four players from LIV finished inside the top 12 at Augusta National, it will be interesting to see how they perform at Valhalla Golf Club next week.