Last week Talor Gooch said he would not attempt to qualify for either the U.S. Open or British Open. But Monday Gooch learned he’ll play at least one major this year: the PGA Championship, thanks to a special exemption.
The PGA had yet to confirm the news to SI but Gooch shared it via his social media account.
Looking forward to Valhalla next week! Thank you for the invitation @PGA 🙏🏼 See y’all there. pic.twitter.com/0Rcm652KMP
The year’s second major championship typically has numerous exemptions to give and often fills out its field by inviting those who are among the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking and not otherwise exempt.
But it has discretion to give spots to anyone it deems deserving, and Gooch—who was the No .1 player in the LIV Golf League standings in 2023—was given a spot in the tournament where he missed the cut a year ago. He is 644th in the OWGR.
Also given an exemption was LIV’s David Puig, a Spaniard who has played on LIV for a majority of the past two years. He has also won twice in the past year on the Asian Tour.
In his last 10 worldwide events outside of LIV Golf, Puig has nothing worse than a 15th-place finish, with six top-5s and two victories. He is 106th in the OWGR.
Gooch has become somewhat of a controversial figure in the game because last year the USGA changed its exemption criteria for the 2023 U.S. Open by tweaking wording that would have otherwise seen him exempt for the tournament at Los Angeles Country Club. He elected not to attempt to qualify, then missed the cut at the British Open.
None of the major championships give direct spots to the LIV Golf League, something the circuit has been seeking but which major-championship officials have pushed back against due to LIV Golf’s closed structure.
The PGA is expected to announce all of its exemptions and its full field soon.
With his PGA Championship title defense looming, Brooks Koepka is searching for the game that saw him win a fifth major championship last year at Oak Hill Country Club.
He didn’t sound extremely confident during a news conference Thursday in advance of the LIV Golf Singapore event, which begins Friday morning (9:15 p.m. ET Thursday).
“Clearly not very good,” Koepka said when asked how his game was trending in advance of the PGA at Valhalla, which begins May 16. “With Augusta the way that it went, I kind of felt like I wasted all the time from December until then. Just keep grinding away, keep doing the work, and hopefully something will turn around.”
Brooks Koepka shot four over-par rounds at the Masters and finished T45.
Michael Madrid, Michael Madrid / USA
Koepka was referring to the Masters, where he tied for 45th and was never really in the tournament after tying for second last year. He opened with a 73 and added rounds of 73, 76 and 75.
That came after weekend rounds of 78-78 in LIV’s event in Miami the weekend prior.
Koepka lamented his putting, which caused a putter switch a few weeks back. Although he tied for 19th in the putting stats at Augusta National, he believes that’s been the main source of his trouble.
He switched to a mallet putter recently.
“It’s been in the bag two weeks before Augusta, I haven’t even putted with that other putter, the one I’ve putted with for—the button back I’ve probably putted with for 12, 14 years, I haven’t putted with it since then,” he said.
“I can’t find the hole at all, to be honest with you. Something we’ve just been putting some work into, so trying to find some answers.”
Asked what the main issue is, Koepka said: “Ball doesn’t go in the hole, that’s usually one of them. I don’t know how else to simply put it. I feel like I’m hitting good putts, they just keep burning lips. Eventually it starts to wear on you after a while. All you can do is hit a good putt and see where it goes from there. Hopefully they start falling soon.”
In six LIV Golf events so far this year, Koepka has only been on the fringe of contention, with two top 10s, including a tie for 10th on Sunday in Adelaide.
DUBLIN, Ohio – Rory McIlroy struck an upbeat tone in describing the first in-person meeting between a PGA Tour transaction committee and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which backs LIV Golf.
The committee, including Tiger Woods, met with the PIF and governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan on Friday evening in New York. McIlroy joined via video conference from the Memorial Tournament, where he is competing this weekend.
“Very productive, very constructive, very collaborative,’’ McIlroy said after the third round at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “I think those are probably three words I would use to describe it. Yeah, it was really good. Definitely things are heading in the right direction. A lot of progress was made. I can't really say much more than that, but it was really positive.’’
McIlroy, who shot 73 and is tied for 11th in the tournament led by Scottie Scheffler through three rounds, was pessimistic about the state of negotiations just a few weeks ago at the PGA Championship in the aftermath of PGA Tour Policy Board member Jimmy Dunne’s resignation.
