Do late PGA invites show a LIV bias?

Breakaway circuit got a handful of discretionary picks; Hip surgery benches Horschel

Dustin Johnson got a PGA Championship invitation despite exemption lapsing (Charles Laberge/LIV Golf)

The PGA of America finally announced the field for next week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, and the organization seems to display a particular soft spot for LIV golfers.

Without qualifying events like the U.S. and British Opens, the PGA has more leeway to flesh out its 156-player field (which includes 20 PGA club professionals). It generally uses the Official World Golf Ranking as a guide for filling the remaining 30 to 40 spots after the exemption categories are exhausted, often leading to the strongest and deepest world-ranking field of all the majors.

The line this year seemed to be drawn in pencil after world No. 108 John Parry of England. The highest ranked professional not in the field is France’s Victor Perez, who finished just off the podium in the Paris Olympics last summer and once ranked as high as No. 29 in the world but has fallen to 109th after ranking No. 65 as recently as last fall.

The highest OWGR-ranked player not to get invited is No. 103 Luke Clanton, the Florida State junior who has already secured his PGA Tour card via the PGA Tour University Accelerated points. It seems that Clanton’s amateur status is disqualifying to play in the all-professional field even if he has a tour card locked up and could join the PGA Tour as soon as next month.

There are 16 LIV Golf-affiliated players in the PGA field and five of the non-exempt discretionary invitees rank outside the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking. LIV’s PGA roster includes (in order of OWGR ranking): Bryson DeChambeau (No. 13), Tyrrell Hatton (20), Patrick Reed (51), Jon Rahm (77), Joaquin Niemann (85), David Puig (107), Tom McKibbin (115), Cam Smith (142), John Catlin (143), Dean Burmester (169), Brooks Koepka (337), Sergio Garcia (419), Dustin Johnson (751), Phil Mickelson (1,081), Martin Kaymer (1,093) and Richard Bland (1,142).

Koepka, Mickelson and Kaymer each automatically qualify as past PGA champions while DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith qualify as major winners in the previous five years. Bland, 52, earned his spot as the reigning KitchenAid Senior PGA champion while Catlin — who serves as a reserve LIV player as needed — earned his spot via the International Federation ranking list.

Hatton, Reed (who finished T2 in the 2017 PGA at Quail Hollow) and Niemann each comfortably qualified for invitations based on their OWGR ranking inside the top 100.

Top 200 guys like Puig, McKibbin and Burmester are likely graded on a bit of curve since their LIV Golf results don’t earn any official OWGR points. Spain’s Puig has posted four top-four finishes in DP World Tour events since last September and fell inside that arbitrary “top 108” line drawn.

Northern Ireland’s McKibbon squeaked just inside the OWGR top 100 for the first time early in 2025 before jumping to LIV and slipping to No. 115. He finished T6 in the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic in January and T3 in last month’s Porsche Singapore Open. South Africa’s Burmester consistently stands out and often wins when he returns to play events in Africa. He finished T12 last year at Valhalla after getting an invite which likely helped his cause, but at No. 169 is the biggest reach of the non-marquee crowd.

LIV players weren’t the only guys shown a little mercy outside the top 100. Rickie Fowler, who tied for fifth in the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, got invited despite ranking No. 125 in the world. The highest ranked LIV golfer not invited is No. 217 Carlos Ortiz of Mexico, who has won two International Series and one LIV event in the last two years.

LIV’s big-name stars Garcia and Johnson likely earned invitations via some leniency based on their stature as past major champions in the last decade. Garcia won the Masters in 2017 and finished T12 in last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst (his best result in 26 major starts since his win at Augusta). The fact that he’s won more Ryder Cup points than any player in history doesn’t hurt his cause with the PGA of America.

Johnson — who’s exemption into the PGA for winning the 2020 Masters ran out after last season — has struggled to sustain any relevance since leaving the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in 2022. He ranked No. 15 in the world when he departed and was still No. 16 after his T6 in the 2022 British Open but quickly fell out of the top 50 before the 2023 Masters. Other than a T10 in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles CC, Johnson has been a non-factor in the majors and only once has played outside of LIV (missing the cut in last fall’s PIF Saudi International). He has won three times on LIV (the last time 15 months ago in Las Vegas) and earned the points title in its inaugural 2022 season.

Best guess is DJ only got invited because the optics would look bad if the former world No. 1 as recently as the summer of 2001 didn’t get a spot in the PGA field at Quail Hollow. He is still exempt for the U.S. Open through 2026 based on his 2016 victory at Oakmont and is eligible for the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush because his exemption for winning the Masters in 2020 was extended one year because the 2020 Open was cancelled because of the pandemic.

The sixteen LIV players next week at Quail is likely to be the top-end standard for the breakaway circuit in majors for the foreseeable future unless it works out an arrangement to finally earn OWGR points.

