PGA Championship 2024

[Splatt]

G’day Golfers,

And just like that the second major of the year is upon us….

The PGA Championship is normally pretty spicy on its own, but this year the scene is set for this to be one of the hottest PGA Championship ever with several exciting storylines converging. Think, the last wing on an episode of Hot Ones. That hot!

We’ve got:

·         The defending champ coming off a win and looking in form

·         The current world number 1 coming off several wins and in form

·         The current world number 2 coming off back-to-back wins and in form

·         Several saucy invitations

Lets get stuck in!!!

Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky will play host to the PGA Championship for the fourth time, although, the course has seen lots of changes through the years.
This year the course will play as a 7,609 yard, par-71, an entirely different course from when Valhalla first open it’s doors in 1986 as a par-72 at just over 7,000 yards.
The last time Valhalla hosted the PGA Champion was back in 2014 and it was won by Rory McIlroy (more on him in a second), but the course is a different beast now as it saw extensive renovations at the tournaments completion.
The teeing areas and fairway turf were changed from bentgrass to zeon zoysia, which is a greenkeeper’s dream as it’s much easier to manage, but it also allows the course to play firmer and faster, ideal for a modern Major Championship.
And as is tradition these days, length has been added to several holes.

Unlike The Masters last month, this major will actually count towards the winners career record because Taylor Gooch is in the field. No asterixis this time!
Several LIV golfers have been given special invitations to this years PGA Championship, players that without the invite would have unfortunately missed out.
Those players include:

·         Patrick Reed

·         Joaquin Niemann

·         Taylor Gooch

·         Dean Burmester

·         Lucas Herbert

·         Adrian Meronk

·         David Puig

Tiger Woods has also accepted an invite to the PGA Championship, which is not surprising as we will generally only see him at The Majors these days.

And not to forget, one of the feel good storylines from last year, Michael Block, The PGA Professional who finished in the top-15 last year, will return!

Last year, Brooks Koepka, coming off a near win at The Masters, won his third PGA Championship, beating Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland by two shots at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York.
Koepka joined famous company with a third PGA Championship joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win the PGA Championship 3 times.
Brooks started the day with a 1 shot lead and remained steady on a pressure filled final round. Birdies on 2 and 4 started the day off on the right foot for Brooks, but back-to-back bogeys on 6 and 7 opened the door for Hovland and Scheffler, but Brooks, like the true Major hunter that he is, steadied the ship and a 2 under back 9 sealed his 3rd title.

Field highlights

·         Scottie Scheffler – Confirmed back in the field after his wife, Meredith, gave birth to their first child. Scheffler has had around a month off tending to his personal life, but I’m sure he will come back as he left. Scottie’s recent record is absolutely incredible, in his last 5 events he has won 4 of them, including The Masters, and the one he didn’t win he finished 2nd  by only 1 shot. Despite everything else going on in the world of professional golf Scottie remains the man to beat by a wide margin. All everyone else can hope for is that he’s a bit rusty after a month off and that his new born has made him very sleep deprived.
 

·         Brooks Koepka – The defending champ and certified Major hunter. Brooks has hit form at the right time coming off a win at his last LIV event at LIV Singapore. Brooks has said in the media he was very p*ssed off with his performance at The Masters last month and set out to change how he prepped for the next majors. The results have been noticeable straight away so if anyone can stop the dominance of Scottie Scheffler, Koepka might be the man.
 

·         Rory McIlroy – Another player that has hit some good form at the right time is world number 2, Rory McIlroy. With back-to-back wins in his last 2 tournaments, including last weeks Wells Fargo, Rory is primed and ready to end a 10 year drought in Major Championship. Two things look very promising to Rory; firstly, Quail Hollow where Rory won the Wells Fargo last week is incredibly similar to Valhalla, scarily so; secondly, the last time the PGA Championship was held at Valhalla the winner was none other than Rory McIlroy. If Rory can maintain the form he has had the last fortnight then he’s sure to be in the final pairing on Sunday.
 

·         Xander Shauffele – Xander is playing some fine golf at the moment…. For the first 3 days anyway. He’s had a habit of playing himself into the lead heading into the final round only to tank it and end up placing 2nd or worse. Twice this year, once at The Players and again last week at the Wells Fargo, Xander has had the lead after round 3 only to fire an average final round compared to the field and finish 2nd. Last year, Xander finished T-18 at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill. I’m sure Xander will get himself into some of the hypothetical conversations for this years win, but he’s gotta get over that final round fever to stand a chance.
 

·         Ludvig Aberg – The young Swede has exploded onto the scene since he turned pro last year, so much so it’s hard to believe this is only his 2nd career Major. Aberg has played 10 events this year and hasn’t missed a cut yet, he’s also had 2 runner-up finishes including 1 at The Masters last month, so he isn’t fazed by the pressure and status of the event. Along with his 2-runner-up finished, Aberg has had 5 top-10’s and 9 top-25’s so far this season. Like Xander, I’d expect Aberg to get himself into the conversation and play himself into contention.

