The PGA of America has decided: the PGA Championship will be open to all.
PGA Championship, statements
In a press release released yesterday, the PGA of America has given the green light to participation in the PGA Championship for LIV Golf players.
Thus, even the last of the four Majors aligns with the admission criteria adopted by the others: the League led by Greg Norman takes home poker, a very positive result. However, the admission decision was not taken lightly.
Seth Vaugh, CEO of PGA America, said: “Our decisions are always based on what is in the best interest of the PGA of America and in order to best manage the Championship” “Unfortunately, the current division in the world of professional golf is neither good for the sport nor for the future of golf” “We hope that a solution will be found soon” “In the meantime, as always, we will focus on our mission to develop the game of golf and improve the lives of our members…”.
Vaugh, from the beginning, has not been a fan of the LIV Golf (he called it “fallacious”). But he is certainly a pragmatic man and, despite the statements made on the sidelines of the last two editions of the PGA Championship, where he stated that the PGA of America would take the PGA Tour ban into account, he has decided to invite LIV players who are entitled to it to ‘Oak Hill Country Club.
In the ranks of LIV Golf there are three past champions who will receive the invitation: Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Martin Kaymer. Saudi League new signings Mito Pereira and Brendan Steele will also have teeing spots at the 1 in Rochester, having finished the 2022 edition in the top 15 in the standings.
With the Majors practice closed, attention now returns to the issue of World Ranking points, still unresolved to date. The PGA Championship is an annual professional golf tournament organized by the PGA of America. It is one of the four major tournaments on the circuit and is chronologically the second of the season, taking place, starting from the 2019 edition, in the week preceding Memorial Day, in May.
