The horseshoe-shaped green at the 18th hole at Valhalla – image PGA of America 

While the PGA Championship has often been seen as the poorer cousin of the four major championships, there is little doubt of the anticipation building for the 2024 version.

Despite the event typically attracting the strongest of the four major championship fields, the PGA Championship has been overshadowed through much of its history. The Masters has the luxury of being played at the same venue each year and therefore gaining familiarity with golf fans and the US Open and Open Championship offer fields open to all provided they meet the qualifying criteria and that they are national championships of the two major regions in the game.

The scheduling of the PGA Championship as the last major of the year until recent times, has also served to reduce its standing amongst the majors but in 2024 there are so many storylines which promise to make the fight for the Wannamker Trophy one of the more interesting for some time.

Scottie Scheffler returns to tournament golf after taking a month off following his win at the RBC Heritage. The arrival of his first born child during that period along with a month away from tournament golf will provide reasonable grounds for concern as to his capacity to challenge for a third major title.

It might be however that the break and the joy of fatherhood could serve to take him to an even higher level but there is that element of doubt, although Scheffler is comfortable about the time away.

“I was able to practice and play plenty at home,”said Scheffler. “Obviously the last week was a bit different with our son coming. But yeah, I would say three weeks is probably a bit of a longer break than I would usually take. I’m sure on a normal year I probably would have been playing at the Nelson.

“But yeah, definitely rested going into this week for sure. I don’t really feel like any rust has accumulated. I was able to practice and play a lot at home. I’m able to do stuff at home to simulate tournament golf, especially on the greens, competing and gambling with my buddies, I don’t really want to lose to them, either, so I was able to simulate a little bit of competition at home.”

Rory McIlroy looks to win his first major since the last of his previous four at this venue in 2014 so he has winning form at this week’s venue, is in oustanding form at present  and appears to be back playing at his free-flowing best.

A bombshell was announced today however when it was disclosed that McIlroy has filed for divorce from his wife Erica.

Clearly this is not an overnight thing and has been in the wind for some time. So the issues surrounding the divorce were also in place during last week’s Wells Fargo Championship which McIlroy won with ridiculous authority and ease, but the 35-year-old would not be human if the public disclosure of his marital troubles did not impact him in some manner.

Brooks Koepka is chasing a 6th major championship title and, amazingly, a 4th PGA Championship, his capacity to lift for the biggest events a hallmark of his career. Koepka won at his most recent start in a LIV Golf event in Singapore and so brings form and a love of the biggest stage to Valhalla and the defending champion cannot be counted out despite the disappointment of an ordinary Masters in April.

Xander Schauffele has recorded nine top tens this season and seems to put himself in contention every week without winning. He was unable to hold off the challenge of McIlroy last week but he was well clear in second place. He has yet to win a major but given his level of consistency then surely his time must come.

Of the leading Australians, Cam Smith has recorded only one top ten (9th) in six starts at the PGA Championship but he has played well on LIV this year including when runner-up at the recent event in Singapore and did finish 6th at the Masters so his chances can’t be dismissed.

“Everything feels good,” said Smith. “Game feels great. Feel like it’s just been improving this whole year basically and, yeah, I’m pumped and ready for this week. I’ve only managed to play the first nine so far, we’ve got a little weather here today, so I’ll go see as much of the course as I can today. It will be good. The course is great, it’s in great shape and it’s tough.”

Jason Day is a winner and runner-up at the PGA Championship and is playing well at present as his 4th place finish in Charlotte last week would suggest.

Tee Times

 

Jason Day – game building to a peak – image Getty Images / PGA Tour 

While the talk of the Signature event Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte in North Carolina was of the brilliant final round of Rory McIlroy to win that particular event for the 4^th time, Jason Day has continued his build-up to the PGA Championship with yet another impressive performance when sharing 4^th place.

Day, who won the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits nine years ago for his only major championship to date, recorded his third top ten of the season and is throwing out signals that he might be approaching the sort of form that could well see him contend at Valhalla in Kentucky next week.

Just as he had on Saturday, Day recovered from a slow start to his final round with a homeward nine of 34 over the demanding Quail Hollow layout and although some 11 shots behind the winner, McIlroy, there was a lot to like about how he handled yet another strong layout, the likes of which he will face next week.

