PGA Championship
The 106th edition of the PGA Championship, the second major of the 2024 calendar, will be held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., this weekend. The last PGA Championship held at Valhalla was in 2014 and was won by Rory McIlroy (his last major championship victory). McIlroy also won this past weekend by five strokes at the Wells Fargo Championship. He is currently 8-1 but is still the second choice on the odds board.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (+450) and his wife, Meredith, welcomed their newest family addition last week, and the Masters champion is scheduled to play this week at Valhalla. Scheffler, like McIlroy, comes into the PGA Championship with a victory on his last start having won at the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters last month.
Defending PGA champion Brooks Koepka (16-1) does the same as he won his last start at LIV Golf Singapore the first weekend of May. Koepka is also attempting to win the PGA Championship in back-to-back fashion twice as he did in 2018 and 2019.
These three headline the strongest field in professional golf for 2024 as 99 of the OWGR Top 10 players are in Louisville this week.
The second group of shorter prices is headed up by Xander Schauffele (16-1), who had a four-shot lead at the Wells Fargo last weekend plus the 54-hole lead heading into Sunday. Schauffele, once again, settled for second just like he did at The Players Championship in March. He is now just 2-for-8 for his career at converting 54-hole leads to Sunday victories.
Ludvig Åberg (18-1) withdrew from the Wells Fargo citing a knee injury but may have just wanted or needed some extra rest to go just one better for just his second career major championship start, having finished second at the Masters last month.
Jon Rahm (20-1) has drifted upward in price. While he has not won this year in LIV Golf, he has not finished outside the top 10 in any of the seven events.
2020 PGA champion Collin Morikawa is slotted at 28-1 along with Bryson DeChambeau. Morikawa’s Ryder Cup partner Max Homa is 33-1.
A cavalcade of big names and top players are priced at 40-1, including Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, 2017 PGA champion Justin Thomas, who gets a home game this week as he was born and raised in Louisville, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
The Event
The 106th PGA Championship returns to Valhalla Golf Club for the fourth time and the first time since 2014. Valhalla has hosted the PGA Championship on three previous occasions:
1996: Mark Brooks (-11/277) defeated Kenny Perry in a playoff.
2000: Tiger Woods (-18/270) defeated Bob May in a playoff.
2014: Rory McIlroy (-16/268) defeated Phil Mickelson by one stroke.
Valhalla has also hosted the Senior PGA Championship twice and it was won by Hale Irwin in 2004 and Tom Watson in 2011. It was also the site of the 2008 Ryder Cup where Team USA, captained by Paul Azinger, defeated Team Europe, captained by Nick Faldo, 16.5-11.5.
The PGA of America, with its current membership of 29,000 members, is an organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916 by one-time American department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker and the PGA Championship trophy bears his name. From 1916 to 1957, the PGA was a match-play event.
It remained in a match-play format until 1957, during which time Walter Hagen recorded five wins (tied for the most in the tournament’s history), with players such as Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson also claiming the trophy.
Jack Nicklaus tied Hagen for most wins in the stroke-play era, winning five times between 1963 and 1980, with his fifth and final PGA Championship coming at Oak Hill.
Tiger Woods is third on that list of most PGA Championship wins with four, twice defending his title in 2000 and 2007. Gary Player and Lee Trevino, along with Justin Thomas, Rory, McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson in recent times, are among the list of players to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy on more than one occasion.
The Field
This list details the qualification criteria for the 2024 PGA Championship and the 156 players who qualified under them; any additional criteria under which players qualified are indicated in parentheses.
1. All past winners of the PGA Championship
Rich Beem, Keegan Bradley (10,12), John Daly, Jason Day (10), Jason Dufner, Pádraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Brooks Koepka (8,11), Rory McIlroy (8,10,11,12), Shaun Micheel, Phil Mickelson, Collin Morikawa (4,10,11,12), Justin Thomas (10,11), Jimmy Walker, Tiger Woods, Y.E. Yang
Paul Azinger, Mark Brooks, Steve Elkington, Raymond Floyd, Al Geiberger, Wayne Grady, David Graham, Davis Love III, John Mahaffey, Larry Nelson, Bobby Nichols, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Nick Price, Vijay Singh, Jeff Sluman, Dave Stockton, Hal Sutton, David Toms, Lee Trevino, Bob Tway, and Lanny Wadkins were not in the initially released field.
