For years, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson have been fixtures in major tournaments. However, only one of them will be making it to next week’s 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink. And he happened to be the only player among them who had been ineligible for the second major of the year.
On Tuesday, the PGA of America revealed the field list for the 2026 PGA Championship, which includes Johnson’s special invite. The list did not include Tiger’s name, and Mickelson’s name disappeared soon after.
Here’s what you need to know.
Dustin Johnson receives a special invitation to the 2026 PGA Championship
Johnson won two majors and was consistently ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in his prime. As a result, he has automatically qualified for all majors since 2009. That is, until the 2026 PGA Championship.
Now 41, Johnson plays with LIV Golf, which he joined as part of the first wave of players in 2022. His game has declined in recent years, and, for the first time, his greatest fitness is at stake.
Because of his 2020 Masters win, Johnson will still receive an invitation to Augusta every April, but his exemption from other majors for that win has expired. In addition, his 10-year US Open exemption for winning the event in 2016 expires after this year.
With his world high at No. 468 as of Monday, May 4, Johnson is no longer eligible for the PGA Championship or the Open Championship, and will lose eligibility for the 2027 US Open.
But on Tuesday, the PGA of America released its first field list for next week’s event outside of Philadelphia, and Johnson was among those players who received a special exemption.
Johnson spoke with Golf Channel about his PGA invitation.
“I’m very happy. I want to play in all the majors. I feel like my game is good enough to compete with everyone and I can still win,” said Johnson. “The PGA was nice enough to give me an invitation. So, I’m very happy and grateful for that.”
The PGA of America also extended special invitations to Keith Mitchell, Billy Horschel, Andy Sullivan, Angel Ayora and Chandler Blanchet.
In total, the PGA field list includes 154 players. But two more contenders could be added if the winners of this week’s Truist Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic do not qualify.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson will not play the PGA Championship
As past PGA champions, Woods and Mickelson both qualified for this year’s PGA Championship, which begins on May 14. Mickelson was even included in the field when the PGA of America first released it.
But later Tuesday, the PGA announced that Mickelson “has withdrawn from the 2026 PGA Championship due to health and family issues.” The same undisclosed family health issue kept Mickelson out of the 2026 Masters and prevented him from playing in any LIV Golf events this season.
;)
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Mickelson’s big PGA moment came not long ago. In 2021, Mickelson shocked the world by winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course. With the victory, his sixth major title, Mickelson became the oldest major champion in history at age 50. A year later, he joined LIV Golf.
The PGA has announced that Max Homa will replace Mickelson in this year’s PGA Championship.
Woods’ absence from the PGA Championship field is not that surprising. While there were rumors that he planned to return from injury at the 2026 Masters, his car crash and DUI charge in late March ended those plans.
On March 31, Woods announced that he was “retiring” from his career to “seek treatment” and focus on his life. He left no time for his possible return.
You can see the full field for the 2026 PGA Championship as it stands now below.
2026 PGA Championship field (as of 5/6/26)
Åberg, Ludvig – SWEDEN
Ayora, Angel – SPAIN
Berg, Derek – Duvall, WA*
Berger, Daniel – Jupiter, FL
Bezuidenhout, Christiaan – SOUTH AFRICA
Bhatia, Akshay – Jupiter, FL
Bide, Francisco – ARGENTINA*
Blanchet, Chandler – Jacksonville, FL
Block, Michael – Mission Viejo, CA*
Bradley, Keegan – Woodstock, VT
Brennan, Michael – Leesburg, VA
Bridgeman, Jacob – Simpsonville, SC
Brown, Daniel – ENGLAND
Burns, Sam – Shreveport, LA
