Greg Norman’s Past Decisions Threaten LIV Golfers Yet Again: Talor Gooch & Co. Faces Major Concerns at Valhalla

“Unfortunately, the OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us,” stated a helpless Greg Norman in his memo after LIV Golf withdrew its bid from the world-ranking system. He wouldn’t have been completely unaware of the fact that, down the lane, it would come back and bite the various golfers of the Saudi-backed league who appeared at the PGA Championship in the hand, including Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch.

16 golfers teed it up at Valhalla Golf Course this time around and out of them, 5 failed to make the cut. But will the same athletes be able to take part in the next edition of the PGA Championship in 2025? That is the question that paints a concerning picture for Norman’s players.

Greg Norman’s players face a worrisome situation

Out of the total 16 LIV professionals that were part of the field at Valhalla, seven of them were specially invited by the PGA of America. These included the likes of Talor Gooch, Patrick Reed, David Puig, Joaquin Niemann, Adrian Meronk, Lucas Herbert, and Dean Burmester. Almost all of them, except the last professional, appear to be in danger of not being able to participate in the 2025 PGA Championship.

As per the eligibility criteria of the major event, a golfer needs to finish inside the top 15 or ties of the previous PGA Championship in order to be automatically qualified for the next edition. Moreover, being inside the top 100 in the OWGR also provides a chance for professionals to tee it up in 2025. Burmester, for now, seems to be in the clear, as he is currently T9 on the leaderboard, giving him enough of an opportunity to finish inside the top 15 if everything goes well.

The same cannot be said for the rest of the athletes from the Greg Norman-led LIV Golf. Although Herbert (currently at T16 after R3) does have a chance at qualification provided he finishes better, the likes of Gooch (T60), Reed (T54), Niemann (T54), Puig (MC), and Meronk (MC) do not have any owing to their poor performances. When taken into consideration, the fact that the OWGR doesn’t award any points to the LIV Golf events does paint a truly despairing situation for the bunch. As for them getting invited, it is solely dependent on the bodies that conduct these events, like the PGA of America or the USGA, when it comes to the U.S. Open.

Although Norman might have anticipated such a situation when LIV Golf withdrew its OWGR bid, he apparently didn’t have any other choice since “the OWGR had shown little willingness to productively work with [LIV].” He had also expressed his displeasure at the system for being biased towards the PGA Tour: “The rankings are structured to penalize anyone who has not played regularly on an “eligible Tour” with the field ratings disproportionately rewarding play on the PGA Tour.” 

At the same time, the other professionals who became a part of the field without the invitation got in via their past victories. But even in those situations, there are cases where the exemptions might run out, causing the athlete from the Greg Norman-led Tour to not be able to participate in the next edition, just like Dustin Johnson and Tyrrell Hatton.

Norman’s withdrawal might affect Dustin Johnson and Tyrrell Hatton

Even the likes of Johnson and Hatton may find themselves in a pickle without the OWGR points. The former’s exemption of being a 2020 Masters champ will run out since the event in 2025 would provide an automatic qualification only for the past five winners (2021–2025 since the Masters takes place before the PGA Championship).

Hatton, meanwhile, got in by finishing inside the top 15 at the previous edition and also by being part of the European team at the 2023 Ryder Cup. But he is currently placed at T38, with a low chance of placing inside the top 15 as well as becoming part of the 2025 Ryder Cup squad.

The group of golfers from the Greg Norman-led league will now have to either work their way inside the top 100 or get themselves qualified as per the other criteria, including the DP World Tour’s Asian Swing or other such events. Only time will tell who gets in and who doesn’t.