2. Recent winners of the Masters (2020-2024)
Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama (10,12), Jon Rahm (3,11), Scottie Scheffler (5,8,10,11,12)
3. Recent winners of the U.S. Open (2019-2023)
Wyndham Clark (10,11,12), Bryson DeChambeau (8), Matt Fitzpatrick (10,11), Gary Woodland
4. Recent winners of the British Open (2018-2023)
Brian Harman (10,11,12), Shane Lowry (8,10,11), Francesco Molinari, Cameron Smith (5,8)
5. Recent winners of The Players Championship (2022-2024)
6. The top three on the Official World Golf Ranking’s International Federation Ranking List as of April 29, 2024
Keita Nakajima (13), Andy Ogletree, Ryan van Velzen
7. Current Senior PGA Champion
Steve Stricker
Withdrew from the field.
8. The leading 15 players, and those tying for 15th place, in the 2023 PGA Championship
Michael Block, Patrick Cantlay (10,11), Eric Cole (10), Corey Conners (10), Cameron Davis (10), Tyrrell Hatton (11), Viktor Hovland (10,11,12), Kurt Kitayama (10), Victor Perez, Justin Rose (11), Sepp Straka (10,11,12)
9. The leading 20 players in the 2024 PGA Professional Championship
Josh Bevell, Evan Bowser, Preston Cole, Tyler Collet, Matt Dobyns, Larkin Gross, Jared Jones, Jeff Kellen, Brad Marek, Kyle Mendoza, Jesse Mueller, Zac Oakley, Tracy Phillips, Ben Polland, Braden Shattuck, John Somers, Josh Speight, Andrew Svoboda, Jeremy Wells, Wyatt Worthington II
10. Top 70 players who are eligible and have earned the most PGA Championship Points from the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson through the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Ludvig Åberg (11,12), Byeong-hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Akshay Bhatia (12), Zac Blair, Sam Burns (11), Thomas Detry, Austin Eckroat (12), Harris English, Tony Finau, Tommy Fleetwood (11), Rickie Fowler (11,12), Lucas Glover (12), Emiliano Grillo (12), Adam Hadwin, Russell Henley, Lee Hodges (12), Tom Hoge, Max Homa (11), Beau Hossler, Mark Hubbard, Mackenzie Hughes, Sungjae Im, Stephan Jäeger (12), Si-woo Kim, Tom Kim (12), Chris Kirk (12), Jake Knapp (12), Min Woo Lee, Luke List (12), Peter Malnati (12), Denny McCarthy, Taylor Moore, Grayson Murray (12), Alex Norén, Matthieu Pavon (12), Taylor Pendrith (12), J. T. Poston, Andrew Putnam, Aaron Rai, Patrick Rodgers, Xander Schauffele (11), Adam Schenk, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth (11), Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor (12), Sahith Theegala (12), Brendon Todd, Erik van Rooyen (12), Cameron Young, Will Zalatoris
11. Playing members of the 2023 Ryder Cup teams, who are ranked within the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking as of May 6, 2024
Nicolai Højgaard, Robert MacIntyre
12. Winners of official tournaments on the PGA Tour from the 2023 PGA Championship until the start of the championship
Nick Dunlap, Brice Garnett, Chris Gotterup, Billy Horschel, Vincent Norrman, Camilo Villegas
13. Top 3 finishers on the DP World Tour Asian Swing event rankings (The DP World Tour Asian Swing consisted of four tournaments: the Porsche Singapore Classic, the Hero Indian Open, the ISPS Handa Championship and the Volvo China Open.)
Adrián Otaegui, Sebastian Söderberg
14. PGA of America invitees
Alexander Björk, Dean Burmester, Luke Donald, Ryan Fox, Talor Gooch, Ben Griffin, Lucas Herbert, Ryo Hisatsune, Charley Hoffman, Rasmus Højgaard, Takumi Kanaya, Kazuma Kobori, Ben Kohles, Thriston Lawrence, KH Lee, Adrian Meronk, Keith Mitchell, Maverick McNealy, Joaquín Niemann, Thorbjørn Olesen, David Puig, Patrick Reed, Jordan Smith, Jesper Svensson, Alejandro Tosti, Sami Välimäki, Matt Wallace, Tim Widing
Louis Oosthuizen declined an invitation.