The rest of the field can be found here:https://www.pgachampionship.com/news-media/articles/2024-pga-championship-field-list

Golfers, this Major is building up to be an absolute barn buster of an event!
If all the right things happen we could have a very close final round in which the world number 1, world number 2, the defending champ, AND Taylor Gooch are all battling for the trophy!

I’m pumped!
If only the first round was starting tomorrow!

 

SPLATT

[hartrick11]

Thanks for sharing this. It really seems primed for a heavyweight battle with all these big names in top form. Can’t wait. 

[Preeway]

I really like Rory's chances. I know Scotty is on a heater but I think his becoming a dad will take some time to adjust to which for him probably means a measly top-10, lol. My money is on Xander as he's been constantly on the hunt but hasn't yet been able to reach the summit. His time is coming. My dark horse is Homa. He always seems to be hanging around but putting together 4 consecutive rounds has been his bugaboo. Would really like to see him get his first major.

[The Sandman]

Always hard to bet against Scottie, but I would love to see Bryson win another major or Aberg get his first…Rory has crushed my fantasy pool too many times to get my hopes up. 

[StrokerAce]

Interested to see if Scottie hits a bump in the road with the new baby. It's happened to multiple players that were playing well at the time and I'll be curious how well he can compartmentalize things.

[Greathills]

I’ll take Scotty by a nose….

[jayyarr]

last week Rory looked the best he has honestly looked in years from a killer instinct standpoint. Was a little disappointing it was also paired with Xander throwing up on himself. I still think Scottie is gonna come back and win it though. Even with Rory looking this good Scottie is far and away the best player in the world rn. 

[Daca1442]

Got to be Talor Gooch. Isn’t he the best in the world

[jayyarr]

37 minutes ago, Daca1442 said:

Got to be Talor Gooch. Isn’t he the best in the world

hey that masters win has an asterisk but this major won't because he's in it. 

Edited May 14 by jayyarr

[fozcycle]

My Picks are: Rory, Justin, Brooks, Scottie & Xander

[Splatt]

I genuinely hope the battle between Koepka, Scheffler, and McIlroy happens.  
It could be one of the best PGA's ever!

[CCorley99]

2 hours ago, Splatt said:

I genuinely hope the battle between Koepka, Scheffler, and McIlroy happens.  
It could be one of the best PGA's ever!

Championship Sunday would be unreal if this were to happen. Probably best major of the year in that situation. 

[IanCC]

I’ll not be watching and don’t care for men’s professional golf any more. Hope you guys can still find something in it. 

[Henri-Martin HORN]

Rory McIlroy

["Mr. 72"]

Rory filed for divorce, so he either wins by 5 or misses the cut!

[TK_]

I like Rory, Bryson, or Niemann honestly. Driving matters here. Rory averaged 340 just last week off of the tee. Still wouldn’t be surprised if Patrick Reed and Cam Smith ended up top-20 or better though. 

[Splatt]

More so than most years, it feels like the favourites are going to take some beating

[PJVicary]

Sahith. Theegala

[Cuzy51]

Not in order 

Cam Smith

Scheffler

Koepka

Aberg

McIlroy 

[JaredC]

I would pick McIlroy then Scheffler. Both are really hot!

[Golfhack23]

Rory has momentum but the constant talk of his divorce will get to him and he will choke down the stretch, it's hard to bet against scottie right now but with a new baby it's hard to say how he'll play. Xander is plating good gof but seems to choke on Sundays. I'm going to say Brooks or morikawa if rory or scottie don't win. 

[Rygolf32]

3 hours ago, "Mr. 72" said:

Rory filed for divorce, so he either wins by 5 or misses the cut!

This was my thought - or in the presser after he's done (whenever that is) he announces his going to LIV since he needs to give half of everything right now to her, gotta pay for the divorce! 

 

My picks in no order: Brooks, Scottie, Fitzpatrick, Rahm. Long shot wish - rooting for Tiger or Phil, one of the old boys to get it. Was great when Phil pulled it off a few years ago showing us old guys can stick with the youngsters once in a while. 

[mattkulick]

Would love to see Aberg get that first major but what Scottie has done lately its hard not to pick him as the winner. With that said, I'll take Si Woo Kim.

[Marty2shanks]

Bryson.  Has had time to work out his irons.  Will be wet so carry distance off the tee matters and Bryson is maybe the only player that can keep up with Rory in that department.  

[frazzman80]

It's Max Homa break through week everyone. Or at least that's my wild thought.

[jayyarr]

I love homa and it would be great to finally see him take a major.  My out there pick for the weekend is min woo.  He has a solid game but hasn’t  fully shown it this season i think it’s time he wins something.

Edited May 15 by jayyarr

[Splatt]

Tee times for the first 2 rounds

 

 

[Mr_BogeyPro]

I am taking Rory to win, but I am keeping an eye for Brooks and Clark to make a good run at the leader board.

[Sonny Beach]

Rory will be battling major demons and stronger competition this week. Will he make the cut?

[russtopherb]

1 minute ago, Sonny Beach said:

Rory will be battling major demons and stronger competition this week. Will he make the cut?

I'm not buying that at all, if anything he'll probably be playing even freer. His personal life didn't impact his win last week and aside from news being made public now, I'm betting literally nothing has changed on his side.