Campbell, Brian – Irvine, CA
Cantlay, Patrick – Jupiter, FL
Castillo, Ricky – Yorba Linda, CA
Cauley, Bud – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Cink, Stewart – Atlanta, GA
Clark, Wyndham – Denver, CO
Collett, Tyler – Vero Beach, FL*
Conners, Corey – CANADA
Coody, Pierceson – Plano, TX
Day, Jason – AUSTRALIA
DeChambeau, Bryson – Dallas, TX
Detry, Thomas – BELGIUM
Donald, Luke – ENGLAND
Droemer, Jesse – Houston, TX*
Dufner, Jason – Auburn, AL
Echavarria, Nico – COLOMBIA
English, Harris – Sea Island, GA
Fisher, Bryce – Oregon City, OR*
Fisk, Steven – Sea Island, GA
Fitzpatrick, Alex – ENGLAND
Fitzpatrick, Matthew – ENGLAND
Fleetwood, Tommy – ENGLAND
Fox, Ryan – NEW ZEALAND
Fowler, Rickie – Murrieta, CA
Gabriele, Chris – Huntington, NY*
Geddes, Mark – ENGLAND*
Gerard, Ryan – Raleigh, NC
Glover, Lucas – Jupiter, FL
Gotterup, Chris – Little Silver, NJ
Griffin, Ben – Chapel Hill, NC
Grillo, Emiliano – ARGENTINA
Greyserman, Max – Short Hills, NJ
Gumberg, Jordan – Delray Beach, FL
Hall, Harry – ENGLAND
Harman, Brian – Sea Island, GA
Harrington, Pádraig – IRELAND
Hatton, Tyrrell – ENGLAND
Haynes, Zach – Bowling Green, KY*
Henley, Russell – Columbus, GA
Higa, Kazuki – JAPAN
Higgo, Garrick – SOUTH AFRICA
Highsmith, Joe – Lakewood, WA
Hillier, Daniel – NEW ZEALAND
Hisatsune, Ryo – JAPAN
Hoey, Rico – PHILIPPINES
Højgaard, Nicolai – DENMARK
Højgaard, Rasmus – DENMARK
Holt, Ian – Stow, OH
Homa, Max – Scottsdale, AZ
Horschel, Billy – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Hovland, Viktor – NORWAY
Hurt, Austin – Bainbridge Island, WA*
Im, Sungjae – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Jaeger, Stephan – GERMANY
Jarvis, Casey – SOUTH AFRICA
Johnson, Dustin – Jupiter, FL
Jones, Jared – Dublin, OH*
Kaneko, Kota – JAPAN
Katrude, Michael – West Palm Beach, FL*
Kaymer, Martin – GERMANY
Keefer, John – San Antonio, TX
Kern, Ben – Grove City, OH*
Kim, Michael – Dallas, TX
Kim, Si Woo – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Kirk, Chris – Watkinsville, GA
Kitayama, Kurt – Chico, CA
Knapp, Jake – Scottsdale, AZ
Koepka, Brooks – West Palm Beach, FL
Lee, Min Woo – AUSTRALIA
Lenahan, Ryan – New Hudson, MI*
Li, Haotong – PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Lindberg, Mikael – SWEDEN
Lipsky, David – Las Vegas, NV
Lowry, Shane – IRELAND
MacIntyre, Robert – SCOTLAND
Matsuyama, Hideki – JAPAN
McCarthy, Denny – Jupiter, FL
McCarty, Matt – Scottsdale, AZ
McClure, Paul – Mobile, AL*
McGreevy, Max – Edmond, OK
McIlroy, Rory – NORTHERN IRELAND
McKibbin, Tom – NORTHERN IRELAND
McNealy, Maverick – Las Vegas, NV
Michel, Shaun – Collierville, TN
Mitchell, Keith – Sea Island, GA
Morikawa, Collin – La Canada, CA
Mouw, William – Chino Hills, CA
Neergaard-Petersen, Rasmus – DENMARK
Niemann, Joaquin – CHILE
Noren, Alex – SWEDEN
Novak, Andrew – Sea Island, GA
Parry, John – ENGLAND
Pendrith, Taylor – CANADA
Penge, Marco – ENGLAND
Poland, Ben – Wilson, WY*
Poston, JT – Sea Island, GA
Potgieter, Aldrich – SOUTH AFRICA
Puig, David – SPAIN
Putnam, Andrew – Lakewood, WA
Rahm, Jon – SPAIN
Rai, Aaron – ENGLAND
Reed, Patrick – The Woodlands, TX
Reitan, Kristoffer – NORWAY
Rodgers, Patrick – Avon, IN
Rose, Justin – ENGLAND
Riley, Davis – Hattiesburg, MS
Saddier, Adrien – FRANCE
Sapp, Garrett – Cypress, CA*
Schaper, Jayden – SOUTH AFRICA
Schauffele, Xander – San Diego, CA
Scheffler, Scottie – Dallas, TX
Schenk, Adam – Vincennes, IN
Schmid, Matti – GERMANY
Scott, Adam – AUSTRALIA
Shattuck, Braden – Aston, PA*
Smalley, Alex – Greensboro, NC
Smith, Cameron – AUSTRALIA
Smith, Jordan – ENGLAND
Smotherman, Austin – Dallas, TX
Smylie, Elvis – AUSTRALIA
Smyth, Travis – AUSTRALIA
Spaun, JJ – Los Angeles, CA
Spieth, Jordan – Dallas, TX
Stevens, Sam – Wichita, KS
Straka, Sepp – AUSTRIA
Sullivan, Andy – ENGLAND
Taylor, Nick – CANADA
Theegala, Sahith – Chino Hills, CA
Thomas, Justin – Jupiter, FL
Thorbjornsen, Michael – Wellesley, MA
Valimaki, Sami – FINLAND
Vegas, Jhonattan – VENEZUELA
Vermeer, Ryan – Elkhorn, NE*
Walker, Jimmy – San Antonio, TX
Wallace, Matt – ENGLAND
Wiesberger, Bernd – AUSTRIA
Wiseman, Timothy – New Albany, IN*
Woodland, Gary – Topeka, KS
Yang, YE – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Young, Cameron – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
