Big Names And Notable Players Missing The 2025 PGA Championship

The 2025 PGA Championship is the second men's Major of the year and it has a lot to live up to after Rory McIlroy's incredible Green Jacket triumph last month at Augusta National.

A stellar cast will be in tow at Charlotte's Quail Hollow Club, where McIlroy won his first ever PGA Tour event and triumphed three more times - most recently in 2024 when he took down Xander Schauffele in the final group.

Almost all of the men's game's elite will be competing for the Wanamaker Trophy this time around, with the world's top 100 players traditionally invited into the PGA Championship field along with past champions, Major winners from the last five years, 20 club professionals and other players from global tours.

But which big names won't be playing in this year's PGA Championship? We list some of the notables...

Tiger Woods

The 15-time Major champion has four PGA Championships to his name, coming in 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007, although he will not be teeing it up this time around.

Woods underwent surgery for a ruptured achilles tendon in March, an operation that will rule him out for the entire 2025 season. He may well return in December at the PNC Championship with son Charlie but we certainly won't be seeing him in any of the three remaining Majors.

Woods will be 50 on December 30 so will likely mix PGA Tour, Majors and senior golf next year if his body allows.

Billy Horschel

Horschel is another big name set for a prolonged period on the sidelines, having announced that he will undergo surgery on his right hip.

Last year's Open Championship runner-up is hoping to return to PGA Tour action towards the end of the summer or into early fall. He misses the PGA Championship, which he was T8th in last year, for the first time since 2012.

"It’s an unfortunate situation with so many great events left on the calendar but this is a preventative measure," he said.

"I’m already itching to start rehab, get back to practicing and I look forward to returning to the course sometime around late summer/early fall."

John Daly

The 1991 PGA Champion at Crooked Stick will be playing in a different tournament during PGA Championship week, with the Regions Tradition, a senior Major, taking place at the same time.

Daly has confirmed he will be playing in the Regions over the PGA, having not made the cut in the Major since 2012 where he was an impressive T18th at the age of 46.

“I can go there and miss the cut and get $6,000,” Daly told the AP's Doug Ferguson.

“But I’m playing Birmingham. I love Regions. They’re a great sponsor. But why are they scheduling Regions the same week as the PGA Championship, where I can see Brooks [Koepka] and all the guys?”

Rich Beem

The 2002 PGA Champion at Hazeltine is skipping this year's championship in order to focus on his broadcasting work with the Sky Sports golf team.

Beem has made just five cuts in his last 20 PGA Championship appearances since taking down Tiger Woods 23 years ago.

The Texan is reportedly set to skip next year's event, too, and make a return in 2027 at PGA Frisco in his home State.

Luke Clanton

College star Luke Clanton has already wrapped up his PGA Tour card and he is reportedly making his pro debut at the RBC Canadian Open in June.

The PGA Championship traditionally invites all of the world's top 100 players as well as those close to it, with World No.125 Rickie Fowler even getting an invite this year, but Clanton has not despite ranking 103rd.

The championship is traditionally reserved for professional golfers, so Clanton's amateur status is likely the reason why he has not been given a pass into the field.

Adrian Meronk

The Pole has slid down the world rankings since joining LIV Golf, where he captured his first title earlier this year in Riyadh.

Meronk has played in each of the last two PGA Championships and teed it up in all eight Majors between 2023 and 2024. He now ranks 241st in the world, having been as high as 39th pre-LIV Golf.

Lucas Herbert

Herbert is the highest ranked golfer in the current LIV Golf Individual Standings not to be featuring in the field, as he misses his first PGA Championship since 2018.

The Ripper GC player is currently 5th after a runner-up in Mexico as well as 4th-place finishes in Riyadh and Hong Kong.

Herbert has three DP World Tour victories as well as a win on the PGA Tour. He also won the NSW Open in November, where he beat Cameron Smith to the title.

“You know, the reality is, I knew what I was signing up for when I came out to LIV,” he admitted.

Matt Kuchar

Kuchar misses his second consecutive PGA Championship after falling to 135th in the OWGR.

The 46-year-old was 8th-alternate for the field upon the official field release so he may get close to a tee time but looks set to miss his third Major in a row after last playing at the 2024 US Open.

The nine-time PGA Tour winner has a best finish of T18 this year, coming at the Valero Texas Open.

Shaun Norris

While perhaps not a 'big' name, Norris missing from the field is notable as he and Horschel are the only players in the world's top 100 who won't be competing.

The AP's Doug Ferguson reports that Norris turned down his invite due to a 'family health matter.'

The South African has wins all around the world, with two DP World Tour victories to his name as well as seven Japan Golf Tour titles, two on the Asian Tour and four on the Sunshine Tour.

He has played in the PGA Championship three times, in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

Notable players to miss PGA Championship via OWGR:

• Victor Perez (World No.109)
• Doug Ghim (111)
• Jordan Smith (112)
• Jesper Svensson (114)
• Kensei Hirata (116)
• Mark Hubbard (117)
• Charley Hoffman (118)
• Ryan Fox (119)
• Romain Langasque (120)

Notable LIV Golfers missing the PGA Championship:

• Lucas Herbert
• Adrian Meronk
• Sebastian Munoz
• Marc Leishman
• Abraham Ancer
• Carlos Ortiz
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Bubba Watson
• Talor Gooch