Rikuya Hoshino was listed in the first published field but did not play.
15. Alternates
Doug Ghim, S.H. Kim, C.T. Pan, Alex Smalley
Ghim replaces Rikuya Hoshino, Smalley replaces Steve Stricker, Pan replaces Taylor Montgomery, Kim was the first alternate and gets the spot reserved for the Wells Fargo winner.
The Course
Designed by all-time major champion Jack Nicklaus, Valhalla is ranked as the top course in Kentucky and is listed among “America’s 100 Greatest Courses” by Golf Digest. Located just east of Louisville, Valhalla, and which opened for play in 1986, it’s a beautiful 486-acre property that features rolling terrain and narrow tree-lined fairways surrounded by penal rough and tricky undulating greens.
PGA Championships in recent years have gone to longer layouts, and Valhalla is no exception, playing at 7,609 yards this week for a par-71. The yardage is 100 yards longer than it was in 2014.
The fairways are considered wider than most major championships at 30 yards on average, but they are still on the narrower side (ninth most on tour) compared with most PGA Tour stops.
In 2014, the average round played at +0.54 over par (eighth-most-difficult course that year).
The elevation changes will provide many shots with uneven lies. There are 62 bunkers and seven water danger holes as a stream known as Floyd’s Fork meanders throughout the course.
While there are numerous ways to attack the course, players will have to keep it in the fairway as the Fescue/Bluegrass rough is four inches here.
The major agronomic change at Valhalla since players saw it last is the tees and fairways moving to Zoysiagrass from Bentgrass. The Zoysia will be a little firmer and faster, which will increase distance but will also lead to some shots running out of the fairway.
The greens are still Bentgrass and are small (5,000 square feet — fifth smallest on tour) and will be fast (13-14 on the stimpmeter).
The front nine is easier because it is flatter and wide open. It also features Fescue-carpeted mounding and naturally occurring limestone used to defend greens and water areas. The second, third and sixth are situated along the edges of the property, and each interacts with the Floyd’s Fork stream.
Along with being more difficult, the back nine is a much more traditional tree-lined layout that also has plenty of hazards and changes in elevation. The signature island green 13th hole requires only a short wedge on approach from the fairway.
Three of the par-3s play at over 205 yards and averaged 3.08 in 2014. The par-4s have been lengthened and five of them measure 480 yards or longer and they averaged a score of 4.17 in 2024. The three par-5s are reachable in two shots, but both the seventh and 10th holes are more difficult with water and bunkers around the greens.
Holes from 13 through 16 are among the most difficult on the course because of Floyd’s Fork. The closing hole is the uphill par-5 18th, which has a split fairway option and a horseshoe green.
Here is a hole-by-hole preview of Valhalla Golf Club:
No. 1, 484 yards, Par-4 — “Cut The Corner”
The tee has been lengthened by 38 yards since 2014. The hole bends to the left, though players should be careful not to hit too close to the left side of the fairway and have trees affecting the second shot. Two bunkers are on the front right and toward the back left.
No. 2, 500 yards, Par-4 — “The Ridge”
This was converted to a par-4 in 2014. It also is a slight dogleg to the left, with a finger of Floyds Fork bordering the left side of the fairway and a bunker squeezing the right side. The slopes in the green have been softened to accommodate long irons, but the green is relatively small. Two bunkers guard the left side, and anything too wild might find the creek.
No. 3 208 yards, Par-3 — “Floyd’s Fork”
Floyds Fork winds between the tee and the green, then sweeps around to the right of the green. The green is protected by a large bunker to the right and a smaller bunker to the left and behind the green.
No. 4, 372 yards, Par-4 — “Short ‘n Sweet”
A deep bunker protects the left side, and a smaller bunker is on the right. Big hitters might want to challenge the left bunker to leave a flip wedge to the green. Anything over the back could dribble into Floyds Fork.
