Where do I start?
If you want to keep track of just one central story of the 2024 PGA Championship, which takes place this week at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, good luck.
“The scriptwriting gods have been shining a very bright light on the PGA Championship for years,” said CBS commentator Jim Nantz. “They have hosted some of the most exciting majors of all majors. And Valhalla has produced some memorable epics there. — Tiger [Woods] and Bob May, Rory [McIlroy] overtake ricky [Fowler] and phil [Mickelson] In the darkness of 2014, [2012] Ryder Cup.
“I feel like Valhalla has charm and the ability to create a high level of drama, so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens this time.”
Why not pay attention to Scottie Scheffler, who is number one in the world rankings? He enters this week having won four of his past five matches, including winning his second green jacket at the Masters.
Scheffler has not finished higher than a tie for 17th in 10 tournaments this year. The only one in the last five tournaments that they didn’t win was a runner-up finish.
Oh, and Scheffler will also miss this week’s Wells Fargo Championship to be with his wife, Meredith, who is expecting their first child soon.
If she does not give birth by Thursday’s opener and does so during the tournament, Scheffler is on record as saying she will retire immediately.
I see, that kind of drama is lurking.
There’s always the McIlroy drama there, too.
The last time a Northern Irishman won a major championship was ten years ago at – you guessed it – Valhalla. McIlroy won the British Open last month, making it his second consecutive major victory. And at the time, the assumption was that McIlroy was on track to reach double digits in his major league career.
Instead, he’s stuck with the same four he left Valhalla with ten years ago.
And it’s not like McIlroy has lost a game since Valhalla. In the 35 majors McIlroy has played since Valhalla in 2014, he has finished in the top 10 23 times and top 5 11 times. He has finished tied for eighth and seventh in the past two PGA Championships.
Moving from the McIlroy storyline, we bring you 16 players representing LIV Golf and the controversial Saudi-backed tour that plucked the world’s best players from the PGA Tour.
At the top of this week’s LIV golf list is Brooks Koepka, who happens to be the defending champion and three-time PGA Championship winner.
Oh yeah, Koepka just won the most recent LIV tournament, right before he cemented his reputation as one of the sport’s great big-game hunters, winning his fourth PGA and sixth career major. trying to obtain.
Among the members of LIV is former world No. 1 Jon Rahm, who has had a relatively quiet run on the Saudi circuit. Rahm is coming off a disappointing Masters.
Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, three years removed from their PGA victory at Kiawah Island, are also set to take on Valhalla, as is Cam Smith, who was ranked No. 2 in the world before signing with LIV.
There are two other big stories lurking this week. It involves his two best friends, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
Thomas is from the Louisville area and desperately wants to win in front of his family and friends back home.
Although he hasn’t been consistent for a while, Thomas has two major wins on his resume, both PGA Championships.
Spieth, who has also been in shaky form lately, needs a PGA Championship title to complete a career Grand Slam, one of only five players in the history of the sport to do so.
This will be Spieth’s eighth attempt in history, having won the Masters and the US Open in 2015 and the British Open in 2017.
A year ago at Oak Hill, aside from Koepka, who hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy, Michael Brock, then an unknown club pro from Mission Viejo, Calif., was perhaps the biggest rock star of the week.
Best of all, Brock paired McIlroy with a hole-in-one in the final round, finishing tied for 15th and earning an exemption to this week’s PGA Championship.
Will there be another block party in Valhalla?
It would be remiss of me not to mention Tiger Woods, who is attempting to make a record 24 consecutive appearances at the Masters in April.
Although he finished last among the participants, he finished the race. It was an impressive feat considering his frequent physical ailments.
Woods, who won his second of four PGA Championships at Valhalla 24 years ago, held off the unknown May in an epic battle on Sunday.
What does Woods have in store this week?
Was another cut made? What about the weekend fight?
Drama is waiting.
