Jupiter residents Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson, two struggling golfers from different tours, have received special invitations by the PGA of America to play in the PGA Championship.
Fowler, whose world ranking has plummeted to a 2½-year low of 125th, will play in his 16h straight PGA Championship. Johnson, the former world No. 1 whose game has suffered the past three years while playing for LIV Golf, will take part in the PGA Championship for the 16th time in the past 17 years.
The PGA Championship, the season’s second major, is scheduled for May 15-18 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Fowler, 36, has six career wins on the PGA Tour, one in the past six years, the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic. In nine events this season, he’s finished in the top 25 twice, his best weekend a tie for 18th at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.
Still seeking his first major championship, Fowler’s best finish in the PGA Championship is a T3 in 2023.
Fowler’s invitation was through a category for players who participated in the most recent Ryder Cup and are not among the top 100 in the world. Fowler was on the U.S. team for the September 2023 Ryder Cup outside of Rome, Italy.
Johnson, 40, has 24 career PGA Tour titles and three wins on the LIV tour, his last coming 15 months ago. Johnson is 28th out of 53 golfers in LIV’s 2025 points rankings.
A two-time major champion (2015 U.S. Open, 2020 Masters), Johnson twice has been runner-up at the PGA Championship. He tied for second, two shots behind Collin Morikawa in 2020; and dueled with Brooks Koepka during the final round in 2019, closing two shots behind Koepka.
Johnson has missed the cut in four of his last six majors, including the 2025 Masters when he finished bogey-double on Friday and dropped to 3-over for his two rounds.
Johnson’s Masters win made him exempt for the PGA Championship through the next five years. That ended this year.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson receive exemptions to play in PGA Championship
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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