The 2019 PGA Championship field offers a variety of ways into the PGA of America's major championship, ranging from winning a major or on the PGA Tour, to earning a special invitation based on world ranking or money earned since the 2018 Players Championship -- a change made this year as the PGA Championship moves into May for the first time.
A golfer has to be one of the best on the planet to qualify for the PGA Championship. They can get a PGA Championship exemption if they meet one of these worldwide criteria to get an invitation.
PGA Championship qualifying and exemption categories
- All former PGA Champions: Rich Beem, Keegan Bradley, John Daly, Jason Day, Jason Dufner, Pádraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Brooks Koepka, Davis Love III, Rory McIlroy, Shaun Micheel, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Justin Thomas, Jimmy Walker, Tiger Woods, Y.E. Yang
- Last five Masters Champions: Sergio García, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Danny Willett
- Last five U.S. Open Champions: Dustin Johnson
- Last five Open Champions: Zach Johnson, Francesco Molinari, Henrik Stenson
- Last three Players Champions: Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson
- Top 15 and ties from the 2018 PGA Championship: Daniel Berger, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Stewart Cink, Rickie Fowler, Tyrrell Hatton, Kevin Kisner, Shane Lowry, Thomas Pieters, Jon Rahm, Chez Reavie, Adam Scott, Brandon Stone, Gary Woodland
- The 20 low scorers in the 2019 PGA Professional Championship: Danny Balin, Alex Beach, Rich Berberian Jr., Justin Bertsch, Craig Bowden, Jason Caron, Ben Cook, Stuart Deane, Andrew Filbert, Tyler Hall, Craig Hocknull, Marty Jertson, Rob Labritz, Brian Mackey, John O’Leary, Rod Perry, Casey Russell, Jeffrey Schmid, Cory Schneider, Ryan Vermeer
- Top 70 leaders in official money standings from the 2018 Players Championship through the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship: Byeong-hun An, Abraham Ancer, Ryan Armour, Patrick Cantlay, Paul Casey, Corey Conners, Joel Dahmen, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Jim Furyk, Brian Gay, Lucas Glover, Branden Grace, Emiliano Grillo, Adam Hadwin, Charley Hoffman, J.B. Holmes, Max Homa, Billy Horschel, Charles Howell III, Sungjae Im, Jason Kokrak, Matt Kuchar, Danny Lee, Marc Leishman, Hideki Matsuyama, Keith Mitchell, Ryan Moore, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Ryan Palmer, Pan Cheng-tsung, Scott Piercy, Ian Poulter, Andrew Putnam, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Smith, Brandt Snedeker, J.J. Spaun, Kyle Stanley, Kevin Tway, Harold Varner III, Jhonattan Vegas, Bubba Watson, Aaron Wise
- Members of the United States and Europe 2018 Ryder Cup teams: Alex Noren, Thorbjorn Olesen
- Winners of tournaments co-sponsored or approved by the PGA Tour since the 2018 Players Championship: Cameron Champ, Michael Kim, Adam Long, Graeme McDowell, Troy Merritt, Martin Trainer
- Special invitations: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Lucas Bjerregaard, Alexander Björk, Sam Burns, Jorge Campillo, Ross Fisher, Ryan Fox, Dylan Frittelli, Chesson Hadley, Justin Harding, Brian Harman, Lucas Herbert, Beau Hossler, Shugo Imahira, Jazz Janewattananond, Brendan Jones, Kurt Kitayama, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox, Satoshi Kodaira, Mikko Korhonen, Tom Lewis, Li Haotong, David Lipsky, Luke List, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Joost Luiten, Shaun Norris, Adrián Otaegui, Eddie Pepperell, Pat Perez, Charl Schwartzel, Steve Stricker, Julian Suri, Michael Thompson, Erik van Rooyen, Matt Wallace, Lee Westwood
- Players below 70th place in official money standings, to fill the field: Sam Ryder