Two places in the PGA field are being held for the winners of the Truist Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic.

The first two alternates are world No. 110 Patrick Fishburn — who at No. 71 on the PGA Championship points list just missed out on qualifying — and No. 123 Rico Hoey, who was the next highest (74th) not invited from the PGA points list. Perez is the fourth alternate behind Michael Thorbjornsen based on their PGA points standngs.

Fishburn is assured of getting a spot with Bill Horschel’s injury withdrawal.

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Billy Horschel’s hip seemed sound at last month’s RBC Heritage (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Hip surgery sidelines Billy Ho

One player who won’t be at the PGA — or any of the other majors this summer — is Billy Horschel. The 2024 Open runner-up, reigning BMW Championship winner and eight-time PGA Tour champion announced on social media Tuesday that will undergo right hip surgery next week.

Horschel, 38, said he expects to return to competition in late summer or early fall. He called the hip surgery a “preventative measure.”

“After consulting with doctors and my team, I have decided to have right hip surgery early next week out in Colorado,” Horschel said on the forum formerly known as Twitter. “It’s an unfortunate situation with so many great events left on the calendar, but this is a preventative measure. I’m already itching to start rehab, get back to practicing, and I look forward to returning to the course sometime around late summer/early fall.”

Horschel currently ranks 16th in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings and has slipped from No. 16 at the start of 2025 to No. 24 in the Official World Golf Ranking, with four top-25 finishes in 12 starts this season highlighted by a T4 at the Valspar Championship in March. He missed the cut at the Masters and finished T27 at the RBC Heritage before withdrawing from the Zurich Classic team event citing a “lower leg injury.”

Horschel has the catalyst to the Atlanta Drive’s victory in the inaugural season of TGL, holing the clinching putt to secure the title. He also is coming off the best major season of his career, having finished eighth at last year’s PGA at Valhalla and contending to the end in the Open at Royal Troon to post the best major result of his career.

“I did a lot of great things that I can take on to the next few years of majors, and hopefully one of these will be my time to step through the door and hold one of them,” Horschel said the Open.

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Here is the current field list for the 2025 PGA Championship. Two places in the field are being held for the winners of this week’s Truist Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic:

