On Tuesday, the PGA of America published almost all of the 156-player field for next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Every of the top 103 players in the Official World Golf Ranking made a pledge. LIV Golf has 16 participants in the lineup, including world No. 644 Talor Gooch, who gained an invitation.
One conspicuous absentee is Louis Oosthuizen, a LIV member and current world No. 125 who has finished first, first, and second in his last three non-LIV, world-ranked starts dating up to his victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship last December.
Oosthuizen is also fourth in the LIV points standings after seven starts.
As to the AP’s Doug Ferguson, Oosthuizen was invited to compete by the PGA but declined due to “personal commitments.” Ferguson stated that the terms of those responsibilities remains unknown.
Oosthuizen has a single major victory, the 2010 Open Championship, and six runner-up finishes in majors, including the 2017 and 2021 PGA Championships. Following his June 2022 contract with LIV, he only played two majors last year, withdrawing from the Masters and finishing joint for 23rd at the Open Championship.
Additionally, Ferguson stated that Doug Ghim is currently the first alternate. Two spots in the PGA field are available for the winners of this week’s two PGA Tour tournaments, the Wells Fargo Championship and the Myrtle Beach Classic, if they are not already exempt. With only four players in the Wells Fargo field who are not currently in the PGA (Matt Kuchar, Seamus Power, Webb Simpson, and Kevin Tway), Ghim’s hopes of qualifying from the alternate list
