PGA Championship week is here! Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky will host the major for a fourth time and the tour must be thrilled due to the robust amount of storylines. With concerns over the fanbase shriveling in the game’s currently fractured state, the PGA Tour must be hopeful for a viewership win this week. They have ample television coverage slated on ESPN and are in a prime position to capitalize on the current state of affairs.
Who will win this year’s tournament?
2024 PGA Championship Favorites To Win
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Rory McIlroy won the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow for the fourth time last week. It was his second win in as many starts for him. The previous one was the team event, the Zurich Classic, which he won with fellow countryman, Shane Lowry. The latter was a dominant triumph. McIlroy finished in spectacular fashion, going eight under par over his last eleven holes. He seems to be in phenomenal form.
McIlroy’s recent form raises expectations through the roof entering the PGA Championship. Coming off a win, he immediately became a favorite, even more so than he already was. The host venue of this year’s upcoming major is the very same course where he won his last PGA Championship. That win came in 2014, when he edged out Phil Mickelson by a shot, controversially playing through darkness to get the victory. It was the last of McIlroy’s four major championships.
Rory didn’t shy away from the obvious connections. Instead, he acknowledged and embraced them:
“I really got some confidence,” McIlroy said. “My golf swing feels a lot more comfortable than it has. So going to a venue next week where I’ve won, it feels like the stars are aligning a little bit. But I’ve got a lot of golf to play and a lot of great players to try to beat next week. Going into the next major of the year feeling really good about myself.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler enters the week as the favorite, having won the season’s first major at The Masters. It was his second win there in the past three years. Scheffler has won four of his last five starts, the only non-win was a runner-up finish in Houston. He hasn’t played since winning the RBC Heritage last month, which he played the week after The Masters triumph. He is now a father to a baby boy. This will be his first tournament as such.
Tiger And Rory
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Previous champions Tiger Woods, 2000, and Rory McIlroy, 2014, are both in the field and making headlines. Tiger’s mere presence has done that ever since he burst on the scene. He’s said to be “excited to play.” And McIlroy’s headlines warrant more justified consideration. He is a strong favorite to win this year’s PGA Championship, whereas Woods isn’t.
The friendship between the two is well-documented. As are their recent contentions over a potential return to the PGA Tour Policy Board from McIlroy. Woods was among a smaller faction that was opposed to McIlroy’s return. He downplayed the discord, then joined a newer subcommittee with Woods and Adam Scott, which squashed the drama. Policy Board member Jimmy Dunne’s resignation this week could rekindle flames on this hot topic.
There are 16 LIV golfers in the field this week at the PGA Championship. The rival tour continues to make headlines. PGA Tour Policy Board mainstay Jimmy Dunne resigned this week, citing a lack of progress toward a deal being finalized between LIV and the PGA Tour. Dunne was vital in last June’s preliminary agreement between the PGA and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The deal was said to not have been possible without Dunne’s contributions.
Another LIV Golfer Could Win The PGA Championship
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Brooks Koepka, the defending champion, is a three-time winner of the PGA Championship already. He comes in with excellent form, having won his last start in Singapore on the LIV Golf tour. Koepka won by three shots over Australia’s Cameron Smith. His comments suggest he’s motivated by a poor performance at the year’s first major, The Masters, where he finished T45 in April.
Jon Rahm, last year’s Masters champion and former world No. 1 will look to bounce back after a disappointing defense of his green jacket. It was the first major since his departure to LIV Golf, so fans will be curious to see whether the flop was a hiccup or a sign of a more significant drop off for the Spaniard. He’s a two-time major winner and has never won the PGA Championship.