Åberg, Ludvig - SWEDEN
An, Byeong Hun - REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Berger, Daniel - Jupiter, FL
Bergstol, Brian - Nazareth, PA*
Bezuidenhout, Christiaan - SOUTH AFRICA
Bhatia, Akshay - Jupiter, FL
Bingaman, Brandon - Dallas, TX*
Bland, Richard - ENGLAND
Block, Michael - Mission Viejo, CA*
Bradley, Keegan - Woodstock, VT
Bridgeman, Jacob - Inman, SC
Burmester, Dean - SOUTH AFRICA
Burns, Sam - Shreveport, LA
Campbell, Brian - Blufton, SC
Campos, Rafael - Puerto Rico
Canter, Laurie - ENGLAND
Cantlay, Patrick - Jupiter, FL
Catlin, John - Sacramento, CA
Cauley, Bud - Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Chacarra, Eugenio - SPAIN
Chi, Andre - Flushing, NY*
Clark, Wyndham - Denver, CO
Cole, Eric - Tequesta, FL
Collet, Tyler - Vero Beach, FL*
Conners, Corey - CANADA
Davis, Cameron - AUSTRALIA
Day, Jason - AUSTRALIA
DeChambeau, Bryson - Dallas, TX
Detry, Thomas - BELGIUM
Donald, Luke - ENGLAND
Droemer, Jesse - Houston, TX*
Dufner, Jason - Auburn, AL
Dunlap, Nick - Jupiter, FL
Echavarria, Nico - COLOMBIA
Eckroat, Austin - Edmond, OK
English, Harris - Sea Island, GA
Finau, Tony - Lehi, UT
Fitzpatrick, Matthew - ENGLAND
Fleetwood, Tommy - ENGLAND
Fowler, Rickie - Jupiter, FL
Garcia, Sergio - SPAIN
Gates, Bobby - The Woodlands, TX*
Gerard, Ryan - Raleigh, NC
Glover, Lucas - Jupiter, FL
Greyserman, Max - Short Hills, NJ
Griffin, Ben - Chapel Hill, NC
Gross, Larkin - Center Cross, VA*
Hadwin, Adam - CANADA
Hall, Harry - ENGLAND
Harman, Brian - St. Simons Island, GA
Harrington, Pádraig - IRELAND
Hatton, Tyrrell - ENGLAND
Henley, Russell - Macon, GA
Hicks, Justin - Wellington, FL*
Higgo, Garrick - SOUTH AFRICA
Highsmith, Joe - Lakewood, WA
Hisatsune, Ryo - JAPAN
Hodges, Lee - Athens, AL
Hoge, Tom - Fort Worth, TX
Højgaard, Nicolai - DENMARK
Højgaard, Rasmus - DENMARK
Homa, Max - Scottsdale, AZ
Horschel, Billy - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Hossler, Beau - Mission Viejo, CA
Hovland, Viktor - NORWAY
Hughes, Mackenzie - CANADA
Im, Sungjae - REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Ishee, Nic - Columbus, MS*
Jaeger, Stephan - GERMANY
Johnson, Dustin - West Palm Beach, FL
Johnson, Tom - San Francisco, CA*
Kanaya, Takumi - JAPAN
Kartrude, Michael - West Palm Beach, FL*
Kaymer, Martin - GERMANY
Keefer, John - Baltimore, MD
Kim, Michael - Del Mar, CA
Kim, Si Woo - REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Kim, Tom - REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Kirk, Chris - Watkinsville, GA
Kitayama, Kurt - Chico, CA
Kizzire, Patton - St. Simons Island, GA
Knapp, Jake - Costa Mesa, CA
Koch, Greg - Orlando, FL*
Koepka, Brooks - West Palm Beach, FL
Lawrence, Thriston - SOUTH AFRICA
Lee, Min Woo - AUSTRALIA
Lenahan, Ryan - New Hudson, MI*
Lower, Justin - Akron, OH
Lowry, Shane - IRELAND
MacIntyre, Robert - SCOTLAND
Matsuyama, Hideki - JAPAN
McCarthy, Denny - Jupiter, FL
McCarty, Matt - Scottsdale, AZ
McGreevy, Max - Edmond, OK
McIlroy, Rory - NORTHERN IRELAND
McKibbin, Tom - NORTHERN IRELAND
McNealy, Maverick - Stanford, CA
Micheel, Shaun - Colliersville, TN
Mickelson, Phil - Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Mitchell, Keith - Chattanooga, TN
Moore, Taylor - Edmond, OK
Morikawa, Collin - La Canada, CA
Nakajima, Keita - JAPAN
Neergaard-Petersen, Rasmus - DENMARK
Newman, Dylan - New Rochelle, NY*
Niemann, Joaquin - CHILE
Noren, Alex - SWEDEN
Norgaard, Niklas - DENMARK
Norris, Shaun - SOUTH AFRICA
Novak, Andrew - St. Simons Island, GA
Olesen, Thorbjørn - DENMARK
Parry, John - ENGLAND
Pavon, Matthieu - FRANCE
Pendrith, Taylor - CANADA
Penge, Marco - ENGLAND
Poston, J.T. - Hickory, NC
Power, Seamus - IRELAND
Puig, David - SPAIN
Rahm, Jon - SPAIN
Rai, Aaron - ENGLAND
Reed, Patrick - The Woodlands, TX
Riley, Davis - Hattiesburg, MS
Rodgers, Patrick - Jupiter, FL
Rose, Justin - ENGLAND
Schauffele, Xander - San Diego, CA
Scheffler, Scottie - Dallas, TX
Scott, Adam - AUSTRALIA
Singh, Vijay - FIJI
Smith, Cameron - AUSTRALIA
Smylie, Elvis - AUSTRALIA
Somers, John - Clearwater, FL*
Sowards, Bob - Dublin, OH*
Spaun, J.J. - Los Angeles, CA
Spieth, Jordan - Dallas, TX
Steger, Eric - Westfield, IN*
Stevens, Sam - Wichita, KS
Straka, Sepp - AUSTRIA
Taylor, Nick - CANADA
Taylor, Rupe - Virginia Beach, VA*
Theegala, Sahith - Jupiter, FL
Thomas, Justin - Jupiter, FL
Thompson, Davis - St. Simons Island, GA
Valimaki, Sami - FINLAND
Van Rooyen, Eric - SOUTH AFRICA
Van Tonder, Daniel - SOUTH AFRICA
Vegas, Jhonattan - VENEZUELA
Vilips, Karl - AUSTRALIA
Walker, Jimmy - Terrell Hills, TX
Wallace, Matt - ENGLAND
Wiseman, Timothy - Corydon, IN*
Woodland, Gary - Topeka, KS
Young, Cameron - Jupiter, FL
Yu, Kevin - CHINESE TAIPEI
Zalatoris, Will - Dallas, TX

* — PGA club professional

ALTERNATES
1. Fishburn, Patrick - Ogden, UT
2. Hoey, Rico - PHILIPPINES
3. Thorbjornsen, Michael - Cleveland, OH
4. Perez, Victor - FRANCE
5. Smalley, Alex - Rochester, NY
6. Whaley, Vince - Lexington, KY
7. Ghim, Doug - Des Plaines, IL
8. Kuchar, Matt - Winter Park, FL
9. Young, Carson - Anderson, SC
10. Lipsky, David - Los Angeles, CA