The PGA Championship is coming back to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky next week. They have invited golfers from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which means that the tournament will have 99 out of the top 100 ranked golfers in the world.
The PGA always tries to have the top 100 golfers in the world take part in the tournament. This is important for maintaining the tournament's reputation as the most challenging golf competition globally.
Rikuya Hoshino, who is currently ranked 94th in the world, ended the chance of having all the top 100 players compete when he withdrew his name for unspecified reasons, as reported by the Associated Press. withdrew Gooch is currently the 644th-ranked golfer in the world, but he has won three LIV tournaments since joining the tour in 2022 and was the league’s individual champion in 2023, according to The Athletic.
LIV Golf will be sending 16 players to the tournament, which is a slight decrease from the 18 players who took part in the event last year. Out of these 16, seven are currently ranked among the top 100 golfers in the world.
One notable absence from the LIV golfers' lineup is British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, who cannot participate due to a personal commitment, according to AP.
The most noteworthy invitee from LIV Golf is Brooks Koepka, who won the 2023 PGA Championship and is the only active LIV golfer to have won a major championship, according to AP.
Koepka enters Koepka is currently the 37th-ranked golfer globally and will be aiming to win his fourth PGA Championship of his career.
The list of invited LIV golfers also includes Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Cameron Smith, Adrian Meronk, Lucas Herbert, Joaquín Niemann, Patrick Reed, Dean Burmester, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson, Andy Ogletree, and David Puig, as reported by Golfweek. includes One of the most surprising invitations went to Talor Gooch, who expressed his excitement on X saying, “Looking forward to Valhalla next week! Thank you for the invitation @PGA See y’all there.”
Gooch is currently the 644th-ranked golfer in the world, but he has won three LIV tournaments since joining the tour in 2022 and was the league’s individual champion in 2023, according to The Athletic. posted The prize money for the PGA Championship will be $17.5 million, with the tournament’s winner receiving a total of $3.15 million, as per The Courier-Journal.
Rory McIlroy won the tournament the last time the event was held at Valhalla Golf Club. He shot 16 under par in 2014, which shows that it's not the first time the venue has hosted the PGA Championship. joining The PGA Championship returns next week to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, with golfers invited from the Saudi-funded LIV Golf to give the tournament 99 out of the top 100 ranked golfers in the world. The PGA consistently attempts to have the top 100 golfers in the world participate in the tournament to maintain its reputation of having the toughest competition of any golf competition in the world.
This is fourth time that Valhalla Golf Club has hosted the PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy won the tournament the last time the event was held at the course in 2014, shooting 16 under par.
The total purse for the PGA Championship will be $17.5 million, with the tournament’s winner receiving a total of $3.15 million, according to The Courier-Journal.