2005 pga tour players

PGA Championship

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PAST CHAMPIONS

Already the best in the world, Scottie Scheffler added another layer to his legend Sunday. He became the first player to win back-to-back in 50 years of THE PLAYERS Championship by matching the biggest comeback and the lowest closing round by a winner.

Scheffler ran off five straight birdies in the middle of his round, built a six-shot lead and left all the drama to everyone else on his way to a 3-under 69 to win the richest prize on the PGA TOUR by five shots.

In a dynamic conclusion to five days of bad weather and high drama, Smith one-putted eight of his last nine holes with his pure stroke and delivered one of the gutsiest shots of his career for the cushion he needed to win.

While others melted down, Thomas went 5 under on holes 9-12, including an eagle at the par-5 11th hole, to seize control. He went even par the rest of the way for his 14th PGA TOUR victory.

McIlroy, a former FedExCup champion, earned 600 FedExCup points, a $2.25 million check and is the proud owner of the redesigned PLAYERS trophy.

Simpson’s record-setting streak continued on moving day, where he fired a 68 to tie the 54-hole scoring record and extend his lead to seven strokes, the largest 54-hole lead in THE PLAYERS history. Simpson had not only conquered the Stadium Course; he had outplayed the best field in the game.

Remarkably, the experience provided the confidence Kim, 21, needed to become the youngest winner of THE PLAYERS and join Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Jordan Spieth as the only players with two PGA TOUR wins before the age of 22.

Day had started with a record-tying 63, added a 66, and went 73-71 on the weekend for 15-under 273 to win by four over Kevin Chappell. It was simple, said his opponents: Day is ferocious off the tee, relentless with his irons, and has arguably the best short game going.

When THE PLAYERS folklore is circulated, Fowler at the island-green 17th will resonate loudly. He birdied it in regulation, then again in the playoff (as did Kisner). Now a sudden death back at 17, Fowler for a third time in less than an hour stuffed his shot within 7 feet, made his third birdie, and prevailed when Kisner missed. (For the week, Fowler birdied 17 five out of six times.)

When one final par putt fell, a slippery 3 ½-footer on 18, Kaymer with a 71 was done at 13-under 275, one better than hard-charging Jim Furyk (66).

It was Woods’ 78th career win, but more notable was this: He became just the sixth player with at least two wins in THE PLAYERS.

With water everywhere at 16-17-18, Kuchar needed the “What, Me Worry?” persona like never before. And he delivered: A birdie at 16 put him back up by three, a bogey at 17 hardly crushed his chances, a par at 18 for a round of 70 and at 13-under 275 he won by two over a foursome of talented names (Fowler, Laird, Ben Curtis and Zach Johnson).

Choi, 40, and Toms, 44, each shot 2-under 70, but the closing swings of momentum were memorable — a bogey for Toms at 16, a birdie for Choi at 17, a birdie for Toms at 18. The three-putt bogey by Toms at the island-green 17th in the playoff provided the clinching drama.

Clark had piled up massive amounts of prize money without winning, making him sort of a trivia answer. But thanks to a perfect storm — third-round leader Lee Westwood shot a closing 74 and his closest pursuers, Robert Allenby and Lucas Glover had 70s — Clark put on a mid-round blitz of five birdies in six holes, shot 67, and claimed the $1.71 million prize.

Few have risen to the occasion at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass quite like the Swede did that day. He made six birdies and recorded the only bogey-free fourth round, matched the low score of the day, and made a five-stroke deficit evaporate.

Warm and blustery winds moved wildly and indiscriminately throughout THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, but that was nothing compared to the haphazard dash made by thousands of fans after the final hole of regulation at THE PLAYERS Championship 2008.

Doubt Lefty at your peril, because he’s a fascinating study in determination and he proved that again at the 34th edition of this showcase event on the PGA TOUR. Every world-class player was in attendance, but it was Mickelson who shined brightest as he overtook 26-year-old Sean O’Hair in the final round, the highlight to his three-win season.

His third back-nine 33 of the week gave him the best score of the day, a 5-under 67, and at 14-under 274 he whipped Retief Goosen (69) by six in the 25th go-round for the championship at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Funk’s fourth-round 71 came on a day when the field average was 76.512. He birdied the par-5 16th to seize the lead, then made a 5-foot putt to save par at 18 and secure a one-stroke win over Luke Donald (76), Scott Verplank (70) and Tom Lehman (66).

