The PGA Championship commences Thursday. Who will claim the Wanamaker Trophy? Who will leave dejected? Who might surprise along the way?
The GolfChannel.com team is on-site at Quail Hollow Club and offers up some answers to the pressing questions at the year’s second major.
Who wins the 107th PGA Championship?
RYAN LAVNER: Bryson DeChambeau. There’s no one on the planet – not Rory, not Scottie – who is driving the ball as well as DeChambeau is at the moment. And it’s difficult to conjure up a more perfect venue for him, a 7,600-yard behemoth that will play even longer after the heavy rain and place a premium on finding the fairways and avoiding the wet, dense rough. DeChambeau’s iron play continues to be a question mark – it’s the only reason he didn’t win the Masters last month – but his short game and putting remains tidy enough to give him a significant advantage. If he continues to drive the ball like he has for the past year-plus, this is a great opportunity for him to knock off major No. 3.
REX HOGGARD: Rory McIlroy. This is the most chalk of picks for nearly every reason. The Northern Irishman’s record at Quail Hollow is beyond impressive with four victories (at the Truist Championship) and he’s in the best form of anyone in golf with three marquee victories this year.
BRENTLEY ROMINE: Rory McIlroy. Let’s not try and overthink things. Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and even Justin Thomas warrant consideration, but there’s a reason Quail Hollow is also known as Rory McIlroy Country Club. This course was built for him, it’s long and wet with still firm greens thanks to the SubAir system, and McIlroy is at the top of his craft.
What’s the winning score at Quail Hollow?
LAVNER: 15 under. Good scoring remains likely after the early-week rainfall and upcoming heat wave, but the SubAir system underneath the greens should allow the PGA setup staff to maintain some semblance of firmness in the putting surfaces.
The men’s second major is upon us. Who are the favorites entering the PGA Championship?
HOGGARD: 12 under. The winning score at the 2017 PGA Championship played a Quail Hollow was 8 under but that was contested in August with vastly different conditions and grasses, while the average winning score for the Truist Championship, which is played in May, the last five years is 16 under. Somewhere in the middle of those two marks seems right.
ROMINE: The sheer length of Quail and the fact that not much mowing is being done right now will keep things somewhat in check. Still, I’ll guess 15 under, slightly harder than when McIlroy cruised here last year.
Who leaves the most disappointed?
LAVNER: Jordan Spieth. As great as it’d be to write, it seems like too much to ask for back-to-back majors in which a player captures the career Grand Slam. Though Spieth has gotten longer and faster in recent years, giving him more of a chance at Quail Hollow than in prior attempts, he’s still going to be giving up a ton of yardage to the pre-tournament favorites (almost all of whom are bombers) that he’s not quite sharp enough to make up for in other areas.
Tee times and groupings for the opening round of the 107th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club.
HOGGARD: Jordan Spieth. Considering his steadily improving form and health there’s a good chance Spieth has a solid week at the PGA Championship, but given the fact that Quail Hollow is a sprawling bomber’s ballpark, not exactly Spieth’s strength, it’s a good bet he will have to wait at least one more year before he has a serious chance to complete the career Grand Slam.
ROMINE: For the price he’s going at, I’m not sold on Collin Morikawa this week. And Russell Henley once again is being valued too high.
What longshot could be in the mix?
LAVNER: Patrick Reed, 90-1. Finished third at the Masters, has been playing well around the world and his short game remains as sharp as ever. When the PGA was last held here, in 2017, he tied for second, and he posted two other top-10s here at the old Wells Fargo Championship. If this becomes a slugfest, he could certainly elbow his way into contention.
HOGGARD: Jason Day. The 2015 PGA champion has a solid history at Quail Hollow having won the 2018 Truist Championship and he tied for ninth at the ’17 PGA Championship. He’s also been impressively consistent this season with three top-10 finishes, including a tie for eighth at the Masters, and no missed cuts in nine starts.
ROMINE: There are some juicy options in the triple-digits, such as Daniel Berger (100), Keith Mitchell (130), Kurt Kitayama (250) and Eugenio Chacarra (400). All will find the top 20, though Kitayama always seems to break my heart in these situations. Chacarra arrived at Quail a couple days early, so he got in some practice rounds before the heavy stuff got here.
Read the full article here
