The PGA Championship is the second major of the 2025 season and 13 LIV Golf players will participate in the tournament.
The 2025 edition will take place at Quail Hollow for the second time. After a decent showing by those in the breakaway league at the Masters, hopes are high that this can be replicated at the PGA.
Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Martin Kaymer have all won the PGA during their careers, meaning they have a lifetime exemption.
Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith qualify due to winning majors over the previous five years. Richard Bland, Tyrrell Hatton, John Catlin and Dean Burmester will play also play at Quail Hollow.
Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann were given special invites by the PGA of America. It will be Garcia’s first PGA since 2022. Niemann has also qualified for the U.S. Open.
With only three LIV players winning the tournament before, who are the six best to never have claimed victory in the PGA?
Dustin Johnson: Best PGA Championship result – 2nd in 2019 & 2020
It is likely that Johnson will finish his career with just two major titles. Considering how consistent he was from 2010 to 2020, there is no doubt he should have won more.
A two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker during the last hole of the 2010 tournament meant he dropped to a T5 finish.
Another two top-tens followed in 2013 and 2015.
He came closest in 2019 and 2020, finishing runner up to Koepka and Collin Morikawa.
Bubba Watson: Best PGA Championship finish – 2nd in 2010
Watson may have won two Masters titles throughout his career, but his first major could have been the PGA.
In 2010, the American tied Kaymer at 11-under for the tournament at Whistling Straits. A three-hole aggregate playoff was played, but it was the German who claimed victory by a single stroker.
Watson hasn’t played the tournament since 2022.
Sergio Garcia: Best PGA Championship finish – 2nd in 1999 & 2008
Garcia’s battle with Tiger Woods in the 1999 PGA Championship looked like it was the beginning of a serious rivalry.
Woods eventually prevailed and it took Garcia 18 years to finally win a major title. He came close at the 2008 PGA, missing out by two strokes to Padraig Harrington.
The Spaniard will have a chance to win his second major at Quail Hollow following his special invite.
Louis Oosthuizen: Best PGA Championship finish – 2nd in 2017 & 2021
Oosthuizen has finished second in six major championships, with two coming at the PGA.
In 2017, the South African had chances to win, but finished in a tie for second. Four years later, Oosthuizen entered Sunday with a chance to claim a second major.
He eventually finished two strokes behind Mickelson. The 2010 Open winner hasn’t played in the tournament since 2022.
Jon Rahm: Best PGA Championship finish – T4 in 2018
Following his Masters victory in 2023, it appeared only a matter of time that Jon Rahm would complete the career Grand Slam.
Since joining LIV, however, his performances in the majors have been poor. His best result at the PGA was a tie for fourth in 2018.
The Spaniard shot four rounds in the 60s, but finished five shots behind Koepka. Another top-ten came at the 2021 edition.
Rahm missed the cut at Valhalla in 2024.
Bryson DeChambeau : Best PGA Championship finish – 2nd in 2024
Aside from the U.S. Open, which he has won twice, DeChambeau’s best performances in a major have been at the PGA.
He finished T4 in both 2020 and 2023. He nearly claimed victory at the event last year, shooting a final round of 64, yet he was pipped by Xander Schauffele in the end.
DeChambeau bounced back to win another U.S. Open title a month later. Could he make up for his Masters heartbreak at Quail Hollow in a few weeks?