No. 5, 463 yards, Par-4 — “Fade Away”
The right side of the fairway is preferred on this hole that bends gently to the right, although bunkers squeeze the landing area. The green is guarded by a bunker on the right and a collection area left of the green. The back right hole location is one of the most difficult on the course.
No. 6, 495 yards, Par-4 — “The Bear”
The hole is divided by Floyds Fork, and the first challenge is to find the fairway. The second shot will be a long iron to a green guarded by a bunker on the left side and a collection area on the right.
No. 7, 597 yards, Par-5 — “Players Pick”
Players will have the option of going left or right on a hole that offers a split fairway. Going to the left will shorten the hole by 50 yards, but the landing area is only 26 yards wide and is surrounded by rough and a water hazard. The safer route is right, although the fairway is tight and lined by bunkers. The water hazard extends to the edge of the green, which likely will be a penalty for anything too far left.
No. 8, 190 yards, Par-3 — “Thor’s Hammer”
The shortest hole is guarded by a deep bunker in front of the green and a slippery collection area behind it. Another bunker is to the left, with Floyds Fork beyond it, and the green has multiple tiers to make every hole location require precision off the tee.
No. 9, 415 yards, Par-4 — “The Rise”
Three bunkers border the right side of the fairway and two bunkers are on the left. The difficulty of this hole is the uphill approach toward the clubhouse. One of the largest and deepest bunkers on the course is just right of the green.
No. 10, 590 yards, Par-5 — “Turns”
This can be reached in two, but it requires a well-shaped tee shot on this double dogleg. A right-to-left shot is ideal off the tee, provided it avoids a fairway bunker on the right and rough on the left. A left-to-right shot is needed to reach the green, which is protected by a deep bunker and has two tiers.
No. 11, 211 yards, Par-3 — “On The Edge”
This is an uphill par-3 that is guarded by two bunkers in the front that stretch around to the left, and another that guards the back. The green angles to the left, and anything too far left could roll down a hillside.
No. 12 494 yards, Par-4 — “Odin’s Revenge”
The tee has been extended by 27 yards from 2014. The drive must be long and straight before the hole drops off toward a green that is elevated. The green has one of the deepest bunkers on the course to the right and thick Kentucky bluegrass to the left.
No. 13, 351 yards, Par-4 — “The Island”
The signature hole at Valhalla is the shortest par-4 and might be the most exciting. The tee has been lowered nine feet to create great viewing. The landing area with an iron is surrounded by six bunkers to the left. The green is built up nearly 20 feet on large boulders and surrounded by water. With tees slightly forward, some might be tempted to reach the green with a long, flawless tee shot.
No. 14, 254 yards, Par-3 — “Two Tears”
The longest par-3 is now 37 yards longer than in 2014. It features a two-tiered green with a large bunker guarding the front. There are two large bunkers behind the green, one for the lower tier and one for the upper tier, and either will be a tough spot from which to save par.
No. 15, 435 yards, Par-4 — “On The Rocks”
Brush Run Creek runs down the entire right side of the hole, and the landing zone is framed by a small bunker to the left and a larger bunker to the right. The creek also is in play around the green, which has a bunker to the left.
No. 16, 508 yards, Par-4 — “Down The Stretch”
The creek again guards the right side of the fairway on this slight dogleg to the right, with a tree-covered slope and deep rough on the left. The green is framed by two bunkers. This is where Tiger Woods made his 25-foot birdie putt in a playoff against Bob May in 2000.
No. 17, 472 yards, Par-4 — “No Mercy”
This requires a long, uphill tee shot with bunkers squeezing both sides of the fairway. A collection area to the right and two staggered bunkers to the left guard the green.
No. 18, 570 yards, Par-5 — “Gahm Over”
The hole has been lengthened by 28 yards from 2014. A large bunker protects the left side of the fairway, with water on the right. Most players can reach in two. The second shot needs to come in high to an elevated green with a beep bunker guarding the entire front portion. The horseshoe green has severe sloping that runs from the upper portion to the lower left and right levels.
Potential correlated courses to Valhalla include Torrey Pines (South), Olympia Fields, Bethpage Black, Muirfield Village, Quail Hollow, Oak Hill, Southern Hills and Firestone.
