The First Look: PGA Championship

The PGA Championship heads to Kiawah Island for a second time, with Collin Morikawa looking to defend his first major and Rory McIlroy seeking to recapture the magic that led to an eight-shot win here in 2012. Storylines abound, as Jordan Spieth will be attempting to complete the career Grand Slam and Bryson DeChambeau will bring his big drives to the longest venue in major championship history. FIELD NOTES: Two-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy arrives on a winning note, claiming the Wells Fargo Championship in his last start. McIlroy’s eight-shot win here in 2012 is the largest winning margin in PGA Championship history and came a year after he won the U.S. Open by the same margin… The reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson along with current FedExCup leader, Bryson DeChambeau, lead one of the strongest fields in golf teeing it up at the second major of the year. Johnson had to WD from the event preceding the PGA, the AT&T Byron Nelson, beause of knee pain… After returning home to a hero’s welcome after his Masters win, Hideki Matsuyama returned to the TOUR at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he made the cut… There will be 20 PGA of America club pros in the event, who all qualified in various ways… Brooks Koepka missed the cut in Texas at his first start since the Masters after returning from injury, however, Koepka – a two-time PGA winner – has never missed the cut in eight attempts at the PGA… Collin Morikawa already beat a world-class field once this year, having won the WGC-Workday Championship in February, and now he’s looking to do it again as he defends his title from 2020. He and Tiger Woods are the only players to win a major and World Golf Championship before turning 25… Justin Thomas is hoping to add to his major championship trophy case with another Wanamaker, after winning the PGA in 2017. Thomas, who won THE PLAYERS earlier this year – his 14th TOUR title – has never missed the cut at the PGA. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 FedExCup points. COURSE: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, par 72, 7,876 yards. The Pete and Alice Dye design has been stretched to more than 7,800 yards, making it the longest major championship venue in history (the previous mark was Erin Hills which, for the 2017 U.S. Open measured 7,741 yards). It’s also 200 more yards than when Kiawah hosted the PGA in 2012. Six holes will play over 500 yards. The course, which also hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup, is set alongside the Atlantic Ocean (it boasts the “most seaside holes in the Northern Hemisphere”) and wind certainly will play a factor. STORYLINES: Jordan Spieth’s game is trending in the right direction heading to the PGA. Spieth, a winner already on TOUR this season, is looking for the career Grand Slam once again at the PGA, the lone major that has eluded him in his career thus far. This is Spieth’s fifth crack at trying to win the Grand Slam… Americans have won five straight PGA Championships and seven of the last 10 (with Rory McIlroy being the exception twice)… McIlroy along with Keegan Bradley, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, and Steve Stricker are golfers who finished inside the top 10 in 2012 who are back in the field at the Ocean Course in 2021… Rickie Fowler and John Catlin were extended special exemptions for this year’s PGA. Fowler didn’t play in the Masters (for the first time since 2010) and he’s not teed it up at a major since last year… Dustin Johnson was teary-eyed after winning the Masters near his childhood hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. Can he win a major in his home state this time? 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Brooks Koepka (2018 at Bellerive CC) 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Bruce Crampton (2nd round, 1975 at Firestone CC), Raymond Floyd (1st round, 1982 at Southern Hills), Gary Player (2nd round, 1984 at Shoal Creek), Michael Bradley (1st round, 1993 at Inverness), Vijay Singh (2nd round, 1993 at Inverness), Brad Faxon (4th round, 1995 at Riviera CC), José María Olazábal (3rd round, 2000 at Valhalla), Mark O’Meara (2nd round, 2001 at Atlanta AC), Thomas Bjorn (3rd round, 2005 at Baltusrol), Tiger Woods (2nd round, 2007 at Southern Hills), Steve Stricker (1st round, 2011 at Atlanta AC), Jason Dufner (2nd round, 2013 at Oak Hill), Hiroshi Iwata (2nd round, 2015 at Whistling Straits), Robert Streb (2nd round, 2016 at Baltusrol), Brooks Koepka (2nd round, 2018 at Bellerive; 1st round, 2019 at Bethpage Black), Charl Schwartzel (2nd round, 2018 at Bellerive). LAST TIME: Having been originally scheduled May 14-17, the 2020 PGA Championship was moved to August 6-9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was the first major played in over a year. By week’s end, it was Collin Morikawa who had won his first major title. Morikawa had won on the PGA TOUR earlier in the year (his second TOUR title) and his final-round 64 – highlighted by one of the shots of the year, a driver on the par-4 16th that ended up just 7 feet from the hole – saw him jump to the top of the leaderboard. He starting Sunday two shots back of Dustin Johnson’s lead. Morikawa’s Sunday 64 was tied for the low round of the week, and his 129 on the weekend set a new PGA Championship record. Johnson ended up T2 alongside Paul Casey, while Matthew Wolff, Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, and Jason Day finished T4. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN+), 1 p.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN). Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN), 1 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS) Bonus: Thursday-Friday, Featured Group #1, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN+), Thursday-Friday, Featured Group #2, #3, #4, 8 a.m.- 7 p.m. (ESPN+). Saturday-Sunday, Featured Group #1, #2, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN+), Featured Group #3, #4, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN+). Radio: Thursday – Sunday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (on SiriusXM 208, XM 92. Not available on PGA TOUR Digital platforms).

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