Arguably the strongest field in the men’s game comes together for the second Major of the year, the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.
In total, 156 players will compete for the chance to lift the Wanamaker Trophy. The field comprises former champions, the world’s top 100, Major winners over the last five years and others. Unlike other Majors, the PGA Championship doesn’t include amateurs although there are lesser-known players in the form of club pros, with the 20 low scorers in the last PGA Professional Championship eligible.
Last year, Justin Thomas took advantage of a monumental slip by Mito Pereira to win his second PGA Championship title. The Chilean had seemed set for his maiden Major win until he double-bogeyed the 72nd hole to finish tied for third. That left Thomas and Will Zalatoris in the three-hole playoff, which the former won by a shot.
Thomas returns to defend his title, while Pereira also plays as one of 18 LIV Golf players in the field, but there’s no Zalatoris as he continues his recovery from back surgery, which also kept him out of The Masters at Augusta National.
One player who will be desperate to claim his first PGA Championship title is Jordan Spieth. The 29-year-old only needs this Major to complete one of the rarest feats in all, a career Grand Slam. Spieth withdrew from the tournament immediately before the event, the AT&T Byron Nelson, with a wrist injury, but he’ll be hoping it doesn’t hamper his efforts this week.
Rory McIlroy will surely see this year’s tournament as a golden opportunity to claim his fifth Major title. The World No.3 is a member of Oak Hill Country Club. After missing the cut at The Masters and returning with another unconvincing performance in the Wells Fargo Championship, he’ll be hoping a tournament on familiar territory will be exactly what he needs to claim his biggest victory since the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool.
Phil Mickelson is one of three LIV Golf players who have won the PGA Championship, with the second of his two titles coming just two years ago. He didn’t defend his title last season amid ongoing controversy over his involvement with the new circuit, but returns in 2023 hoping to recapture the form that saw him become the oldest Major winner in history, aged 50, at Kiawah Island.
Another LIV Golf player with recent PGA Championship success is Brooks Koepka. He reminded plenty of his ability with his tie for second with Mickelson at The Masters last month, and will be…
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