PGA Championship Recent History/Winners
2023: Brooks Koepka (-9/271) Oak Hill; 20-1
2022: Justin Thomas (-5/275) Southern Hills; 16-1*
2021: Phil Mickelson (-6/282) Kiawah Island; 250-1
2020: Collin Morikawa (-13/267) TPC Harding Park; 35-1
2019: Brooks Koepka (-8/272) Bethpage Black; 10-1
2018: Brooks Koepka (-16/264) Bellerive; 20-1**
2017: Justin Thomas (-8/276) Quail Hollow; 45-1
2016: Jimmy Walker (-14/266) Baltusrol; 125-1
2015: Jason Day (-20/268) Whistling Straits; 14-1
2014: Rory McIlroy (-16/268) Valhalla; 5-1***
2013: Jason Dufner (-10/270) Oak Hill; 40-1
2012: Rory McIlroy (-13/275) Kiawah Island; 20-1
2011: Keegan Bradley (-8/272) Atlanta Athletic; 175-1****
2010: Martin Kaymer (-11/277) Whistling Straits; 50-1*****
Playoff win over Will Zalatoris – *
All-time PGA Championship 72-hole scoring record – **
Largest margin of victory at PGA Championship – ***
Playoff win over Jason Dufner – ****
Playoff win over Bubba Watson – *****
PGA Championship Recent Trends
- 10 of the last 14 PGA champions have been younger than 30 years of age.
- 9 of the last 13 PGA champions have been Americans.
- 6 of the last 12 PGA champions were ranked in the OWGR (Official World Golf Rankings) Top 10.
- 8 of the last 12 and 5 of the last 7 PGA champions had already picked up at least one victory earlier in the season.
- 11 of the last 13 PGA champions had earned at least a top-20 finish in their previous start before the PGA.
- 11 of the last 15 PGA champions had 5 or fewer starts in the PGA.
- 11 of the last 12 PGA champions had at least a top-20 or better in a previous PGA Championship start.
- 17 of the last 18 PGA champions had at least a top-30 or better in a previous PGA Championship start.
Statistical Analysis
The fairways are 30 yards wide here on average. The club removed all the rough between the fairways and the bunkers near the landing areas, allowing balls to bound unimpeded into the sand traps. When you combine these characteristics with the penal four-inch Fescue and Bluegrass rough, this will place an even greater emphasis on finding fairways and controlling run-out off the tee.
Total Driving (2024 PGA TOUR season)
- Rory McIlroy 27
- Min Woo Lee 28
- Ludvig Åberg 49
- Grayson Murray 62
- Nicolai Højgaard 70
- Xander Schauffele 73
- Cameron Young 79
- Matt Fitzpatrick 83
- Scottie Scheffler 87
- Tony Finau 93
- Kurt Kitayama 97
- Adam Scott 97
- Sam Burns 99
- Harris English 99
- Jason Day 104
- Byeong Hun An 105
- Stephan Jaeger 106
- Shane Lowry 106
- Jordan Spieth 106
- Corey Conners 110
- Matthieu Pavon 112
- Adam Schenk 112
- Tommy Fleetwood 114
- Austin Eckroat 117
- Wyndham Clark 120
NOTE 1: Total Driving = Driving Distance Rank + Driving Accuracy Rank
NOTE 2: LIV Golf advanced stats are not widely available; however, at RickRunGood.com, LIV players Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton rated in the top 10 for his overall Total Driving stats.
Rory McIlroy rated first in the field for Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee in his 2014 PGA Championship victory here at Valhalla.
Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee (Last 36 rounds)
- Bryson DeChambeau 47.09
- Jon Rahm 38.84
- Scottie Scheffler 34.96
- Rory McIlroy 34.06
- Dustin Johnson 31.75
- Min Woo Lee 29.77
- Alejandro Tosti 29.77
- Dean Burmester 29.63
- Keith Mitchell 29.34
- Ludvig Åberg 26.06
- Viktor Hovland 24.26
- Brooks Koepka 21.49
- Si Woo Kim 21.06
- Cameron Young 19.58
- Joaquin Niemann 19.55
- Wyndham Clark 18.79
- Xander Schauffele 18.11
- Byeong Hun An 17.68
- Maverick McNealy 17.39
- Chris Kirk 16.96
- Adrian Meronk 16.96
- Kurt Kitayama 16.31
- Nicolai Højgaard 16.16
- Sepp Straka 16.06
- Sahith Theegala 15.77
Distance off the tee will also matter here with firm and fast fairways.
