PGA Championship: Preview & FAQs

Brooks Koepka defends his title as the 106th PGA Championship tees off at Valhalla in Kentucky. Here’s the big storylines, tee times and FAQs.

Koepka claimed his third US PGA title at Oak Hill last year with a two shots victory over Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler, becoming the first LIV golfer to win a major. He arrives in Kentucky off the back of a win in Singapore at the start of May, one of 16 LIV golfers who will play this week.

The main contenders

Rory McIlroy returns to the scene of the last of his four major victories, having won his second US PGA title at Valhalla in 2014. He also arrives on the back of a victory, his 26th on the PGA Tour, at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship. He won for a record fourth time at Quail Hollow, five shots ahead of Xander Schauffele. The world number two also won the week before alongside Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

World number one Scottie Scheffler returns to action after taking time off to become a father. He and his wife Meredith announced their son Bennett was born on May 8th. The American has four victories in his last five starts, including the Players Championships followed by the Masters. He followed his win at Augusta with another win at the RBC Heritage at the end of April.

Jordan Spieth will be making his seventh attempt to complete the career Grand Slam, having won the 2015 Masters and US Open and The Open in 2017. Xander Schauffele, second to McIlroy at last week’s Wells Fargo, is chasing his first major victory, while US Open champion Wyndham Clark will also fancy his chances.

Justin Thomas, having missed four cuts in his last seven majors, is struggling for form, but he’s a two-time winner of this title, last victorious in 2022. Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open winner, Tommy Fleetwood, two-time major winner Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland will be leading the charge for Europe. Rahm hasn’t claimed a worldwide win since his 2023 Masters success.

Will Tiger play?

Four-time PGA Championship winner Tiger Woods will tee off in Kentucky, after not being in action since the Masters in April where he finished last of the players who made the cut. The 15-time major winner has won at Valhalla before, in 2000 via a three-hole aggregate playoff against Bob May. It was the third leg of what was to become the Tiger Slam when he won four consecutive majors – the US Open, the Open and US PGA that year, followed by the 2001 Masters.

He won this event in 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007 and has a lifetime exemption to play. The 48-year-old said he wants to play one tournament a month as he continues to regain fitness following a car crash in 2021.

Tee times

Defending champion Brooks Koepka will play alongside Max Homa and Jordan Spieth for rounds one and two. Rory McIlroy will tee off with former US Open winners Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose. Scottie Scheffler will play with Open champion Brian Harman and US Open champion Wyndham Clark, while Tiger Woods tees off with Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott.

Jon Rahm is paired with Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young, while 2022 US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick is grouped with 2021 PGA champion Phil Mickelson and 2020 winner Collin Morikawa.

Thursday (1st tee) / Friday (10th tee)

Local times

7:15 a.m./12:40 p.m.: Michael Block, Luke Donald, Shaun Micheel

7:26 a.m./12:51 p.m.: Jeff Kellen, Alex Smalley, Ben Kohles

7:37 a.m./1:02 p.m.: Ryan Fox, Josh Speight, Matt Wallace

7:48 a.m./1:13 p.m.: Zac Oakley, Adam Svensson, Ryo Hisatsune

7:59 a.m./1:24 p.m.: Adam Hadwin, Martin Kaymer, Taylor Pendrith

8:10 a.m./1:35 p.m.: Byeong Hun An, Alexander Bjork, Eric Cole

8:21 a.m./1:46 p.m.: Adam Schenk, Corey Conners, Nick Dunlap

8:32 a.m./1:57 p.m.: John Daly, Lee Hodges, Robert MacIntyre

8:43 a.m./2:08 p.m.: Peter Malnati, Kurt Kitayama, Victor Perez

8:54 a.m./2:19 p.m.: Ben Polland , Zac Blair, Ryan van Velzen

9:05 a.m./2:30 p.m.: Jeremy Wells, Sami Valimaki, Kyoung-Hoon Lee

9:16 a.m./2:41 p.m.: Jared Jones, Taylor Moore, Patrick Rodgers

9:27 a.m./2:52 p.m.: Kyle Mendoza, Andy Ogletree, Erik van Rooyen

12:45 p.m./7:20 a.m.: David Puig, Thirston Lawrence, Matt Dobyns

12:56 p.m./7:31 a.m.: Tracy Phillips, Denny McCarthy, Keita Nakajima

1:07 p.m./7:42 a.m.: Talor Gooch, Cam Davis, Harris English

1:18 p.m./7:53 a.m.: Jason Day, Shane Lowry, Nicolai Højgaard

1:29 p.m./8:04 a.m.: Min Woo Lee, Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel

1:40 p.m./8:15 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Tom Kim, Joaquin Niemann

1:51 p.m./8:26 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, Phil Mickelson, Matt Fitzpatrick

2:02 p.m./8:37 a.m.: Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Cameron Young

2:13 p.m./8:48 a.m.: Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Scottie Scheffler

2:24 p.m./8:59 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Camilo Villegas, Will Zalatoris

