PGA organisers have explained the decision-making process behind allowing 16 LIV golf stars to take part in the event. The 156-man lineup was announced earlier this month, with some big names missing out as a result.

Speaking about the key decisions that were made as part of deciding on the field, chief championships officer Kerry Haigh explained: “Just as we have for many years, we look at every tour that’s playing worldwide golf and try and identify the best players from those respective tours.

“When we do that, we certainly look at points list or money lists or rankings and identify who we think are the better players. The committee meets and talks about whether or not we should offer them invites, which is why I think through that process we were able to get worldwide players from various tours.

“We use the Federation rankings, the top four from the Federation rankings are playing this week, as well as LIV, as well as the other countries. It’s a worldwide field. That’s why we feel it’s the strongest field in golf because of that process where we look at all the different tours and try and include and invite those best players.”