Driving Distance (Last 36 rounds)
- Bryson DeChambeau 322.5
- Joaquin Niemann 314.4
- Dean Burmester 312.6
- Dustin Johnson 310
- Wyndham Clark 308.8
- Byeong Hun An 308
- Jon Rahm 307.7
- Alejandro Tosti 306.5
- Vincent Norrman 305
- Taylor Pendrith 304.7
- Brooks Koepka 303.8
- Rory McIlroy 303.5
- Min Woo Lee 303.4
- Stephan Jaeger 303.3
- Tyrrell Hatton 303.2
- Adrian Meronk 303.2
- Jordan Spieth 303.1
- Phil Mickelson 302.4
- Ludvig Åberg 302.1
- Viktor Hovland 301.7
- Keith Mitchell 301.7
- Sam Burns 301
- Justin Thomas 300.7
- Tony Finau 300.7
- Patrick Rodgers 300.6
- Sahith Theegala 300.3
Thicker rough plus elevated greens make approach play a bit unpredictable, so even more of a premium is on putting the ball in the fairways for a typical Nicklaus-second shot golf course like Valhalla.
Strokes Gained: Approach (Last 36 rounds)
- Joaquin Niemann 48.56
- Scottie Scheffler 47.41
- Tom Hoge 41.18
- Shane Lowry 34.16
- Corey Conners 28.40
- Tony Finau 27.65
- Jake Knapp 27.54
- Tyrrell Hatton 26.75
- Keith Mitchell 26.64
- Victor Perez 25.63
- Justin Thomas 25.56
- Aaron Rai 24.55
- Ludvig Åberg 23.47
- Doug Ghim 22.82
- Xander Schauffele 22.14
- Lucas Glover 21.53
- Will Zalatoris 21.46
- Akshay Bhatia 21.28
- Austin Eckroat 21.06
- Rasmus Højgaard 20.99
- Hideki Matsuyama 19.33
- Wyndham Clark 18.50
- Si Woo Kim 18
- Nick Taylor 17.89
- Nicolai Højgaard 17.78
The vast majority of approach shots will be from 175 yards and longer.
Average Proximity 175-200 Yards
- Taylor Pendrith 29’3
- Jon Rahm 29’4
- Cameron Young 30’7
- Collin Morikawa 30’8
- Si Woo Kim 31’1
- Rory McIlroy 31’6
- Keegan Bradley 31’11
- Xander Schauffele 32’0
- Brice Garnett 32’1
- Scottie Scheffler 32’3
- Austin Eckroat 32’5
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 32’5
- Hideki Matsuyama 32’5
- Lucas Glover 32’5
- Gary Woodland 32’10
- Taylor Moore 32’10
- Justin Rose 33’0
- Tony Finau 33’1
- KH Lee 33’2
- Cameron Davis 33’5
- Justin Thomas 33’6
- Sungjae Im 33’10
- Emiliano Grillo 34’0
- Patrick Rodgers 34’0
Average Proximity 200-225 Yards
- Jon Rahm 32’11
- Tom Hoge 33’0
- Max Homa 33’8
- Gary Woodland 34’1
- Tom Kim 35’9
- Adam Svensson 35’10
- Cameron Davis 36’2
- Tony Finau 36’3
- Collin Morikawa 36’4
- Jason Dufner 36’10
- Viktor Hovland 37’5
- Mackenzie Hughes 37’6
- J.T. Poston 37’7
- Aaron Rai 37’8
- Sahith Theegala 38’0
- Patrick Cantlay 38’1
- Tyrrell Hatton 38’1
- Justin Rose 38’5
- Corey Conners 38’11
- Si Woo Kim 38’11
- Kurt Kitayama 39’0
- Erik van Rooyen 39’2
- Jimmy Walker 39’3
- Keegan Bradley 39’5
- Adam Scott 39’11
NOTE: Average Feet from the Hole
The Bentgrass greens will be rolling fast at 13-14 on the stimpmeter over the weekend.
