Why are LIV Golfers participating in PGA Championship 2023? Reason behind participation explored

LIV Golf Invitational - Tulsa - Day Three
LIV golfer Brooks Koepka (Image via Getty)

LIV Golf players are no longer permitted to compete on the PGA Tour. They did, however, receive an invitation to the major tournaments. Players from the Saudi-backed series who met the qualification criteria were invited to the major tournament. They competed in the Masters and will now compete in the PGA Championship next week.

You might be wondering why they have been allowed in major tournaments. The answer is pretty simple: the four major competitions, The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and The Open Championship, are separate bodies that are not supervised by the PGA or European tours, and so the governing authority of the events has the freedom to invite whoever they want based on the qualification criteria.

18 LIV golfers meet the PGA Championship qualification criteria and will compete in the competition this week. The following are the LIV players who will play in the PGA Championship:

  • Abraham Ancer
  • Dean Burmester
  • Paul Casey
  • Bryson DeChambeau
  • Talor Gooch
  • Dustin Johnson
  • Martin Kaymer
  • Sihwan Kim
  • Brooks Koepka
  • Anirban Lahiri
  • Phil Mickelson
  • Joaquin Niemann
  • Mito Pereira
  • Thomas Pieters
  • Patrick Reed
  • Cameron Smith
  • Brendan Steele
  • Harold Varner III

How did the LIV golfers perform at the 2023 Masters?

18 of the LIV players played at the 2023 Masters. Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Jason Kokrak, and Bubba Watson all failed to make the cut. While, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka finished second and Patrick Reed finished at fourth position. Surprisingly, Mickelson has struggled with his game on the 54-hole format, but he fared admirably at the Masters, a 72-hole event.

Louis Oosthuizen and Kevin Na withdrew from the competition. However, several of the LIV players delivered outstanding performances.

The following are the results of all LIV Golf players who competed at the Masters 2023.

Brooks Koepka

  • Position: T2
  • Scores: 65-67-73-75 (-8)

Phil Mickelson

  • Position: T2
  • Scores: 71-69-75-65 (-8)

Patrick Reed

  • Position: T4
  • Scores: 71-70-72-68 (-7)

Joaquin Niemann

  • Position: T16
  • Scores: 71-69-74-72 (-2)

Harold Varner III

  • Position: T29
  • Scores: 72-71-76-70 (+1)

Cameron Smith

  • Position: T34
  • Scores: 70-72-75-75 (+4)

Talor Gooch

  • Position: T34
  • Scores: 72-74-73-73 (+4)

Abraham Ancer

  • Position: T39
  • Scores: 72-71-74-76 (+5)

Mito Pereira

  • Position: T43
  • Scores: 74-70-77-73 (+6)

Thomas Pieters

  • Position: T48
  • Scores: 74-73-72-77 (+8)

Dustin Johnson

  • Position: T48
  • Scores: 71-72-78-75 (+8)

Charl Schwartzel

  • Position: T50
  • Scores: 74-73-73-77 (+9)

LIV Golf players' odds at the 2023 PGA Championship

Brooks Koepka, who won two LIV Golf events and finished second at the 2023 Masters, topped the PGA Championship odds for the LIV golfers with points of 2000. Cameron Smith stands second with odds of 2200, followed by Dustin Johnson, who just won the LIV Golf Tulsa.

The following is a list of all 18 LIV Golf players' betting odds for the 2023 PGA Championship.

  • Brooks Koepka: 2000
  • Cameron Smith: 2200
  • Dustin Johnson: 2500
  • Joaquin Niemann: 5000
  • Patrick Reed: 6500
  • Bryson DeChambeau: 6500
  • Talor Gooch: 8000
  • Paul Casey: 8000
  • Abraham Ancer: 8000
  • Mito Pereira: 10000
  • Phil Mickelson: 13000
  • Dean Burmester: 13000
  • Thomas Pieters: 15000
  • Harold Varner III: 15000
  • Anirban Lahiri: 15000
  • Brendan Steele: 18000
  • Martin Kaymer: 30000
  • Sihwan Kim: 50000

Quick Links

Edited by Tejas Rathi
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications