12 LIV Golf players exempt for next week’s PGA Championship
Here are the LIV Golf players who earned their way into the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink
STERLING, Va. – Young LIV Golf stars Elvis Smylie, David Puig and Tom McKibbin are among the 12 LIV Golf players exempt into next week’s PGA Championship, with the field list becoming official Tuesday.
Those three, along with first-year LIV Golf player Thomas Detry and two-time major winner Dustin Johnson, received special exemptions for the second major of the season, to be held at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia.
They join past PGA Championship winners Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson; recent major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith; Tyrrell Hatton, who qualified via his 2025 Ryder Cup appearance; and Joaquin Niemann, who earned his spot by finishing inside the top 15 at last year’s PGA Championship.
Shortly after the field was released, the PGA of America stated on social media that Mickelson had withdrawn due to personal family health matters and that Max Homa would take the spot. Mickelson missed his sixth LIV Golf tournament of the 2026 season this week while attending to the family health matters. The two-time PGA champion – who made history at the 2021 PGA Championship by becoming the oldest major winner at age 50 – has made just one start this season, finishing T48 in South Africa.
The 23-year-old McKibbin will make his sixth major start and second consecutive PGA Championship. He’s currently ranked 100th in the world. McKibbin made his Masters debut last month.
“It’s pretty cool,” said the Northern Irishman, who is part of the Legion XIII lineup with Rahm and Hatton. “I played last year as well, and I think to sort of do it two years in a row with not having the availability of many world ranking points and to stay around that 100 number has been pretty good. I think the consistency of the golf that I've played has been nice, sort of being in a spot to be able to qualify for some of those events.
“It's always nice to get to play another major. They're definitely the events that you want to be playing, and every time you can tick one off, it's a great learning experience. I always sort of leave learning more and more about my game and what I need to get better for the future.”
Puig and Smylie are each 24 years old. Smylie won LIV Golf Riyadh in his league debut in February, while Puig finished solo second to Rahm at the most recent LIV Golf tournament in Mexico City for his best result in the league. Both players are inside the top six in the season-long points race.
The 33-year-old Detry, who like Smylie is also in his first LIV Golf season, ranks third in season-long points, with three top-5 finishes in the last four tournaments. He’ll be making his 14th major start and his fifth in the PGA Championship. His best major result is a T4 two years ago at the PGA held at Valhalla.
Johnson was extended an exemption that keeps his streak alive of 69 consecutive majors in which he’s been eligible to play. He has six top-10 finishes at the PGA Championship, including consecutive runner-up results in 2019-20.