Getty LIV Golf players Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson during a practice round prior to the 2024 PGA Championship.
While the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have yet to agree on a merger, players from both sides will compete alongside one another for the second time this season when the 2024 edition of the PGA Championship kicks off on Thursday, May 16.
Last month at The Masters, a total of 13 players from LIV Golf teed it up at Augusta National for the year’s first major championship. The second will see a bit of a bump as 16 golfers from the Saudi-backed series are ready to roll at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
The set up at Valhalla will showcase the best field in golf all week long.
The headliner of this group, of course, is five-time major winner and defending champion Brooks Koepka, who was one of just nine LIV players at last year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York.
Koepka is one of nine who were exempt into this year’s field based on various criteria, while seven others received special invitations from the PGA of America, which has the leeway to invite anyone it wants. Here’s a look at the entire list of LIV Golf players set to compete at the 2024 PGA Championship.
Dean Burmester
Dean Burmester, who joined LIV Golf in February 2023, enters the 2024 PGA Championship having won three times in his last 11 worldwide starts.
He won back-to-back events on the DP World Tour near the end of the 2023 calendar year and won his first LIV event on April 7 in Miami, defeating Sergio Garcia in a playoff. This year marks Burmester’s fourth straight start at the PGA, his best result being a 54th-place finish at Oak Hill a year ago.
Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau is still riding the exemption from his 2020 U.S. Open victory and comes to Valhalla to make his 30th career start in a major championship.
He played well at The Masters a month ago, holding at least a share of the lead following the first two rounds, but ultimately tied for sixth. DeChambeau has four top-10 finishes in LIV Golf this season and also recorded his best-ever finish at the PGA Championship a year ago, tying for fourth.
Talor Gooch
Talor Gooch is getting dialed in for the PGA championship. Big opportunity for him to take advantage of his exemption this week. 👌🏻
While some thought Talor Gooch, who took three LIV Golf titles in 2023 en route to the individual championship, deserved an invitation to The Masters, that never came to fruition. But he has received a special invite to Valhalla and needs a good finish to continue getting into the majors.
Gooch has yet to win in 2024 but owns four top-10 finishes and sits in eighth place in the individual standings. This will mark his fifth consecutive start at the PGA Championship, his best result being a tie for 20th in 2022 at Southern Hills.
Tyrrell Hatton
One of LIV Golf’s newest members, Tyrrell Hatton earned his spot at the 2024 PGA Championship by tying for 15th at Oak Hill a season ago.
Hatton has yet to win on the Saudi series but has three top-10 finishes, including a tie for fifth in his most recent start, and six top-15 finishes in seven events in 2024. This year marks his 10th consecutive start at the PGA Championship, where he’s twice tied for 10th (2016, 2018).
Lucas Herbert
Also new to LIV Golf in 2024, one-time PGA Tour winner Lucas Herbert hasn’t fared overly well in his new gig, finishing in the top 15 just twice in seven starts.
But thanks to some strong finishes between the DP World Tour and the International Series on the Asian Tour, Herbert still sits within the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking at No. 90, which actually makes him the sixth-highest-ranked LIV player in the field at Valhalla.
Dustin Johnson
Dustin Johnson wins in Las Vegas and takes home his third LIV Golf title. 🏆
While former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson has fallen to the 392nd spot in the OWGR, he’s still exempt in this tourney thanks to his record-setting win at the November Masters in 2020.
DJ, who won his third LIV Golf title on February 10 in Las Vegas, has appeared in every PGA Championship since 2009. Oddly enough, the only one he missed was in 2014 at Valhalla. After consecutive runner-up finishes in this tourney in 2019 and 2020, Johnson missed the cut in 2021 and 2022 and tied for 55th at Oak Hill in 2023.
He had a rough go of it at The Masters last month, missing the cut, but tied for seventh at LIV Golf Singapore in his most recent start.
Martin Kaymer
Martin Kaymer is in the field at Valhalla only because he’s a past champion, winning at Whistling Straits in 2010.
The former top-ranked player in the world has struggled for most of the season but did post his best two finishes of the year in his two most recent starts, tying for 14th in Adelaide and tying for 19th in Singapore.
Brooks Koepka
Who’s lifting The Wanamaker trophy this week? 🤔
Looking to join Tiger Woods as a four-time PGA Championship winner, Brooks Koepka heads to Valhalla coming off a victory in Singapore, shooting 15-under over 54 holes to win by two. He also became the first in the series to notch four individual victories.
