Weekly Read Fore! Things: More Jockeying for Major Championships

As strong as LIV players were at the PGA Championship, only five are assured of spots in next year's event.

More Weekly Read: Why LIV Golf Really Exists | No Cuts at Jack's Place? | The Michael Block Saga

Fore! Things

1. Emiliano Grillo won in his first start as a member of the PGA Tour in 2015 ... and not again until his victory on Sunday at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

2. The victory for Grillo means he’s eligible for this year’s U.S. Open and British Open via the Official World Golf Ranking and for next year’s Masters and PGA Championship.

3. Rickie Fowler tied for sixth, his fifth top 10 of the PGA Tour season. It assured him a spot in the Open at Royal Liverpool by being among the top 50 in the OWGR this week.

4. Ben Hogan remains the only player to win the Colonial tournament in back to back years (1952-53).

Fore! More Things

1. LIV Golf players had a strong showing at the PGA Championship, with Brooks Koepka winning, Bryson DeChambeau tying for fourth and five players finishing among the top 20. Of the 16 LIV players who started (Paul Casey and Martin Kaymer withdrew), 11 made the cut. But it will be difficult to see that many playing next year without a change to the world rankings or a special carve-out of spots for LIV players—which seems unlikely.

Patrick Reed (T16) and Mito Pereira (T16) missed out on the top 15 and a return invitation by one stroke. Harold Varner III, won who the LIV Golf DC event on Sunday, tied for 29th. As it stands, Koepka and Phil Mickelson—past PGA champs—will be part of the field for as long as they want. Major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson (2020) have two more years left. And British Open champ Cam Smith has another four. Only those five players are assured of being back next year.

2. The British Open had a top-50 cutoff for entry into the tournament via the Official World Golf Ranking as of Sunday’s results and this week’s Memorial Tournament will give exemptions to the top three players who are not otherwise exempt, provided they make the cut.

3. The U.S. Open will offer spots to the top 60 not otherwise exempt as of June 11. In addition, on June 5, there will be 10 final qualifiers, with one in Canada and nine in the United States, including a 36-hole event in Columbus following the Memorial Tournament.

4. There are 17 days until the first round of the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.