Strokes Gained: Putting — Fast Greens (Last 36 rounds)
- Eric Cole 30.64
- Denny McCarthy 26.24
- Sami Välimäki 24.80
- Maverick McNealy 24.62
- Cameron Smith 24.37
- Sam Burns 23.94
- Max Homa 23.94
- Mackenzie Hughes 23.90
- Adam Scott 23
- Thomas Detry 22.79
- Brice Garnett 22.68
- Matt Fitzpatrick 21.49
- Alex Noren 21.20
- Bryson DeChambeau 20.56
- Brendon Todd 19.80
- Victor Perez 17.78
- Sungjae Im 17.31
- Austin Eckroat 17.14
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 17.14
- Tyrrell Hatton 17.10
- Beau Hossler 16.60
- J.T. Poston 16.13
- Jon Rahm 15.23
- Mark Hubbard 14.83
Strokes Gained: Putting — Bentgrass Greens (Last 36 rounds)
- Ludvig Åberg 38.88
- Denny McCarthy 27.25
- Sami Välimäki 27
- Beau Hossler 24.73
- Lucas Herbert 22.54
- Brendon Todd 22.25
- Patrick Reed 20.56
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 19.80
- Maverick McNealy 19.62
- Cameron Smith 18.79
- Alex Noren 17.32
- J.T. Poston 16.67
- Matt Fitzpatrick 16.45
- Jon Rahm 16.27
- Adam Schenk 15.62
- Harris English 15.26
- Rickie Fowler 15.19
- Luke Donald 14.36
- Andrew Putnam 14.32
- Justin Rose 14.26
- Min Woo Lee 13.86
- Eric Cole 13.79
- Xander Schauffele 12.92
- Jordan Spieth 12.85
The green complexes at Valhalla place a premium on creative shot-making and skillful chipping. The rough around the greens is very lush and will be challenging for even The Players with the best short games.
Scrambling Gained (Last 36 rounds)
- Talor Gooch 27.40
- Thorbjørn Olesen 26.68
- Jon Rahm 26.28
- Denny McCarthy 26.21
- Ben Griffin 25.99
- Xander Schauffele 25.88
- Alex Noren 25.85
- Brendon Todd 25.78
- Russell Henley 25.67
- Dean Burmester 25.63
- Andrew Putnam 25.52
- Jason Dufner 25.34
- Brice Garnett 25.20
- Taylor Pendrith 25.09
- Justin Thomas 25.02
- Hideki Matsuyama 24.98
- Mackenzie Hughes 24.91
- Harris English 24.88
- Peter Malnati 24.88
- Tom Hoge 24.84
- Nick Taylor 24.80
- Jake Knapp 24.77
- Tommy Fleetwood 24.77
- Kurt Kitayama 24.73
- Patrick Cantlay 24.66
Bogey Avoidance Percentage (Last 36 rounds)
- Tyrrell Hatton 97.44%
- Scottie Scheffler 97.01%
- Talor Gooch 97.01%
- Alex Noren 96.76%
- Xander Schauffele 96.08%
- Russell Henley 96%
- Tom Hoge 95.82%
- Andrew Putnam 95.82%
- Wyndham Clark 95.75%
- Ludvig Åberg 95.68%
- Billy Horschel 95.61%
- Aaron Rai 95.61%
- Kurt Kitayama 95.54%
- Denny McCarthy 95.50%
- Jason Dufner 95.50%
- Sahith Theegala 95.43%
- Chris Kirk 95.39%
- Brice Garnett 95.39%
- Maverick McNealy 95.36%
- Sam Burns 95.36%
- Hideki Matsuyama 95.32%
- Jason Day 95.28%
- Justin Rose 95.25%
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 95.25%
- Peter Malnati 95.21%
Valhalla is a long (7,600 yards) par-71. It is fair to examine players that step up on the big boy courses.
