It's time for the men's second Major of the season, the PGA Championship - where Rory McIlroy returns to the venue where he won his last Major 10 years ago
Another month, another men's Major. This time it's the PGA Championship, which returns to Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky for the fourth time but it's been 10 years since we've seen this Major here.
In 2014, Rory McIlroy emerged from a four-man race to outlast Phil Mickelson as the darkness fell at Valhalla to capture his second straight Major championship. A closing three-under-par 68 made the Irishman the fifth player to win four Majors at 25 or younger. Who was to know then that 10 years later he would still only have four Majors to his name?
The field of 156 golfers will take to the fairways on Thursday and compete over 72 holes of stroke play across four rounds. Following the first 36 holes, the 156-player field will be cut to the low 70 scorers and ties.
With the enormous Wanamaker Trophy in their sights - who will most likely be lifting it come Sunday evening?
Ones to watch this week
We've got to start with Rory. He comes into the week straight off a victory at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he put on a masterclass (maybe apart from the double on 18) during his final round to win his 26th PGA Tour title.
It's not so much the victory, it was the way in which he did it. Maybe he was buoyed by his previous victory only two weeks before with fellow Irishman Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic? There was a focus shown by him and such a clinical display of ball striking, that if he can keep the momentum going he will be hard to beat this week.
However, there are a couple of other contenders who weren't playing at Quail Hollow last week.
Scottie Scheffler has been spotted on the practice ground and is making his first start as a father. He confirmed the happy news on his Instagram page on Tuesday morning, after rumours swirled that he and his wife Meredith had welcomed a baby boy.
Scheffler has won four of his last five starts and one of those was a second Masters jacket. Like his female counterpart Nelly Korda, you would bet on him being in the mix at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday. The last week has shown that winning streaks have to come to an end at some point but if Scheffler is able to stay focussed this week, he could be unstoppable.
Loving a challenge and always rising to the occasion, Brooks Koepka will probably want to win more than any other player in the field. He had a disappointing Masters Championship but comes into this week after winning the individual title at LIV Golf Singapore at the beginning of May.
There's something about the PGA Championship that seems to bring out the best in Koepka and as defending champion, he'll be keen to show just how good he is.
We're not going to look any further. Three heavyweight contenders, all coming into this Major week off the back of a win, all supremely confident in their own abilities - we could be wrong, but let the best man win!
The Course - Valhalla Golf Club
Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky will host its fourth PGA Championship in 2024, which ties 2023 venue Oak Hill Country Club to host the second-most PGA Championships in the event’s history. They trail only Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has hosted five PGA Championships.
- Previous PGA Championship winners at Valhalla - 1996 Mark Brooks, 2000 Tiger Woods and 2014 Rory McIlroy.
- The golf course at Valhalla was opened in 1986 and designed by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus.
- 7609 yards – par 71.
- The course is made up of 4 par threes, 11 par fours and 3 par fives.
Signature hole: 13th, Par 4, 351 yds - Don’t let the distance deceive you: Yes, it’s the shortest two-shot hole on the course, but those two shots have to be good. A cluster of six bunkers sits just to the left of the fairway landing zone, while the green is a true island, surrounded by water and built up nearly 20 feet on large limestone boulders.
Prize money
The purse for the 2024 PGA Championship has not been announced yet. In 2023, the purse was $17.5 million with the Champion Brooke Koepka receiving $3,150,000.
In addition to the winner’s prize money, the 2024 PGA Champion will receive a lifetime exemption into the PGA Championship and a replica of the Wanamaker Trophy to take home 🙂
PGA Championship - How to watch: TV Times
Sky Sports Golf (all BST)
Thursday May 16 – 1pm-12am
Friday May 17 – 1pm-12am
Saturday May 18 – 2pm-12am
Sunday May 19 – 2pm-12am
ESPN+, ESPN and CBS (all EST)
Thursday - ESPN+ 7am-12pm, ESPN 1pm-8pm
Friday - ESPN+ 7am-12pm, ESPN 1pm-8pm
Saturday - ESPN+ 8am-10am, ESPN 10am-1pm and CBS 1-7pm
Sunday - ESPN+ 8am-10am, ESPN 10am-1pm and CBS 1-7pm
View the PGA Championship live leaderboard here.
