“The Majors shouldn’t take up someone else’s fight” - Henrik Stenson says he is ‘baffled’ at Majors’ approach to LIV golfers

The 2024 PGA Championship is currently underway at Valhalla Golf Club. The event features 16 LIV golfers in its 156-player field. However, Henrik Stenson is not happy with this number.

Stenson on Thursday claimed to be “a little bit baffled” by the Major championship organizers’ approach to LIV Golf. The 2016 Open champion stated that all four men's Majors would aim to ensure all of the best players in the world are playing at the tournaments. He said this was not being ensured.

It is pertinent to note that Stenson, ranked No. 364 on OWGR, failed to qualify for the PGA Championship. The former Ryder Cup star, set to tee up at the 2024 Open at Royal Troon in July, accused organizers of picking sides against LIV and said that the “Majors shouldn’t take up someone else’s fight.”

Speaking to Golf Monthly ahead of the PGA Championship, Henrik Stenson said:

“I am a little bit baffled by the stance the Majors have taken. I imagine the Majors all want to have the best players in the world in their tournaments, so not to make that happen is interesting…

"The Majors should not take up someone else’s fight. With LIV golfers not earning world ranking points, you can build a strong case that there should be spots in the Majors for best LIV players who are not already exempt. Whether that is three or five spots, that can be debated, but there should definitely be a pathway into those events.”

With the comments, Stenson joined a list of LIV stars who have spoken up against the Majors’ qualification system in recent times. LIV Golf’s 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch had earlier failed to qualify for the Masters. Following this, the golfer said that he’d not play in the US Open qualifying as he failed to get an exemption.

2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm had earlier called on the Majors to consider an exemption for LIV golfers. The Spaniard claimed that some of the top players in the game were being "left out" from key competitions due to the lack of ranking approval.

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Are LIV golfers playing in the 2024 PGA Championship?

The 2024 PGA Championship features 16 LIV golfers including defending champion Brooks Koepka. The list includes the likes of 2020 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson, 2021 PGA winner Phil Mickelson, 2010 PGA winner Martin Kaymer, 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm, and 2022 Open champion Cam Smith.

Apart from past Major champions, the Valhalla event features seven golfers who received special exemptions. The invites were sent out to Dean Burmester, Lucas Herbert, Adrian Meronk, Joaquin Niemann, David Puig, Patrick Reed, and Talor Gooch.

Notably, European Ryder Cup star Tyrrell Hatton entered the Masters based on his past performance. The Englishman received an invite to finish T15 in the competition last year. Andy Ogletree was invited for a top-3 finish in the International Federation ranking.

It is pertinent to note that the event still misses out on several big names from LIV Golf. Players like Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Paul Casey, Sam Horsfield, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri, Marc Leishman, Kevin Na, Carlos Ortiz, Mito Pereira, Louis Oosthuizen, and Henrik Stenson are missing from the PGA Championship roster.