Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — At the start of this month the 150th Kentucky Derby was held at Churchill Downs in Louisville where the thoroughbreds of horse racing ran in the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

This week the thoroughbreds of golf are in Louisville at Valhalla Golf Club for the 106th PGA Championship, the second leg of the Tour’s Major Championships.

This is the fourth time the PGA Championship is being played on the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, which is just east of Churchill Downs in downtown Louisville. What a month to be in Louisville if you’re a sports fan.

Will this year’s PGA Championship be won by a longshot? Will it be a multiple shot win? Or will it come down to a photo finish like the Kentucky Derby did with Mystic Dan holding off a late charge from Sierra Leone?

We will get that answer this Sunday. I think this tournament will come down to the wire as does so many in major championship golf tournaments. The field is full of the greatest golfers on the planet both from the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf Tour.

Let’s dive into the field and look at some of the golfers I believe are the favorites and what are the best storylines of the weekend at Valhalla. 

Back-to-back Brooks?

Brooks Koepka set the tone last season with his second-place finish at The Masters and carried the momentum into the PGA Championship where he won, becoming the first LIV player since the split of the two tours to claim a major. Koepka has won five majors in his career, more than any other active player not named Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods.

Koepka has won three PGA Championships and a win at Valhalla would tie him with Woods on the career list, just one back of all-time leaders Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen. Koepka is without a doubt a heavy favorite.

Then there is Scottie Scheffler, this year’s Masters Champion and a man who has been away for the last few weeks for the birth of his first child. Scheffler has won four of the last five tournaments, a truly blistering run for the World’s No. 1.

Scheffler has two majors on his resume, both coming at Augusta National GC, this year and in 2022. A win this week moves him to three career major titles, and it would be tough to bet against Scheffler with the way he has played this season.

Red Hot Rory

Rory McIlroy comes in red hot this week after his fourth career Wells Fargo title at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C. McIlroy is seeking his fifth career major and his first since 2014, when he won both the U.S. Open and PGA that year.

McIlroy has won the PGA Championship twice, in 2012 and 2014. A couple weeks ago, McIlroy teamed up with Shane Lowry to win the team event at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans and in the after party, jumped up on stage and sang karaoke doing the Journey classic “Don’t Stop Believin.” Maybe that is some karma for McIlroy who is seeking his first major in a decade.

Fan Favorite Fowler

Rickie Fowler has been on the PGA Tour since 2009 and is a fan favorite, a player who seemingly everyone cheers for and roots for, yet he’s never won a major. Maybe this is the week.

Last year at the PGA Championship Fowler was in the mix for most of the tournament but fell out of contention in rounds three and four. It was tough to see Fowler play so well in the opening two rounds and then just slip out of contention. But that’s golf sometimes, the most humbling game in the world.

Fowler knows all too well that feeling of getting so close and not being able to finish the deal. He finished tied for third at the 2018 PGA, and he’s finished tied for second in all three of the other major championships. So close, but no cigar for Rickie Fowler. Maybe he can find some magic this weekend at Valhalla to get that elusive first major championship. Time will tell.

Xander seeks first major

Another player to watch this week is Xander Schauffele. Like Fowler, although much younger who hasn’t played in as many majors, he is seeking his first major championship victory. And let me tell you, he’s been close and his time will come. He’s too good of a player to not get one at some point.

Schauffele has been a top-10 player in the world for the last five years, including majors. He’s been on tour since 2015 and has won seven titles. He’s also won twice on the DP World Tour and won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Last week at Wells Fargo, Schauffele finished in second place. He has five top-5 finishes with three of those third place or better. But he’s yet to fully break through for a victory.

What I like about Schauffele is he’s consistently been in down-to-the-wire finishes this season and he’s right there; it’s just a matter of making a putt or hitting a wedge shot into a green.

The favorites at Valhalla

No surprise here when it comes to the best odds of the week going into the PGA Championship being World No. 1 Scottie Scheffer. He has the best odds at +400 or 4-1 to win the tournament.

Rory McIlroy is next at +750 after his win last week at the Wells Fargo Championship. Then Xander Schauffele is at +1400, Jon Rahm is +1600 and the defending champion, Brooks Koepka, is also at +1600. Jordan Spieth is +6500 as is Jason Day.

The 106th PGA Championship is underway. Scheffler will be paired with Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman. This group has the last three major winners in it.

Koepka, Max Homa and Spieth form the next group. Homa is seeking his first major and finished tied for third at last month’s Masters. Spieth is a three-time major winner and is looking for his career grand slam, while Koepka looks to defend his 2023 PGA title.

McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose are next. Johnson is a two-time major champion, while Rose is the 2013 U.S. Open champion.

Ludvig Aberg, Schauffele and Justin Thomas should be a great group. Thomas is from Louisville and has two PGA titles, in 2017 and 2022.

Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley tee off. Woods won the 2000 PGA at Valhalla in a playoff with Bob May when he completed the “Tiger Slam.”

Scott is seeking his second major while Keegan Bradley is looking for his second PGA Title after winning his only major at the PGA in 2011.

Follow Sports News Highlights on Facebook and X platform to get our headlines in your social feeds.

Copyright 2024 Sports News Highlights. All rights reserved.