Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Wells Fargo Championship (Rory McIlroy); Myrtle Beach Classic (Chris Gotterup)
THIS WEEK: 106th PGA Championship, Louisville, Ky., May 16-19
Course: Valhalla Golf Club (Par 71, 7,609 Yards)
Purse: TBA. $17.5M in 2023 (Winner: $3.15M)
Defending Champion: Brooks Koepka
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV/Streaming: Thursday: 7 a.m.-12 p.m. ET (ESPN+), 12-8 p.m. (ESPN); Friday: 7 a.m.-12 p.m. (ESPN+), 12-7 p.m. (ESPN); Saturday-Sunday: 8-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN), 1-7 p.m. (CBS).
X: @PGAChampionship
NOTES: If there is a tie after 72 holes, a playoff would be an aggregate score of three additional holes – Nos. 13, 17 and 18. If needed, the fourth hole would be the 18th followed by Nos. 13, 17 and 18 again. There are 16 LIV Golf players in the field, highlighted by defending champion winner Koepka. In addition to nine players who qualified, seven others received special invites. … Valhalla has undergone a complete renovation since the last time it hosted the PGA Championship in 2014. The 2021 project included changing the fairway turf and tees from bent grass to Zeon Zoysia, which require less water. New championship tees were also created for Nos. 1, 12, 13, 14 and 18, with the course’s total length increased by 151 yards. … Three-time PGA Championship winner Tiger Woods will tee it up for the first time since making the cut at the Masters. He won at Valhalla in 2000. … The final two spots in the field went to Gotterup with his win at Myrtle Beach and S.H. Kim, who was the highest finisher at the Wells Fargo behind McIlroy who was not already qualified. Gotterup will make his PGA Championship debut. … Jordan Spieth is seeking to complete the career Grand Slam but enters with four missed cuts in his past seven starts.
BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+450 at BetMGM) has won four of his past five starts, including the Masters, and tied for second in the other. He is coming off a three-week break for the berth of his first child. … Rory McIlroy (+750) has won his past two starts as he seeks his first major championship since 2014, which came at Valhalla. … Brooks Koepka (+1400) already is a three-time winner of the event and won his most recent LIV Golf start. … Xander Schauffele (+1400) is seeking his first career major title and his first victory in nearly two years after being unable to capitalize on the 54-hole lead last week. … Ludvig Aberg (+1800) is a career-high sixth in the world following his T10 at the RBC Heritage after a solo second at the Masters. He also finished eighth at The Players.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Charles Schwab Challenge, May 23-26, Fort Worth, Texas, 7,289 yards
LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: Cognizant Founders Cup (Rose Zhang)
THIS WEEK: Mizuho Americas Open, Jersey City, N.J., May 16-19
Course: Liberty National Golf Club (Par 72, 6,675 Yards)
Purse: $3M (Winner: $450,000)
Defending Champion: Zhang (Pro); Yana Wilson (AJGA)
Race to the CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV/Streaming: Thursday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel, Peacock)
X: @MizuhoLPGA
NOTES: The 144-player field includes 120 professionals competing in a stroke play event along with 24 AJGA players competing in a Modified Stableford format. The top 50 professionals after 36 holes will make the cut along with all 24 juniors. The professionals and juniors will be paired separately for the first two rounds, with two professionals paired with one junior based upon score for the final round. … Zhang earned her first professional victory in a playoff over Jennifer Kupcho last year. … Lydia Ko needs one victory to qualify for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: U.S. Women’s Open, Lancaster, Pa., May 30-June 2
PGA Tour Champions
LAST TOURNAMENT: Regions Tradition (Doug Barron)
THIS WEEK: OFF.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker
NEXT TOURNAMENT: KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, Benton Harbor, Mich., May 23-26
LIV Golf League
LAST TOURNAMENT: Singapore (Individual: Brooks Koepka; Team: Ripper GC)
THIS WEEK: OFF
2024 Leaders: Players, Juaquin Niemann; Team, Crushers GC
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Houston, June 7-9
–Field Level Media