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The 2023 PGA Championship is set to start on Thursday 18th May 2023 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Last year’s winner Justin Thomas is one of 156 players set to tee it up on Thursday in a field that dwarfs the 88-man field that took part in the Masters last month.
The qualifying criteria is less strict for the second major of the year, which means there are plenty of players making their first major tournament appearance of the season this week. With just 24 hours to go until play gets underway, here is everything you need to know about the prestigious event.
PGA Championship – Tournament history
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The PGA Championship is a historic golf tournament and one of the four major tournaments on the calendar. Those who win the event are written into golfing folklore, as well as taking home a substantial amount of money. Last year, Justin Thomas walked away with his second PGA Championship and a hefty cheque for $2.7m.
Historically, the tournament was always played in August on Labor Day weekend and acted as the final opportunity for players to get their hands on a major trophy for the year. However, in 2019, the tournament moved permanently to May, meaning that it is now the second major tournament of the season.
The reason for the switch was so that Golf could have four major tournaments in successive months from April-July and also so that organisers could avoid scheduling conflicts every four years when the Olympics came around. Golf has been an Olympic sport since 2016 and the games typically take place in August.
Jack Nicklaus holds the record for the most PGA Championship wins, with five event wins to his name from 1963-80. Tiger Woods is one win away from replicating Nicklaus’ feat but he won’t have the opportunity to match that particular record this year as he is sitting the tournament out to recover from ankle surgery.
Throwback to Jack Nicklaus winning the PGA Championship at PGA National in 1971. Look how wide and athletic his swing was with a huge turn. The Golden Bear may have been the inventor of power golf! 💪
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) May 15, 2023
The last five winners
- 2022: Justin Thomas (-5)
- 2021: Phil Mickelson (-6)
- 2020: Collin Morikawa (-13)
- 2019: Brooks Koepka (-8)
- 2018: Brooks Koepka (-16)
PGA Championship 2023 – The players to watch
The very best golfers in the world are set to tee it up this weekend at the PGA Championship. Here are five players that are worth keeping an eye on.
Jon Rahm
Spaniard Jon Rahm has been on fire so far in 2023 and has won an incredible four tournaments in five months, including the Masters in April. The victory at Augusta National was Rahm’s second major triumph and he will be chomping at the bit to secure a third at Oak Hill. Rahm is the world number one and pre-tournament favourite at 15/2
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy ended 2022 in superb form and was rightfully the world number one at the start of 2023. However, McIlroy is yet to record a win on the PGA Tour this year, with his one and only victory of 2023 coming on the DP World Tour. He had a miserable time at Augusta but will be hoping to put things right at Oak Hill as he looks to end his nine-year wait for a fifth major trophy.
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler has been going back and forth with Rahm for much of the last six months with both men holding the world number one spot on multiple occasions. Scheffler won the Players Championship earlier this year and always seems to be in contention come Sunday at every event he plays. He will once again be a huge threat this week.
Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth was an injury doubt ahead of the PGA Championship as he pulled out from the AT&T Byron Nelson with a wrist injury last week. However, he has overcome those issues and confirmed his place at the event. Spieth just needs to win the PGA Championship to complete the grand slam, something that would cement his name as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka stunned the world when he led the Masters after three rounds in April. It was said that LIV golfers would have no chance of competing at majors due to their lack of competitive action but the 32-year-old put those stories to bed with his performance at Augusta. Although he came up just short in the end, Koepka will once again be a force to be reckoned with this week and someone definitely to keep an eye on as a two-time champion.
There have been 24 men's major championships contested since the beginning of 2017. Brooks Koepka has finished either 1st or 2nd in one-third of them.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) May 15, 2023
PGA Championship 2023 – How to watch
For viewers in the United Kingdom, live coverage of all four days of the 2023 PGA Championship will be available on Sky Sports Golf. Coverage starts at 13:00 UK time on Thursday, May 17th and will continue until the winner is crowned on the 18th green on Sunday evening.
Streaming of the event will be available for Sky customers via Sky Go, while those without a Sky subscription will be able to buy a weekend Now TV pass if they want to be able to watch the action unfold without committing to a contract.
If you don’t have access to Sky then you can keep up to date with everything that happens at Oak Hill via the official PGA Championship Twitter account and website.
PGA Championship 2023 – Tee times and groupings
The tee times and groupings have been announced for the first two days of action at the 2023 PGA Championship. Here are some of the most eye-catching groupings and tee times for day one: Times indicated are UK:
- 13:00 – Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland.
- 13:11 – Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa.
- 13:22 – Shane Lowry, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland.
- 13:33 – Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm.
- 18:47 – Xander Schauffele, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson.
- 18:58 – Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson.
For a list of every grouping, and their respective tee times over days one and two, please visit the PGA Tour website.
How to get tickets for the PGA Championship
Tickets for the 2023 event have already sold out, however, fans are still able to potentially get hold of tickets through the official ticket exchange. In terms of future PGA Championships, fans should keep an eye on the official website to get news about ticket releases for the 2024 event.
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