Defending champion Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Kiwi Ryan Fox are among the 156 players entered in the field for the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beginning May 19.
Mickelson will make his first appearance on tour, since the Farmers Insurance Open in January, where he missed the cut.
Earlier this year, he came under fire for remarks about the so-called Super Golf League, now the LIV Golf Invitational Series, backed by Saudi financiers. He told author Alan Shipnuck that the Saudis were "scary [expletives] to get involved with" with a "horrible record on human rights", but he intended working with them anyway in an attempt to gain leverage with the PGA Tour on financial matters.
After issuing a mea culpa in February, losing sponsors and saying he needed "time away" from the sport, Mickelson, 51, went silent and did not play in the US Masters.
Woods did play in the Masters - his first tournament in more than a year, after sustaining a devastating leg injury in a car accident in February 2021. He finished 47th, 13 over par for the tournament.
Despite his entry, Mickelson is not guaranteed to play in the PGA Championship. He can pull out up until the last minute, if he chooses.
PGA of America chief executive Seth Waugh said on the "5 Clubs Conversations" podcast that he had talked to Mickelson.
"I think he's trying to figure out when the right time is for him," Waugh said. "I think the game is trying to figure out the right time for him, too.
"How long is enough, and is he ready mentally and physically to do it?"
Mickelson would have to face the media for the first time in months and Waugh said the goal was to do that as soon as possible to remove the distraction from the tournament.
"What we're trying to do is deliver a Major championship, not a circus, so I would hope that he can avoid that and everybody can avoid that, so we're taking golf shots, instead of verbal gaffes, once we get going," Waugh said.
"But there's certainly, I think, part of his thinking is, 'Am I ready to face that glare, and have that conversation and have all the answers that everybody is going to be looking for?'
"'And if I do it that week, am I then able to compete on a Major championship venue under that kind of pressure with everything going on?' We would do everything we can to make it happen, either before our week or very early in the week."
Fox is currently riding a streak of hot form, with top-15 finishes at the British Masters, Catalunya Championships and ISPS Handa Championship in the past three weeks, elevating him to 101st in world rankings.
In February, he captured his second European Tour victory at the Ras Al Kaimah Classic in UAE.
In 11 previous Major appearances, the Kiwi's best performance was 16th-equal at the 2019 British Open.
The PGA Championship field includes 17 PGA champions, 34 Major champions, three World Golf Hall of Fame Members and four Ryder Cup captains. It also features the top 70 players in the PGA Championship points standings through the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship.
As expected, the tournament has attracted a 'who's who' of today's prominent players, starting with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters last month.
Former champions Rory McIlroy (2012, 2014), Justin Thomas (2017), Brooks Koepka (2018, 2019) and Collin Morikawa (2020), all ranked in the top 20, also will play.
The PGA have announced 155 of the entrants. with the final spot reserved for the winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson, beginning Thursday.
Reuters