Day earned US$312,000 for his share of 4^th place with Sungjae Im, taking his earnings beyond US$60 million in his PGA Tour career to date.

Day finished tied for 15^th when the PGA Championship was last played at Valhalla in 2014.

Leaderboard

Steve Alker – image PGA of America

New Zealand’s Steve Alker extended his lead at the top of the Charl Schwab Cup points table with a runner-up finish in the opening major of the PGA Tour Champions, the Regions Traditions in Birmingham, Alabama this morning.

Alker’s brilliant final round of 63 was by three shots the best of the day and swept him from 13^th place through 54 holes to finish two shots behind the winner, Doug Barron.

Alker moved past the likes of Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker during the course of the final round with seven birdies and an eagle, the only hiccup coming when he bogeyed the 16^th hole challenging for the lead.

Alker earned US$228,000 and lifts his season’s earnings to US$1.2 million, some US$243,000 ahead of the second-placed Stephen Ames.

It was Alker’s third runner-up finish of the season to go with his win at the opening event of the year.

Alker’s next event is the Senior PGA Championship a title he won in 2022.

Stuart Appleby was the best of the Australians when he finished 11^th and moved to 18^th on the Charl Schwab table.

Leaderboard

Jason Day with his winning trophy last year – image Getty Images / PGA Tour 

In a press conference ahead of his defence of this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson Classic at the TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney in Texas, Jason Day has confirmed his availability to play for the Australian Olympic Team in Paris in July / August.

It will be the first occasion Day has played the Olympics as, in 2016 when golf made its return to the Olympic fold, he and wife Ellie were expecting a third child and the threat of the Zika virus was enough to discourage his involvement.

Marcus Fraser and Scott Hend represented Australia that year.

Then, in 2021 Day was not eligible due to a form slump and Australia was represented by Cam Smith and Marc Leishman.

“I think I — probably looking back on it, I wish I would’ve gone to Rio,” said Day today. “Had one of those spots and at the time we were having kids, and then obviously there was that scare, so I was kind of like a little bit freaked out about that.

“I wish I would’ve gone, but if I get the opportunity to go and represent the country, my country, Australia and get to go to Paris, that would be an absolute blast, an honor to do that.

“To be able to call yourself an Olympian would be even better. If I get the opportunity I’m 100% going.”

Day is clearly on track to gain one of the two male spots on the Australian team as he now stands in 22^nd place in the world rankings and with Adam Scott recently declaring himself unavailable, it appears that Day and Min Woo Lee are the current Australians most likely. Lee is currently 32nd.

Cameron Smith ( 55th) will get opportunities in both the PGA Championship later this month and the US Open ahead of the final selection on June 17^th, the day after the US Open, to advance his hopes of improving his world ranking ahead of Lee but he faces a big task if he is to do so.

Day won the CJ Cup last year by one shot over Si Woo Kim recording his first victory in five years and his form in 2024 suggests he could well contend again.

This week’s event or its former equivalent has been good to Day as it was this title that saw him win his first PGA Tour event in 2010.

Day lived in the Dallas Forth Worth area earlier in his time in the US and clearly enjoys playing in this region.

“I lived in the DFW area for a couple years,” said the 36 year old.  “I’ve always enjoyed the people here. I grew up on, not like grass like this, but on bermudagrass, so you kind of get that a lot here.

“I didn’t grow up in too much wind, but what I’ve noticed I’ve had a lot of success here in Texas. From the Los Colinas Golf Course we play to this one as well. I always find it funny to think there is 13 years between my first and last win, which is like I always wonder where the time went.

“But it’s nice to be able to come back to a place that I’ve had success that I know and whether that’s here or Los Colinas or around Texas. I’ve always enjoyed playing in Texas.”

Day recalled just what his win last year did for his confidence after such a long winning drought.

“Golf is a funny game. Not only physically, but mentally as well. Especially where I’ve been, like I’ve been to the top of the mountain before and then to be where I was during that five-year span of like do I really want to push enough, kind of push through this and get through the pain of it all.

“But it was great to finally see all the work that I’ve been working on pay off. I remember talking to someone about this and I said like I keep projecting myself forward saying that I’m going to be talking about finally after so and so many years I finally got that win.

