LIV Players to Compete in PGA Championship... All Four Majors Allowed

No Separate Restrictions on Eligibility Requirements This Year
Anticipated Pride Battle with PGA Tour Retainers
Masters, US Open, and The Open Also Open to Entry

This year, players competing in the LIV Golf Invitational Series (LIV Golf), sponsored by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), will all participate in the four major tournaments of the U.S. Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tour. A fierce rivalry is expected between the 'PGA Tour loyalists' and the 'LIV Golf transferees' for pride.

Brooks Koepka (USA) is posing with the trophy after winning the 7th LIV Golf Invitational Series held last October at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club (Par 70) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

According to the "2023 PGA Championship Eligibility Criteria" announced on the 24th (Korean time) by the PGA of America, which organizes the PGA Championship, past PGA Championship winners, players who finished in the top 15 of last year's tournament, major championship winners within the last five years, and players who won the Players Championship in the last three years are eligible to participate in this year's PGA Championship. There was no separate mention of restrictions on players competing in LIV Golf.

Accordingly, as long as they meet the announced eligibility criteria, players who have transferred to LIV Golf can participate in the PGA Championship. This includes Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka (both from the United States), Martin Kaymer (Germany), who have previously won the PGA Championship, US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, Masters winners Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed (all from the United States), and Open Championship winner Cameron Smith (Australia). Recently joined LIV Golf players Mito Pereira (Chile) and Brandon Steele (United States) also secured their spots by finishing within the top 15 in last year's PGA Championship.

This year's PGA Championship will be held over four days starting May 19 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, USA. Previously, other major tournaments such as the Masters, US Open, and The Open also indicated that they would not block players competing in LIV Golf from participating as long as they meet the eligibility criteria. However, players who have joined LIV Golf cannot participate in PGA Tour events. The four major tournaments are organized separately by Augusta National Golf Club (Masters), PGA of America (PGA Championship), United States Golf Association (US Open), and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A, The Open), rather than by the PGA Tour.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.