There are two weeks until the first round of the 2024 PGA Championship gets underway at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., and the full field for the second men’s major of the year is starting to take shape.
Sixteen past champions are expected to compete in the event. Among them is Brooks Koepka, winner a year ago at Oak Hill when he shot a closing 67 to outpace Viktor Hovland and win the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time in his career. Included as well is Justin Thomas, a winner in 2017 at Quail Hollow and 2022 at Southern Hills who will be playing in his hometown of Louisville.
We also are listing Tiger Woods as “expected” to compete. A four-time PGA winner, including memorably in a playoff over Bob May at Valhalla in 2000, Woods has not officially announced if he will be playing or not. That said, while promoting his new clothing line Sun Day Red this week, he did indicate his hope to compete in the three remaining majors.
Woods did not compete at last year’s PGA after undergoing fusion surgery on his right ankle a month earlier. He has made only two starts in PGA Tour events since the surgery: the Genesis Invitational in February, where he withdrew because of the flu during the second round, and the Masters last month, where he made his record-breaking 24th straight cut at Augusta while finishing 60th. His most recent PGA Championship start was 2022, where he made the cut at Southern Hills but withdrew after the third round.
Much of the qualifying criteria for this year’s PGA Championship officially closes on Monday, when the PGA of America is expected to reveal an official list of participants. Pending that announcement, we’ve put together an unofficial list of all those players who have earned spots based off the 14 qualifying criteria listed in the 2024 PGA Championship media guide.
Come back next week, when we’ll update the list further to have you ready for all the action at Valhalla.
Private Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, KY 4.6 102 Panelists
- 100 Greatest
- Best In State
Given a difficult piece of land on which to create Valhalla (half the site was floodplain, with high-tension power poles), Jack Nicklaus drew on his training under Pete Dye and Desmond Muirhead to produce a unique design, with an alternate fairway par 5, a par 4 with an island green and an 18th green shaped like a horseshoe. Over the decades, Nicklaus returned periodically to update its challenges, and the club replaced turf and rebuilt bunkers as recently as 2022. Valhalla has proven to be a great championship site. It has hosted three thrilling PGA Championships, the latest Rory McIlroy’s win in 2014, and will host a fourth in 2024. View Course 1: All former winners of the PGA Championship
Brooks Koepka Justin Thomas Phil MickelsonCollin Morikawa Jimmy Walker Jason DayRory McIlroy Jason Dufner Keegan BradleyMartin Kaymer Y.E. Yang Padraig HarringtonTiger Woods Shaun Micheel Vijay Singh John Daly
Phil Mickelson celebrates with the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
Patrick Smith
2: Winners of the last five Masters (2020-2024)
Scottie Scheffler Jon Rahm Hideki Matsuyama Dustin Johnson
3: Winners of the last five U.S. Opens (2019-2023)
Wyndham Clark Matt Fitzpatrick Jon Rahm Bryson DeChambeau Gary Woodland
4: Winners of the last five Open Championships (2018-2023)
Brian Harman Cameron Smith Collin Morikawa Shane Lowry Francesco Molinari
5: Winners of the last three Players Championships (2022-2024)
Scottie Scheffler Cameron Smith
6: The top 3 on the the International Federation Official World Golf Ranking List (as of April 29)
Keita Nakajima (Japan Golf Tour) Andy Ogletree (Asian Tour)Ryan van Velzen (Sunshine Tour)
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Steve Stricker
8: The top 15 finishers and ties from the 2023 PGA Championship
Brooks Koepka Viktor Hovland Scottie Scheffler Bryson DeChambeau Kurt Kitayama Cameron Davis Sepp Straka Rory McIlroy Justin Rose Patrick Cantlay Cameron Smith Victor Perez Corey Conners Shane Lowry Eric Cole Michael Block Tyrrell Hatton
9: The top 20 finishers from the 2024 PGA Professional Championship
Ben Polland, Shooting Star of Jackson Hole (Wyo.) Andy Svoboda, Butler National Golf Club, Oak Brook, Ill. Jared Jones, River Oaks Country Club, Houston John Somers, Southern Hills Plantation Club, Trinity, Fla. Jesse Mueller, Grand Canyon U. Golf Course, Phoenix Tyler Collet, John’s Island Club, Vero Beach, Fla. Brad Marek, Corica Park, Berkeley, Calif. Evan Bowser, LaPlaya Golf Club, Naples, Fla. Jeremy Wells, Cypress Lake Golf Club, Estero, Fla. Jeff Kellen, North Shore Country Club, Glenview, Ill. Josh Speight, The Club at Viniterra, Locust Valley, Va. Larkin Gross, Westwood Country Club, Fairfax, Va. Preston Cole, Quail Hollow Club, CharlotteTracy Phillips, Cedar Ridge Country Club, Tulsa, Okla. Josh Bevell, Profectus Golf, Nashville, Tenn. Matt Dobyns, Meadow Brook Club, Jericho, N.Y. Zac Oakley, Bidermann Golf Club, King of Prussia, Pa. Kyle Mendoza, Hacienda Golf Club, Oceanside, Calif. Braden Shattuck, Rolling Green Golf Club, Ashton, Pa. Wyatt Worthington II, Eastside Golf, Las Vegas
10: The top 70 players who are eligible and have earned the most PGA Championship Points from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (ending May 5, 2024) 11: Playing members of the last-named U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams (2023) provided they remain within the top 100 on the Official World Golf Rankings as of May 6, 2024
Sam Burns*Patrick Cantlay Wyndham Clark Rickie Fowler Brian Harman Max Homa* Brooks Koepka Colin Morikawa Xander Schauffele* Scottie Scheffler Jordan Spieth* Justin Thomas Ludvig Aberg Matt Fitzpatrick Tommy Fleetwood* Tyrrell Hatton Nicolai Hojgaard* Viktor Hovland Shane Lowry Robert MacIntyre* Rory McIlroy Jon Rahm Justin Rose Sepp Straka
*All are expected to be inside the top 100 on May 6
12: Winners of PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved tournaments, whose victories are considered official, from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship and the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic
Emiliano Grillo Viktor Hovland Nick Taylor Wyndham Clark Keegan Bradley Rickie Fowler Sepp Straka Rory McIlroy Vincent Norrman Brian Harman Akshay BhatiaLee Hodges Lucas Glover Sahith Theegala Luke List Tom Kim Collin Morikawa Erik van Rooyen Camilo Villegas Ludvig Aberg Chris KirkGrayson Murray Nick Dunlap Matthieu Pavon Hideki Matsuyama Jake Knapp Austin Eckroat Scottie Scheffler Brice Garnett Peter Malnati Stephan Jaeger Billy Horschel
13: The PGA of America reserves the right to invite additional players not included in the categories listed above (traditionally the top 100 in the OWGR not already in the field)
Joaquin Niemann
*More players expected after the May 6 OWGR listing
14: If necessary to complete the field, those players beyond the top 70 players who are eligible and who have earned the most PGA Championship Points from the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (ending May 5, 2024), in order of their position on such list.
*Note: The PGA Championship points list is compiled of Official Money earned in PGA Tour events within the defined period in 10 and 14 above and is available on www.pgatour.com.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