2:35 p.m./9:10 a.m.: Patrick Reed, Sam Burns, Padraig Harrington

2:46 p.m./9:21 a.m.: Brad Marek, Mark Hubbard, Maverick McNealy

2:57 p.m./9:32 a.m.: Braden Shattuck, S.H. Kim, C.T. Pan

Thursday (1st tee) / Friday (10th tee)

7:20 a.m./12:45 p.m.: Doug Ghim, Tyler Collet, Adrian Meronk

7:31 a.m./12:56 p.m.: Larkin Gross, Lucas Herbert, Grayson Murray

7:42 a.m./1:07 p.m.: Lucas Glover, Stephan Jaeger, Russell Henley

7:53 a.m./1:18 p.m.: Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas

8:04 a.m./1:29 p.m.: Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley

8:15 a.m./1:40 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose

8:26 a.m./1:51 p.m.: Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland

8:37 a.m./2:02 p.m.: Brooks Koepka, Max Homa, Jordan Spieth

8:48 a.m./2:13 p.m.: Tony Finau, Tyrrell Hatton, Sahith Theegala

8:59 a.m./2:24 p.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood

9:10 a.m./2:35 p.m.: Sepp Straka, Takumi Kanaya, Nick Taylor

9:21 a.m./2:46 p.m.: Andy Svoboda, Ben Griffin, Dean Burmester

9:32 a.m./2:57 p.m.: Preston Cole, Tim Widing, Adrian Otaegui

12:40 p.m./7:15 a.m.: Rich Beem, Sebastian Soderberg , Kazuma Kobori

12:51 p.m./7:26 a.m.: Josh Bevell, Aaron Rai, Jordan Smith

1:02 p.m./7:37 a.m.: Andrew Putnam, Jesse Mueller, Charley Hoffman

1:13 p.m./7:48 a.m.: Si Woo Kim, Tom Hoge, Alex Noren

1:24 p.m./7:59 a.m.: Y.E. Yang, Matthieu Pavon, J.T. Poston

1:35 p.m./ 8:10 a.m.: Jake Knapp, Jason Dufner, Francesco Molinari

1:46 p.m./8:21 a.m.: Thomas Detry, Jimmy Walker, Rasmus Højgaard

1:57 p.m./8:32 a.m.: Austin Eckroat, Luke List, Mackenzie Hughes

2:08 p.m./8:43 p.m.: Sungjae Im, Christiaan Bezuidenhout , Beau Hossler

2:19 p.m./8:54 a.m.: Thorbjørn Olesen, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell

2:30 p.m. 9:05 a.m.: John Somers, Brice Garnett, Jesper Svensson

2:41 p.m./9:16 a.m.: Emiliano Grillo, Evan Bowser, Alejandro Tosti

2:52 p.m./9:27 a.m.: Vincent Norrman, Wyatt Worthington, Chris Gotterup

Valhalla Golf Club

Designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1986, Rory McIlroy won the PGA here in 2014 and Tiger Woods triumphed in 2000. The venue also hosted the 2008 Ryder Cup when Team USA won 16.5 – 11.5 over Team Europe.

The front nine is links-like and open while the back nine is a more traditional tree-lined layout with narrow fairways. The picturesque dog-leg left par-5 13th is the signature hole with an island green, offering players a shot at birdie provided they can stay dry. It’s long at 7,609 yards with a par of 71.

The course meanders around Floyd’s Fork river which comes into play on several holes while the par 5 18th ‘Photo Finish’ is a classic major finishing hole. It’s been lengthened to 570 yards and is reachable in two. The Zeon Zoysiagrass fairways will run firm and fast putting an emphasis on accurate driving, and the undulating greens are small by major standards. Good approaches to the heavily protected greens will be key.

What will the weather be like?

Thursday could be partly cloudy with a small chance of rain, while thunderstorms and rain could be disruptive on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s final round is likely to be the pick of the four days with light wind, plenty of sun and temperatures around 29°C.

What’s the format?

The field for the PGA Championship is set for 156 players, one of the biggest fields of the year, especially in major championships. It’s a 72-hole strokeplay event where the top 70 players and ties make the cut after two rounds.

If the final scores are tied, who wins?

The PGA of America uses a three-hole aggregate format for the playoff. If players are tied after those three holes, they then go to a sudden-death playoff hole.

What does the winner get?

The winner receives the Wanamaker Trophy, the largest trophy handed out among the four men’s major championships.

What’s the prize money?

The PGA of America, which runs the event, hasn’t yet announced what the purse is for 2024. Given there was the largest purse in Masters history in April, the PGA Championship could hit the $20 million mark this time round, up from $17,500,000 last time.

In 2023 Brooks Koepka took home $3.15m, Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland both got $1.54m in shared second, though an individual second place would have got $1.89m, and third got $1.19m. 10th got $465,000 and last place after the cut was 76th and $25,000. Players who missed the cut were paid $4,000 each.

What other perks does the winner get?

The winner gets automatic invites to the three other majors, the US Open, The Open, and the Masters, and the Players Championship for the next five years. They also get PGA Tour membership for the next five years and DP World Tour membership for the next seven years. And the winner will be invited to play in the PGA Championship for life.

Who has won the most PGA Championships?

Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen have both won five.

Future venues

2025: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C

2026: Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pa.

2027: The East Course at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas