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The PGA Championship Champions Dinner took place at Valhalla Golf Club on Tuesday, May 14, in honor of defending champion Brooks Koepka. Unlike the Masters Champions Dinner, the PGA Champions Dinner was not a huge affair but still featured many previous champions attending the ceremony.
The players who attended the PGA Champions Dinner included Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Jason Dufner, Y.E. Yang, John Daly, Justin Thomas, and Hideki Matsuyama. The PGA Professional Championship winner, Ben Polland, also received an invitation to the event.
However, many top names decided to skip the PGA Champions Dinner. Here's a look at five big names who didn't attend the event.
Five top names who didn't attend the PGA Championship Champions Dinner
#1 Jack Nicklaus
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Jack Nicklaus holds the joint record for winning the most PGA Championship titles. He has won the event five times (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, and 1980) in his career.
He was not present at this year's PGA Champions Dinner but had attended the Masters Champions Dinner last month.
#2 Gary Player
Similar to Nicklaus, Gary Player was present at the Augusta National in April but chose to skip the event at the Valhalla Golf Club.
He won the tournament two (1962 and 1972) times in his career.
#3 Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy decided not to attend the PGA Champions dinner despite being present at the Valhalla Golf Club. However, he was present at last year's Champions Dinner.
McIlroy has claimed the Championship two times (2012, and 2014), and his second win came at Valhalla. This time too, he is entering the field as one of the tournament's favorites after registering two back-to-back tins on the PGA Tour.
#4 Vijay Singh
Vijay Singh, who was present at the 2023 PGA Champions dinner, decided not to attend the event this time. He has won the tournament twice, in 1998 and 2004, respectively.
#5 Lee Trevino
Lee Trevino is a six-time major champion and has won the PGA Championship twice (1974 and 1984). However, he decided to opt out of this year's PGA Champions Dinner.
