The 2025 PGA Champions field has announced several notable omissions and has invited the last minute of the former world number one.
Quail Hollow will host the second major championship of the year, with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy becoming popular favorites again, while Xander Schauffele is looking to defend his championship starting last year.
Dustin Johnson, a former world first and two-time junior champion, looks doomed to miss his first big tournament in a decade, with his five-year waiver of his 2020 Masters win expired.
However, Liv Golfer, who ranked 751st in the world, initially did not have enough golf ranking points to earn a direct entry championship.
The iconic Charlotte, North Carolina course will host the 2025 event from May 15-18, with the PGA and LIV Tours meeting the second gathering of the season and hosting a star-studded field.
However, there are some notable absentees in the field who unfortunately invited the last invitation and had to make other plans for the weekend.
So, which major tournament regulars will Quail Hollow miss this week?
Tiger Woods
The 15-time Grand Slam champion is still uncertain when he will pay off.
His continued recovery from injuries and recent Achilles surgery, which prevented him from playing 72-hole golf, made his absence somewhat anticipated.
But every major event without a golf legend is important.
Rickie Fowler
The painful form of the six-time tour and player-winning champion means he does not meet the 2025 PGA championship eligibility criteria.
His absence brought Hope back to his former level considering his 2023 victory at Rocket Mortgage Classion, but it was a disappointing few seasons, the second straight major tournament absence.
But there is a backdoor route: this week's Truist champion win
Billy Horschel
Despite his outstanding performance in the 2025 competition, Horschel was forced to undergo hip surgery and desperately needed to withdraw from the 2025 PGA championship.
The Floridian was disappointed to be a tour player in recent months. There are obvious signs that the ninth PGA Tour title is not far away.
Webb Simpson
Simpson is not qualified due to his dramatic decline in performance and world rankings, which is in stark contrast to his regular main forms over the past decade and beyond.
Since the 2020 Phoenix Open victory, the 2012 U.S. Open champion and former world No. rank have not won the game in the fourth or fifth year.
Among the experts at Quail Hollow, he and local fans were disappointed.
Gary Woodland
His performance is still improving after the 2023 brain surgery, but he has not yet won a ranking that will lead to a PGA title seat.
He ranked 12th in 2019, a special year for stardom in Kansas, which won the U.S. Open and represented the U.S. President's Cup.
Although like Fowler, he could still win this week's TRUIST Championship, a later injury hindered him.
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