Tiger Woods is gearing up for his return to professional golf at next week’s US PGA Championship, as confirmed by the PGA of America when they announced the lineup for this major tournament, which runs from May 16-19 at Valhalla Golf Course. Woods has a history of success at this event, having clinched the title four times previously in 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2007.The competition will feature 156 players, with the PGA of America naming 154 competitors so far. The remaining two spots are reserved for the winners of the upcoming Wells Fargo Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic. The field is set to include 16 past champions and a total of 33 players who have won major titles.Noteworthy participants include defending champion Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, and the current world number one, Scottie Scheffler. The tournament will also see Talor Gooch from LIV Golf, last season’s individual champion on the former rival tour, compete.Following the announcement last June of a merger between LIV and PGA into a single entity, the PGA of America has maintained a balanced stance towards LIV Golf players. Gooch, who does not meet the usual qualification criteria requiring a high position in the Official World Golf Rankings or a PGA Tour victory, received a special invitation to join the major.Due to the LIV Golf’s tournaments not allocating OWGR points, players from that tour don’t benefit from ranking improvements. Nonetheless, several LIV Golfers have qualified for this year’s PGA Championship based on previous major victories, including Koepka and Phil Mickelson.Other LIV Golf players like Jon Rahm, who won the 2023 Masters, and Dustin Johnson, the 2020 Masters champion, have also secured their spots at Valhalla through their recent performances at other major tournaments.
