Which LIV Players Hold Major Exemptions?

One of the consequences of LIV Golf's emergence in 2022 is the uncertainty of which players are in, and which are out of future major championships. One of the main vehicles players use to qualify for major championships, the Official World Golf Ranking, doesn't award points to LIV Golf events, causing those players to free fall in the rankings. Players who don't have major exemptions through other avenues will be on the outside looking in at the majors. 

Main Major Championship Exemptions

Each of the four major championships has its own criteria for giving exemptions, but of course, there is quite a bit of overlap among the four. Each of the 22 LIV golfers who hold a major championship exemption earned it through one of these six paths. 

Since not every major offers each exemption listed, we noted next to the exemption which major(s) it applies to.

1. Past champion. The Masters and PGA Championship give lifetime exemptions to past champions and the Open Championship invites all past champions age 60 and under to compete. Meanwhile, the U.S. Open gives a 10-year exemption to its champions.
2. Major winner. Each major awards a 5-year exemption to winners of the other majors.
3. Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). It’s becoming more and more rare for LIV players to earn major exemptions based on their OWGR since opportunities for them to pick up points in that ranking system are scarce, but some newer LIV players still secure major points based on their world rank.
4. Qualifying. Two of the four men’s majors are Opens, meaning anybody is invited to try to qualify, and several LIV players have played their ways into the U.S. Open and Open Championship fields.
5. Special Invite. At the end of the day, major championships can invite anybody they want to play in their tournaments, and several LIV players have picked up special invitations to majors in 2024.
6. OWGR Federation Ranking. The PGA Championship invites the top three players from the OWGR Federation Ranking.

LIV Players Exempt Into Major Championships

In all, 22 LIV Golf players are exempt into at least one more major championship in 2024. Eight of those players are exempt into all four 2024 majors.

Here's the complete breakdown of which LIV golfers hold major championship exemptions.