BREAKING: 7 LIV Golf stars earn PGA Championship invite as Talor Gooch and Patrick Reed handed major lifeline
A number of LIV Golf stars will be in the field at next week’s PGA Championship, including 2023 LIV champion Talor Gooch, who was handed a special invite on Tuesday
Seven LIV Golf stars have been handed invites to compete in next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, including Talor Gooch and Patrick Reed.
The second major of the campaign will get underway in Kentucky next week, with 16 members from the breakaway league teeing it up alongside their PGA Tour and DP World Tour rivals. The biggest being defending champion Brooks Koepka, who heads to Valhalla having won his third PGA Championship at Oak Hill last year.
Almost half of the LIV quota heading to the event received invites from the PGA of America to compete, with their representation at the top of the world rankings dwindling amid the Saudi league’s lack Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) recognition.
The most notable name on the invite list is that of Gooch, who was initially ineligible to compete in any of the four majors in 2024 despite being crowned 2023 LIV champion last campaign. Including the American, here is a look at the seven invitees from the breakaway circuit.
Talor Gooch
Starting with Gooch, the LIV champion will compete at the PGA Championship for the fifth time in his career. He looked set to miss the trip to Kentucky thanks to his fall down the world rankings, with the three-time LIV winner currently sat in 644th in the list.
The Smash star has been vocal about his lack of major opportunity on the back of his career-best form on the Saudi-backed series, and he has finally been listened to by the powers that be at the PGA of America. Gooch’s PGA Championship form is: CUT, T44, T20, CUT.
Patrick Reed
The next big name to bank a PGA invite is Reed. Reed had announced himself as one of the best players in the world in the late 2010’s, capping things off by being crowned Masters champion at Augusta National in 2018. His exemption as a major winner for this event ran out this year though, and with his own fall in the world rankings, he has been forced to rely on an invite this time around.
Reed has a solid record in the PGA Championship, boasting five top-20 finishes in nine outings, missing the cut just twice. His best performance came in 2017, when the LIV Golf star finished in a tie for second, two shots behind eventual champion Justin Thomas.
Joaquin Niemann
Also on the LIV invite list is Joaquin Niemann. Niemann has more than made a name for himself in recent months, venturing away from the breakaway circuit in a bid to earn himself a spot in the four majors, which came with some success. After impressing throughout the end of 2023 and start of 2024, the Torque GC star was handed an invite to compete in last month’s Masters.
And this was mirrored by the PGA of America, after the current LIV Order of Merit leader was gifted a spot in next week’s field. Niemann will also compete in the Open Championship in July, after he earned a place at Royal Troon after winning the Australian Open in December.
Adrian Meronk
Next on the list is a man who also competed in last month’s Masters in Adrian Meronk. The 2023 DP World Tour Player of The Year is one of LIV Golf’s latest recruits after making the Saudi switch in February this year, but like many, Meronk has already felt the effects of his move.
Having battled his way into the top-50 in the world rankings at the end of 2023, the Pole has now slipped back in the list, currently sitting 63rd. He will however still compete against the world’s best in Kentucky next week, playing the PGA Championship for the second time in his career.
David Puig
One LIV Golf star who will be making his debut at the PGA Championship is the in-form David Puig. Puig opted to turn to professional out of college in order to join the breakaway league, but it is efforts on the Asian Tour that have caught the eye of many.
Since last season’s International Series England event, Puig has three top-20s, four top 10s, and two victories on the Asian circuit, which has seen him move towards breaking into the top-100 in the world for the first time. His form has since been rewarded with an invite to Valhalla.
Lucas Herbert
Joining Puig and co will be Lucas Herbert, who is another one of LIV’s latest recruits. Joining Cam Smith’s Ripper GC team in January, Herbert had previously played his golf across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour before committing to the Saudi-funded league. This however will not stop him making his fifth consecutive PGA Championship start, after being included on Tuesday’s entry list.
Dean Burmester
The final invite handed out to those on the breakaway circuit came the way of Dean Burmester. The South African has impressed both on and off the LIV circuit so far this season, winning the Joburg Open on his return to the DP World Tour last November, before adding his first ever LIV Golf title
