8 Big Names Missing The 2026 PGA Championship
Which notables will not be teeing up at Aronimink in the 2026 PGA Championship?
The second men's Major of the year has arrived as Aronimink Golf Club hosts the 2026 PGA Championship.
The Major, run by the PGA of America, usually boasts the strongest field in the game with all of the world's top 100 in the field. That remains the same this year, but there are always some stars who miss out due to injuries or failing to qualify.
Tiger Woods
The four-time PGA Champion was hoping to play in The Masters last month until his car accident in Jupiter, Florida, which saw him charged with a DUI.
He has since reportedly travelled to Switzerland for a 90-day rehab so will be out of action for the summer.
Woods has only played in five of the last ten PGAs, and has completed four rounds just twice in 2018, where he was 2nd, and in 2020, where he finished T37th.
Phil Mickelson
As well as Tiger Woods, fans on-site at Aronimink will also miss out on seeing Phil Mickelson. The two legends both missed The Masters for the first time last month and neither will be teeing up in the second Major of the year either.
The two-time PGA Champion, who won this event at the age of 50 in 2021 at Kiawah Island, has only played one tournament so far this year.
He is currently dealing with a family health matter at home. We wish both Woods and Mickelson the best and are looking forward to their returns.
Sergio Garcia
Garcia, who was runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship and then again to Padraig Harrington in 2008, misses the event for the third time in the last four years.
He played last time out at Quail Hollow to finish T67th but hasn't been able to make his way back into the field with his world ranking down at 318th.
The Spaniard finished 52nd at Augusta last month, where he broke his driver in anger in the final round and later issued an apology after receiving a code of conduct warning.
Will Zalatoris
Zalatoris finds himself down at 326th in the world after an injury plagued few years.
The 2022 PGA Championship runner-up, who lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at Southern Hills, has only played four tournaments this year after undergoing a second back surgery last May.
The 29-year-old missed the cut at the 2025 PGA Championship and has not played in a Major since. He may well have a Major-less year for the first time since 2023.
Tony Finau
Tony Finau is currently the fifth alternate for the field so is in serious danger of missing his first PGA Championship since 2014. He has three top-10s in the Major with a best finish of T4 in 2020.
The six-time PGA Tour winner also failed to qualify for The Masters this year, bringing an end to an impressive 33 consecutive Majors.
Finau currently ranks 117th in the world, having recently finished dead-last in the 82-man RBC Heritage field.
Carlos Ortiz
Carlos Ortiz is not one of the 11 LIV Golfers playing in the 2026 PGA Championship.
That is despite the Mexican recording his best ever Major finish at last year's US Open, where he ended T4th at Oakmont. That result got him into The Masters but he has not been able to qualify for Aronimink.
The Torque GC player, who has wins on LIV Golf, the PGA Tour, Asian Tour and Korn Ferry Tour, has not played in a PGA Championship since 2022.
Tom Kim
Tom Kim has had a surprising drop-off in form over the last year, with the Korean superstar currently ranked 145th in the world.
Kim, at the age of 21 years, 3 months and 24 days old, became the youngest player since Tiger Woods to win three times on the PGA Tour at the 2023 Shriners Open. He is still searching for his fourth victory almost three years later.
He has played in the last four PGA Championships but will be missing this year's edition.
Anthony Kim
The PGA Championship isn't rigid when it comes to its invitations so there was definitely a scenario where Anthony Kim could have been given an exemption - but, sadly for the American, he hasn't.
Kim, who returned to golf from a 12-year hiatus in 2024, produced one of the moments of the year to win LIV Golf Adelaide in February for his first tour win in 16 years.
He is currently 5th in the LIV Golf League individual standings but he hasn't quite done enough to make his first Major appearance since 2011.
PGA Championship alternates list:
- 1. Sudarshan Yellamaraju
- 2. Tom Hoge
- 3. Kevin Yu
- 4. Mac Meissner
- 5. Tony Finau
- 6. Kevin Roy
- 7. Davis Thompson
Other notables missing the 2026 PGA Championship
(World ranking)
- Thorbjorn Olesen (105th)
- Kevin Yu (108th)
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju (111th)
- Mac Meissner (112th)
- Thriston Lawrence (114th)
- Laurie Canter (115th)
- Tom Hoge (116th)
- Shaun Norris (119th)
- Eric Cole (121st)
- Davis Thompson (122nd)
- Eugenio Chacarra (123rd)
- Jacob Skov Olesen (125th)
- Keita Nakajima (127th)
- Blades Brown (130th)
- Josele Ballester (136th)
- Mackenzie Hughes (138th)
- Byeong Hun An (149th)
- Erik Van Rooyen (171st)
- Matt Kuchar (179th)
- Seamus Power (180th)
- Joel Dahmen (185th)
- Dean Burmester (189th)