Strokes Gained: Total — Long Courses (Last 36 rounds)
- Rory McIlroy 73.91
- Jon Rahm 69.77
- Scottie Scheffler 58.86
- Xander Schauffele 56.23
- Tony Finau 56.16
- Tyrrell Hatton 55.66
- Sungjae Im 55.51
- Justin Thomas 51.12
- Bryson DeChambeau 48.88
- Patrick Cantlay 46.15
- Cameron Smith 45.61
- Corey Conners 41.94
- Akshay Bhatia 41.83
- Joaquin Niemann 41.47
- Matt Fitzpatrick 40.43
- Viktor Hovland 39.13
- Stephan Jaeger 37.01
- Patrick Reed 37.01
- Talor Gooch 36.40
- Ludvig Åberg 35.17
- Collin Morikawa 34.34
- Will Zalatoris 34.20
- Ben Griffin 33.55
Selections
Jon Rahm (20-1, Bet Rivers)
With Scheffler, McIlroy and Koepka ahead on the odds board and all coming off victories in their last starts, it seems like Rahm is a bit of the forgotten man this week.
Rahm has yet to win in his debut season on LIV Golf, but he has not finished outside the top 10 in any of those seven events.
His brand of explosive ball-striking and sharp short game makes him one of the game’s true elites and a danger on any golf course, especially one like Valhalla. His suitability for this test is enhanced further by his exceptional long iron game, shown by him ranking second from 175-200 yards and fourth from 200+ yards on the PGA Tour last year for Proximity to the Hole from those distances.
Rahm is a two-time major winner with victories at Muirfield Village, Olympia Fields and Torrey Pines, so he has a great track record on correlated courses.
Bryson DeChambeau (28-1, DraftKings)
DeChambeau still leads the golf world for Driving Distance and can overpower most golf courses.
He is a previous winner on a Jack Nicklaus design having won the Memorial at Muirfield Village in 2018.
Nine of his 10 career wins have come on Bentgrass greens, including at Muirfield Village and Winged Foot.
He led the Masters for Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee and finished top 5 in last year’s PGA at Oak Hill, so he has some good recent form at major championships.
Joaquin Niemann (41-1, Circa Sports)
Niemann has drifted a bit after his hot start to 2024, but he has been the best player on LIV Golf this season with two victories and six top-10s.
The 25-year-old Chilean is coming off a seventh at LIV Singapore on Zoysiagrass where he gained over eight strokes on approach.
Niemann has top-5 finishes to his credit at Muirfield Village and Olympia Fields along with a victory at Riviera two years ago, so he has proved he can play well on long and difficult courses with Bentgrass greens.
He rates second only to DeChambeau in Driving Distance and is first for Strokes Gained: Approach over the last 36 rounds.
Patrick Cantlay (46-1, Circa Sports)
The current No. 8 player in the world has yet to show the major championship pedigree befitting his ranking, but Valhalla could be the ticket for Cantlay to finally really be in the hunt to win a major.
He has always played well on Nicklaus designs, most notably having won the Memorial twice at Muirfield Village.
Six of Cantlay’s seven PGA Tour victories have come on Bentgrass greens.
Tony Finau (90-1, Caesars Sportsbook)
It has been a little over a year since Finau won last, in Mexico.
He has been a mess with the putter, but his tee-to-green game has still been very good, ranking 10th on the PGA Tour this season for Total Driving and sixth over the last 36 rounds for Strokes Gained: Approach.
He is a fit for a bigger golf course as he ranks behind only McIlroy, Rahm, Scheffler and Schauffele for Strokes Gained on longer courses.
Akshay Bhatia (125-1, BetMGM)
Bhatia won the Valero Texas Open last month and now has two PGA Tour victories in less than a calendar year.
His irons have been in sparkling form in the last month, ranking second in strokes gained approach in Houston, first at San Antonio and second at Harbour Town.
Bhatia has also won at Valhalla, having won the Junior PGA Championship in 2018.
Dean Burmester (150-1, Boyd Sports)
Burmester won earlier this season at the LIV event held at Doral in Miami.
He is one of the longest drivers of the golf ball in professional golf.
Certainly, the South African will be motivated to perform well in a major (as all players are) having not been invited to the Masters.
Placement market, matchup, and prop bets will be available Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks
