The 105th PGA Championship gets underway at Oak Hill Country Club in New York today, where 99 of the top 100 players in the world will be teeing it up in a 156-strong field that is bidding to lift the coveted Wanamaker Trophy.
Defending champion Justin Thomas will play the first two rounds with former champions Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa, with the trio getting their challenge under way at 1.10pm (GMT) from the 10th tee.
McIlroy is keen to put the disappointment of his missed cut at the Masters behind him, but knows that he’s going to be back to his very best if he is to win a third PGA title. Speaking about the challenge that Oak Hill presents, he said: “You have to keep out of fairway bunkers. They are very penal. Don’t fire at pins, middle of the green will be a good leave on most holes. It’s a long golf course, par is going to be good and you need to be hitting into greens from fairways.”
On his chances of winning, he added: “I think I’m close. I’m seeing better things, certainly some better golf shots. If I execute like I know can, I can win this week.”
Masters champion Jon Rahm, US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick and Open champion Cameron Smith also play together in a power-packed three-ball, with their tee time set at 1.33pm, also from the 10th.
They are preceded by world no.2 Scottie Scheffler, who is out with two-time winner Brooks Koepka and former US Open champion Gary Woodland at 1pm.
Jordan Spieth, who will complete the career grand slam with victory at Oak Hill, plays with Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland, with that group teeing off at 1.22pm, also from the 10th.
Dustin Johnson, fresh off a win on the LIV Golf circuit has been paired with Tyrrell Hatton and Xander Schauffele in a group that tees off from the first hole at 6.47pm.
Having previously hosted the US Open three times and the 1995 Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship returns to Oak Hill for a fourth time, a decade since Jason Dufner triumphed in 2013. However, it will be almost unrecognisable in places, with course architect Andrew Green’s restoration – which was completed in 2019 – aiming to bring Donald Ross’ classic creation from almost a century ago back to life. Along with extensive work to all of the greens – which have been rebuilt to modern specifications and returned to their original shape – hundreds of trees have been removed and 230 yards added to the course.
Among the most noticeable changes on the front nine see the 615-yard par-five fourth lengthened by 45 yards and the former par-three sixth replaced by a shorter hole that slots in as the fifth – effectively one of three new holes. The sixth, now some 503 yards, has a slight dogleg to the right with fairway bunkers to the left and Allen’s Creek running down the right, cutting across the fairway and then down the left.
Fans who remember the closing stretch will also notice the pond on the par-three 15th hole has been filled in. The removal of some tree-lined fairways offers the big hitters off the tee plenty of encouragement but alterations ought to also make the bunkers more penal and the different shaped greens will allow for some testing pin positions.
The weather for the week looks changeable, with an early frost potentially threatening to delay today’s early starters, although it is supposed to warm up as the day goes on with temperatures peaking to the 23-24° on Friday before showers sweep in on Saturday, followed by a cloudless sunny day for Sunday’s final round.
For all the tee times for the first two days, click here. Full TV coverage of the championship is on Sky Sports Golf.