Louis Oosthuizen, a star of the LIV Golf league, has declined an invitation to compete at next week's PGA Championship due to 'personal commitments'. Sixteen LIV stars will be competing in Kentucky at the second major of the season, including defending champion Brooks Koepka.
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Seven of these players have received special invites as the league's membership continues to slide down the world rankings. The standout name on the invite list is Talor Gooch, who will be making his first appearance at a major championship since being named LIV's 2023 champion.
Despite his success last season, which included three wins on the Saudi-backed circuit and the year-long crown, his efforts were not recognised in the rankings. As a result, Gooch has slipped to 644th in the world, making him ineligible for the four major events of 2024.
However, after missing the Masters last month, he will return to major competition following his invite to the PGA. He will be joined by Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Reed, Adrian Meronk, David Puig and Lucas Herbert, who were also given special exemptions after the field for the championship in Kentucky was announced on Tuesday.
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Oosthuizen, the former Open champion, has declined an offer to compete due to undisclosed personal commitments, according to the Associated Press. The South African golfer, who has been in fine form recently, competing across various tours including the Saudi-backed league, DP World Tour, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour, was a noticeable absentee from the entry list.
Oosthuizen has had a successful run away from LIV this season, clinching back-to-back titles on the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour in December. He triumphed on home ground at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, before securing the Mauritius Open title a week later.
The LIV star also claimed second place at the Asian Tour's International Series event in Oman in February and has twice finished runner-up on the breakaway circuit in Jeddah and Adelaide. He sits fourth in LIV's season-long rankings following three top-10 finishes in his last five starts.
Oosthuizen missed his first Masters since 2008 last month after a drop in world rankings led to him missing out on qualification for Augusta National. In response, the South African called for a "complete change" to make the four flagship events more accessible for LIV stars.
Speaking to Gulf News, he expressed his frustration: "I think the whole system needs to change completely. If they don't want to give us World Ranking points on LIV Golf then they should change the system where they give spots to Majors on each tour around the world or something like that. I'm surprised those (OWGR) guys have a lot more experience than me, sitting on boards and doing their things, that I can't believe there's no solution to it."
