Valhalla Golf Club will host this week’s PGA Championship for the fourth time since 1996. This event was most recently held in 2014 when Rory McIlroy last won his major title.
The course also hosted the PGA Championship in 1996 and 2000, with each tournament producing epic finishes with playoffs. Mark Brooks fended off Kentucky’s Kenny Perry in a sudden-death playoff in 1996, and four years later Tiger Woods held off Bob May in an epic three-hole playoff.
The PGA of America also held the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla, where an American won for the first time since 1999.
This golf course holds a special place in the history of the sport, often producing drama that even Shakespeare couldn’t write. Golf fans around the world are hoping that motif continues this week, with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, defending champion Brooks Koepka and a number of players including McIlroy having their names on the Wanamaker Trophy. hoping to engrave.
Now that the team has decided on the winner of the 2024 PGA Championship, the staff at Playing Through is thinking about who will win.
Jacques Mirko – Staff Writer
He may arrive in Kentucky sleep-deprived, though, thanks to the fact that he and his wife became new parents last week. Scotty Scheffler remains in a league of his own.
I can’t hesitate to pick him, and I believe Scheffler will become the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win the first two majors of a season.
He has won four of his past five starts, with the outlier being the Texas Children’s Open, where he finished one stroke behind Stefan Jaeger. Scheffler missed a 6-foot shot on the 72nd hole that would have forced a playoff at Memorial Park. Unfortunately, he made up for it with dominant wins at Augusta National and Harbor Town.
Scheffler hasn’t played since RBC Heritage, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that he leads in nearly every major category. He ranks first in total strokes gained, number of greens in regulation, proximity to the hole, birdie or better conversion rate, and bogey avoidance rate. The two-time Masters champion routinely paints his flagstick, and each tournament he plays in depends on whether he can make the putt.
If the putt goes well, Scheffler will win by a landslide. But even if you have a mediocre week on the greens, like I had at The Players, you can still win.
In any case, Scheffler is so good that it’s hard not to choose him. He won his first PGA Championship this week, putting the Grand Slam squarely on the line.
DraftKings odds of winning: +400
Savannah Richardson – Staff Writer
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I chose Rory McIlroy Last week’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow paid dividends.
His swagger on Sunday was very impressive and something the golf world hasn’t seen in a long time. Is it possible that the divorce news will raise some flags? Perhaps there is something special about this Northern Irishman.
Like Quail Hollow, McIlroy knows how to play Valhalla, a course that takes advantage of its length from the tee. The four-time major winner ranks first on the PGA Tour in total driving and second in driving distance. So many players this week talked about how McIlroy hits big sticks off every tee to give him a huge advantage over the rest of the field.
He gained momentum in Quail Hollow, so I had Rory end the drought where it started, albeit boldly.
DraftKings odds of winning: +750
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Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