Dunne, who resigned on May 13, had been part of the negotiations more than a year ago that led to the initial “framework agreement’’ that was announced June 6, 2023. Dunne was the first one to reach out to Al-Rumayyan in an attempt to bring peace to the men’s professional game.
Woods, McIlroy and Adam Scott were named last month to a “transaction committee’’ that is to deal directly with the PIF as part of a plan to get investment in the new PGA Enterprises.
The others on the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan; former Tour player and board liaison Joe Ogilvie; Joe Gorder, who is an executive with Valero and the chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises; and John Henry, a principal with Fenway Sports Group and part of the Strategic Sports Group, which earlier this year invested $1.5 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises.
McIlroy said he prepped with the transaction committee for 90 minutes prior to the three-hour meeting.
“Maybe not surprised but maybe more encouraged,’’ McIlroy said. “I think a lot of progress had sort of been made. But definitely encouraged.’’
McIlroy said in an interview on Thursday that the committee and the PIF have been meeting remotely three times a week for the past several weeks.
“In terms of the deal, like the financials and the legals and all that, I think those three calls a week were more to do with their investment committee and SSG ... that's what those calls were.
“But I think last night was more talking about the future of the game and the vision and that was where I thought there was a lot of progress that was made.’’
Asked if he has a better understanding of what the PIF’s goals are in investing in PGA Tour Enterprises, McIlroy said:
“You've got to understand, they're a sovereign wealth fund. They invest in companies and in different things and they want a return on their investment. That's what they want. It doesn't seem like they're getting that at the minute within golf [with LIV Golf], and this—hopefully if things progress and we get to a certain point, then hopefully they see a future where that can happen, they can start to get some returns on their money.’’
The PGA Tour earlier in the day released a statement about the meeting in which it said progress was made.
“Representatives from the PGA Tour Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee and the PIF have been meeting multiple times weekly to work through potential deal terms and come to a shared vision on the future of professional golf,’’ the Tour said. “On Friday evening, an in-person session in New York City included the entire Transaction Subcommittee and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and his team, where more progress was made.
“We remain committed to these negotiations, which require working through complex considerations to best position golf for global growth. We want to get this right, and we are approaching discussions with careful consideration for our players, our fans, our partners and the game’s future.’’
In 2001, a 21-year-old Adam Scott played in the British Open. He hasn’t missed a major championship since—a run of 91 consecutive—but will now need a little luck to extend his impressive streak.
Scott made a par to fellow Australian Cam Davis’s birdie on the third playoff hole Monday at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio, losing in a playoff for a qualifying spot at next week’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. A total of 44 spots were up for grabs at 10 courses across the U.S. and Canada after marathon 36-hole qualifiers.
PGA Tour members Zac Blair and Beau Hossler took two of the top four spots in Springfield, shooting 9 under and 8 under. Carson Schaake also shot 8 under, while Scott and Davis shot 7 under and went to the playoff.
Scott will be an alternate (the USGA uses an undisclosed system for allocating alternates across all sites), but chances are that won’t get him into the U.S. Open. He can still get in if he’s in the top 60 of the World Golf Ranking on June 10, the Monday of the tournament. He sits at No. 60 in the world but is not playing in this week’s Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour, whose results could shuffle that top 60 cutoff.
Another notable player not advancing is LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann, who along with fellow LIV player Anirban Lahiri finished one shot out of a playoff in Jupiter, Fla. The Chilean had earned special invitations to the Masters and PGA Championship and has a spot in the British Open but will not play in the U.S. Open. Fellow LIV golfer Dean Burmester will be at Pinehurst after claiming one of the five available spots in Jupiter, as will Matt Kuchar and Daniel Berger.
Berger missed the cut at the 2022 U.S. Open and did not play again on the PGA Tour until last January due to persistent back pain.
“This is the first time I’ve walked 36 holes in like three years,” Berger said after advancing at the Bear’s Club, his home course.
Seven LIV golfers in all failed to advance from the Jupiter qualifier, including 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.
LIV’s David Puig advanced from a qualifier in Daly City, Calif.
Webb Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, will play in his home state next week after advancing from a qualifier at the Duke University Golf Club in Durham, N.C. Also qualifying was Harry Higgs, who won back-to-back events recently on the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour pro Chesson Hadley and Sam Bennett, who won the 2022 U.S. Amateur and was in the hunt as an amateur at the 2023 Masters.
Full U.S. Open final qualifying results can be found here.
