How To Qualify For The PGA Championship

After the traditionally small field of The Masters, the second Major of the year, the PGA Championship, has the largest, with 156. It's also regarded as the strongest field in golf thanks to every player in the world's top 100 typically being involved as they compete for the Wanamaker Trophy.

There are 14 ways to qualify for the PGA Championship, and the surest means of guaranteeing a place at any edition is to win it. Along with The Masters, the PGA Championship is the only other Major to offer a lifetime exemption to its champions, and that's why it's not uncommon to find veterans including 1991 victor John Daly and 2003 champion Shaun Micheel in the field.

Another way a veteran can qualify is by winning the previous year's KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, and that means we should see LIV Golf's Richard Bland appear in the Major for just the second time in 2025.

Like the three other Majors, another way to book a place for the next five editions of the PGA Championship is to win one of the other Majors, while there's also a place for the next three years for the winner of the most recent Players Championship.

Finishing in the top 15 and ties also guarantees a place in the next edition of the PGA Championship, something club pro Michael Block managed in 2024 thanks to his heroics in the previous year's edition. He made it to the 2023 event by finishing in the top 20 of the PGA Professional Championship - another way to qualify.

Players can also book a spot via the OWGR's International Federation Ranking List. The top three in the ranking by 29 April will qualify for the Major, a route that enabled LIV Golf's Andy Ogletree to reach the PGA Championship for the first time in 2024.

The top 70 in PGA Championship points list, which is based on official money earned on the PGA Tour since the previous year's edition, also guarantee a place, along with PGA Tour winners over the last 12 months.

All members of the most recent European and US Ryder Cup teams, providing they are in the world's top 100 a week before the tournament, also receive an invite.

The PGA of America can then invite players not otherwise exempt, an honor handed to LIV Golf's Sergio Garcia for the 2025 tournament.

After that, it's a case of filling any gaps in the field from the list of alternates until it reaches 156 participants. That's based on the PGA Championship points list, with the player ranked 71st in the standings listed as the 1st reserve if not already qualified. It then goes down the list until all remaining places are filled.

Because of its qualifying criteria, the tournament often attracts almost all of the world's top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking, and the top 100 players who aren't qualified will likely receive exemptions.

Below is the list of ways to qualify for the PGA Championship.

PGA Championship Qualifying Criteria 2025

1. Former winners of the PGA Championship
2. Winners of one of the last five US Opens
3. Winners of one of the last five Masters
4. Winners of one of the last five Open Championships
5. Winners of one of the last three Players Championships
6. The top 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking International Federation Ranking List
7. The most recent Senior PGA Champion
8. One of the players to finish in the top 15 at last year's tournament, including ties
9. Players in the top 70 of the PGA Championship Points standings
10. One of the top 20 finishers in the the PGA Professional Championship
11. Winners of a PGA Tour-approved tournament since the last PGA Championship
12. One of the 2023 US and European Ryder Cup team (must be ranked inside world's top 100)
13. Additional players can also be invited, even if they don't qualify under the above exemptions.
14. The total field is a maximum of 156 players. Vacancies are filled by the first available player from the list of alternates (those below 70th place in official money standings).