It was clearly a much-needed victory for Koepka, as he left a lot to be desired at The Masters, where he tied for 45th. The last time this tournament was held at Valhalla in 2014, he tied for 15th. This will mark Koepka’s 40th career major start and his 12th appearance at the PGA. In addition to his three victories, he owns three other top-five finishes.
Adrian Meronk
Famously snubbed for the 2023 European Ryder Cup team, Adrian Meronk made the jump to LIV Golf for the 2024 season and has recorded three top-10 finishes in seven starts thus far.
A three-time winner on the DP World Tour during the 2023 campaign, Meronk is making just his second PGA Championship start and his eighth career appearance in a major. He tied for 40th at Oak Hill a season ago.
Phil Mickelson
It’s often easy to forget that it’s only been three years since Phil Mickelson became the oldest major championship winner in history with his victory at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
Perhaps that’s because since the six-time major winner joined LIV Golf in 2022, he’s only recorded three top-10 finishes. One of those, however, came this season as he tied for sixth in Jeddah, marking his best-ever finish in the series.
On the other hand, though, the 2024 campaign has also seen his worst LIV finish as he tied for 52nd (in a 54-player field) in Hong Kong. Which version of Lefty shows up at Valhalla is anyone’s guess. Mickelson does have fond memories here, however, as he tied for ninth in 2000 and was the lone runner-up to Rory McIlroy in 2014.
Joaquin Niemann
Joaquin Niemann has been the best all-around player in LIV Golf in 2024, recording two victories and six top-10 finishes in seven starts to put himself atop the individual standings. He also won the DP World Tour Australian Open back in December, which helped him earn an invite to The Masters, where he tied for 22nd.
Valhalla will mark Niemann’s seventh consecutive start at the PGA Championship, his best result being a tie for 23rd at Southern Hills two years ago.
Andy Ogletree
The PGA Championship will mark just the third major championship start for Andy Ogletree, whose previous two appearances in 2020 at The Masters and U.S. Open were due to his U.S. Amateur victory the year before.
Ogletree didn’t have full-time status with LIV Golf in 2022 and 2023 but finally made his way onto the roster after finishing first in the International Series standings last year. The 26-year-old has just one top-10 finish in seven LIV starts in 2024, tying for third in Adelaide.
David Puig
Still just 22 years of age, David Puig has been a much better player outside of LIV Golf than in it. In seven starts on the Saudi series in 2024, he’s recorded just a pair of top-15 finishes.
However, in his last 10 starts on the Asian Tour, he’s notched two victories, an additional four top-five finishes, another additional top-10 finish, and three top 15s. The PGA will be just his second major championship start, his first coming at last year’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, where he tied for 39th.
Jon Rahm
So good to see my friend Jon Rahm loving #valhallagolfclub. Louisville primed to see best players in the world and the fireworks to come. Players absolutely raving about “major championship experience you can only find in Kentucky!” Calling it “sick” as in awesome😊! Love it!
Easily the biggest acquisition for LIV Golf this past offseason, Jon Rahm has yet to hoist an individual trophy but has yet to finish outside the top 10 in his first seven starts and sits second behind Niemann in the individual standings.
Still the world’s fifth-ranked player, Rahm didn’t play great golf in an attempt to win back-to-back Masters titles, tying for 45th. But like several players on this list, he’s always a threat to win, and Valhalla would seemingly suit his game.
This will be Rahm’s 31st major championship appearance and his eighth consecutive start at the PGA.
Patrick Reed
While Patrick Reed respectively finished fourth and sixth in the individual standings in his first two seasons with LIV Golf, he hasn’t played nearly as well in 2024 and currently sits in 30th. His best finish thus far was a tie for ninth in Miami.
This will mark Reed’s 11th appearance at the PGA Championship, his best result being a tie for second at Quail Hollow in 2017. He made his debut at the tourney in 2014 at Valhalla, tying for 58th.
Cameron Smith
While 2022 Open Championship winner Cameron Smith has yet to record a LIV Golf victory in 2024, he does have a pair of runner-up finishes and currently sits in seventh in the individual standings.
Smith has played well in the majors as of late. Including his win at St. Andrews, the Aussie has finished ninth or better in four of his last six major appearances, including a tie for ninth at last year’s PGA Championship and a tie for sixth at The Masters last month.