“It’s amazing how mentally tough this game can be. And I would always say to myself that if I can talk myself into a bad shot I can talk myself into a good shot. It’s human nature to feel down and guilty for yourself. I just kept on saying to myself, it’s only a short period of time. Even though five years is a long time in a career. It’s going to happen. Just keep working through it. Ultimately it happened here last year, which was fantastic.”

Day will be joined by fellow Australians, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley and Harrison Endycott in this week’s field along with New Zealander Ryan Fox.

 

 

 

Brendan Steele – image LIV Golf

American 41-year-old Brendan Steele won the second edition of LIV Golf Adelaide, holding off challenges from as many as eight other golfers in today’s final round in front of 35,000 at the Grange Golf Club.

In eighteen previous starts since joining Liv Golf in early 2023 Steele had yet to win and, in fact, his form in five starts this season had resulted in a best of 19^th but a chat with Phil Mickelson over breakfast on Saturday morning gave Steele the confidence and self-belief to produce weekend rounds of 64 and 68 to win by one over a fast finishing Louis Oosthuizen with another shot back to Charl Schwartzel, Jon Rahm, Dean Burmester, Andy Ogletree and Joaquin Niemann.

“Yeah, I lean on Phil pretty hard with everything, with how to hit shots around the green, how to approach things,” said Steele.

“He’s one of the best players ever, and he can give me advice. If he’s going to give me advice, I’m going to take it. I definitely want to listen to him, and he’s helped me a ton with everything from wedge play, short game, mental game. Just instilling confidence in myself, and he’s a big reason I’m sitting up here.

“Just for him to have that belief in me is really great. He’s the reason that I’m here and the reason that I’m improving. To be honest, I’m 41 years old and I’m getting better, and it’s mostly because of him. It’s really great.”

Steele began the final round one ahead of Danny Lee and after an early bogey, he almost immediately responded with five consecutive birdies to take a lead which he would hold all day.

Matt Jones was the leading Australian in a share of 9^th place at 14 under and one shot clear of Lucas Herbert, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman.

Although the dream result for the huge crowds that flocked to Adelaide and the Grange Golf Club would have seen an Australian win the individual title, the battle for the team event provided them with plenty of excitement as the Ripper Team of Smith, Leishman, Jones and Herbert took out that title, each member earning US$750,000 of the total US$5 million purse for that particular contest.

With both the Ripper and Stinger (South African) teams locked at 53 under for the 54 holes they were forced into a dramatic playoff which resulted in the Rippers (Smith and Leishman as the chosen participants) winning their first team title by both parring the second extra hole after superb par save by both at the first.

“I am flabbergasted actually,” said Smith. “I think we’re all flabbergasted. I think we’re all exhausted. It’s been a very long week, and for it to end the way it did was, like you said, a storybook ending. It was so cool.

“All the boys played really well. I think we all finished in the top 12 or 13 or something, which is something we probably haven’t done as a team before, so that’s pretty cool, as well, for everyone to show up at our home event and play really solid golf.

“I think we’re all ready for a beer and a long sleep.”

As to how the two to tackle the playoff were selected Smith responded; “It wasn’t easy. Not an easy decision. I had just made bogey on 18, and we kind of all talked about it. We had a good chat. Obviously Leish and Herby shot a really good score today, so they were kind of on fire.

“Yeah, I mean, in the end it was the right decision. Do I think it would have mattered? Probably not. I think any one of these guys could have stepped up there and got the job done.

“I think today for myself it was about digging deep. I didn’t really have my best stuff out there, but we did it in that first playoff hole. We both made pretty good pars and kept us in the golf tournament.

“Yeah, I think it could have gone either way. I think either one of us could have done it.”

The Adelaide version of the event has once again proven to be the most supported of the LIV events. Crowds of 35,000 were on-course each day, providing not only evidence of its popularity with Australian golf fans but given the percentage of the crowds that were from interstate then a windfall for the city of Adelaide.

This writer is not a great fan of the division LIV Golf’s introduction has created in world golf but it is hard to argue with the success of the Adelaide event.

Liv Golf now heads to Singapore for the LIV Golf Singapore event starting on Friday.

SCORES

The successful Ripper Team