In the build-up to the PGA Championship, plenty of the world’s biggest names will be addressing the media.
Among them are defending champion Justin Thomas, World No.1 Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, who, as well as winning the Major twice, is a member of Oak Hill Country Club, where the action will take place. However, despite LIV Golf being represented by plenty of its players at the event, only one has been granted a pre-tournament interview.
Dustin Johnson, who captains 4 Aces GC on the circuit, will speak to the media the day before the tournament begins. The 38-year-old is appearing on the back of his first victory of the LIV Golf League season, which he achieved in Tulsa after beating Cameron Smith and Branden Grace in a playoff. Considering the former World No.1 is heading into the tournament in such good form, it makes sense that he is being afforded interview time before he goes in search of his third Major victory.
However, it is perhaps surprising that he is the one LIV Golf player granted time with the media considering the number of its players teeing it up in the tournament, which stood at 18 before former winner Martin Kaymer withdrew because of injury. There are some other high-profile players among them, too, with Open champion and World No.8 Cameron Smith appearing, along with two LIV Golf players who have won the PGA Championship twice, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka.
In the case of the latter two, they go into the tournament having performed admirably in the first Major of the year, The Masters, where they finished second only to Rahm at Augusta National. The decision to exclude all but one LIV Golf player from the official pre-tournament press conferences has echoes of that event, when only Smith appeared before the media during the build-up.
LIV Golf has been a source of controversy since its inception, and there had been some doubt as to whether its players would be eligible for the tournament. That changed in February when the PGA of America confirmed that LIV Golf players would be able to compete in the event.
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