A wedge to 10 feet set up his putt for 70 and 12-under 276, good for a one-stroke win. The youngest winner of THE PLAYERS, Scott did it in his debut, no less.

Love was determined to answer critics who felt he had underachieved, despite 15 wins. So, while there was quantity (a $1,170,000 prize), Love embraced quality — golf’s best field and purest test in the 30th anniversary of the showcase event on the PGA TOUR.

Consider March 24, 2004, the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship when Craig Perks left everyone giddy, though speechless and stunned at the same time.

Woods stormed back with a third-round 66 punctuated by a 60-foot birdie putt at the island-green 17th that rode two tiers and broke three times before falling. “Better than most,” was the iconic call by NBC’s Gary Koch, and indeed it might have been as good as anything fans had ever seen.

Consider the closing moments to THE PLAYERS Championship 2000 when Hal Sutton coached his ball toward the final green. “Be the right club,” Sutton said as his 6-iron shot from 179 yards tracked the flagstick. “Be the right club today.”

THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass was firm, fast and tough — conditions that suited Duval’s focused personality. He was a kid from Jacksonville Beach. Just a few hours down the Florida coast, Duval’s father, Bob, was in contention at a PGA TOUR Champions tournament.

There were wild cheers for Leonard’s brilliance — with a fourth-round, 5-under 67 to finish at 10-under 278, he won for the third time in nine months, each time overcoming a final-round deficit.

With rounds of 66-69-68-69, Elkington finished at 16-under 272 to establish THE PLAYERS record for margin of victory, seven strokes over Scott Hoch, who stumbled home with a closing 74.

As for Couples, who finished at 18-under 270 to join select company with two wins in THE PLAYERS, this was life at the other end of the golf spectrum: “It was a pretty easy 64.”

Up by two, Janzen showed his heralded grit with up-and-downs from a bunker at the island-green 17th and greenside rough at 18 for 1-under 71 and 5-under 283, one clear of Langer.

A $250,000 purse in 1974 was now $2.5 million and with Norman’s victory, it meant that of the 21 championships played during Beman’s tenure, a future Hall of Famer had won 12 times.

When Price scratched out a win in 1991 and two more in 1992, he felt relieved. But when he put on a clinic at THE PLAYERS Championship 1993, the Zimbabwean knew he had arrived.

Fred Couples had set a course-record 63 Saturday to get within one of Love, but never got closer. This time, THE PLAYERS was truly a Love story.

The Australian was the second foreign-born winner of The PGA TOUR’s showcase event in five years and for a third straight time at THE PLAYERS, the margin of victory was one.

Birdies early (Nos. 2 and 3) and late (island-green 17th) were instrumental for Mudd, then in the midst of his best season. He would also win the TOUR Championship in the fall and finish fifth on the money list in 1990. Six years later, however, Mudd walked away from the game at the age of 36.

Everything about the bottom line to THE PLAYERS Championship 1989 had a consistency to it that made sense. The deepest and toughest field of the year was won by the season’s best player, Tom Kite, leading money-winner ($1.395 million) and Player of the Year.

McCumber had every reason to be emotional after a brilliant performance (65-72-67-69 for 15-under 273) to establish a new 72-hole scoring mark at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

The first playoff at the Stadium Course and the first $1 million purse at THE PLAYERS ended at the next hole with mixed results on putts for par – Jeff Sluman missed his 12-footer, Lyle made his 8-footer. “I have a fairly low heartbeat in those situations,” Lyle said.

Anything can happen over those closing holes; unfortunately for Larry Mize it was all negative, bogeys at 15, 16 and 18 allowing Mahaffey to storm into the winner’s circle by one at 13-under 275.

No one who studied the landscape would have called it a surprise, not with Peete’s uncanny driving ability. It was Peete’s ninth PGA TOUR win since 1982, and no one had won more in that time frame.

What was for Couples, whose syrupy swing authored trips of 71-64-71-71 for 11-under 277 and for the second straight year a 24-year-old earned the game’s richest prize against the best field in golf.

Considered to have been Rookie of the Year in 1982, Sutton used his win at THE PLAYERS to top the money list in 1983 ($426,668) and win Player of the Year honors.

The perfection reached a crescendo at THE PLAYERS Championship 1982 when Pate authored an unforgettable script to usher this showcase event into a new era.

Not only did he take THE PLAYERS prize of $72,000, but Floyd — a winner the week before — earned a $200,000 bonus for having won two straight on the Florida swing.

Coming home in 2-under 70 for a 10-under 278 total, Trevino outshined Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, both of whom shot 73.

In Round 4, conditions were again demanding, but Lanny Wadkins was at his ball-striking best, a closing 72 eclipsed only by Tom Watson’s 71. At 5-under 283, Wadkins beat Tom Watson by five as Lee Trevino faded to a share of fifth with a 79.

Nothing scintillating about his round, Nicklaus conceded, but his smile confirmed that there was everything to like about winning THE PLAYERS for the third time in five years.

Six behind after the first day, the then 27-year-old Hayes, a two-time winner in 1976, shot a second-round 74 in 40 mph winds. Weekend scores of 71-72 left Hayes at 1-over 289, the only over-par score that won a PGA TOUR tournament that season.

The final-round 65 for 19-under 269 quieted the doubters. It also accounted for Nicklaus’ 60th career win and was a fitting way to usher THE PLAYERS into its new home base, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The only man to break 70 each day, Geiberger won for the second time in 1975 and it was the seventh of his 11 career wins.

THE PLAYERS was launched fittingly: The best player won the TOUR’s best tournament against the strongest field.

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Monday marathon: Fred Funk won became the oldest Players champion after a 32-hole grind

Up-and-down par from greenside bunker at no. 18 in 2005 clinched funk's biggest pga tour victory.

Fred Funk feared the worst. 

But he had a caddie, Mark Long, who mapped golf courses for yardage books as a side gig. And when Funk's approach shot at the par-4 18th hole of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in the final round of the 2005 Players Championship seemed to draw too hard, then disappear over the left edge of the green, the long-time Ponte Vedra Beach resident squinted into the setting sun, then ducked his head in dismay. 

"I said, 'That's in the water,'" Funk said. "I was aiming right at the flag, and it was just a little pull." 

And just like that, Funk thought his one-shot lead was gone. 

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But Long quickly assured him that the ball had settled into the bunker left of the 18th green, not great, but not a disaster either. Long had not only walked the course numerous times as a caddie, but he knew every bunker, swale, undulation and bump on the course and he knew, from the ball flight of the 179-yard shot, struck with Funk's 6-iron, that it had found the trap, not water. 

A swing from the sand and 6-foot putt later, Funk had the best par of his life, and The Players victory. He spiked his hat on the green in sheer joy and relief, as a long, arduous 32-hole day over and his biggest professional victory in hand. 

Funk remains the oldest Players winner ever, 48 at the time of the victory. 

The 2022 Players Championship will need to go to its first Monday finish since Funk won, and depending on how much golf the field is able to play Saturday and Sunday, it might rival the 2005 tournament for the most holes needed to finish. 

Some Monday finishes have involved only a handful of players. When Tiger Woods won in 2001, he was one of 22 who had to return on Monday. The year before, when Hal Sutton won, 20 had to come back. 

In 2005, the entire weekend field had to play most of its third round and all of the fourth round. 

"Everybody had to play more than 30 holes on Monday," Funk said. "It was tough for everyone. The whole week was a nightmare but we had no choice. When the weather is bad and you can't seem to get through the first two rounds and make the cut, it brutal." 

The first day of the tournament was the easiest. Under sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, Steve Jones shot 64 to lead and Funk was just a shot behind at 65. 

"The best round I ever played there," Funk said. 

It also sustained him throughout the week. The field couldn't play a single shot that counted on Friday — 20 players were on the course when storms hit, and their scores were wiped out — and Saturday and Sunday were messy, convoluted days in which the players were sent out, called back in, sent out, called in again ... a frustrating, mind-numbing exercise in futility. 

"They thought we'd have a little window, and put us out there," Funk said. "Sometimes we'd get a couple of holes, sometimes we'd get seven or eight. You could never get any momentum going, no rhythm. All you could do was try to remember that everyone was going through the same thing. But I had that good first round behind me. With birdies, you're making a deposit in the bank. You just have to make more than you withdraw." 

Funk posed scores of 72-71 and started the fourth round on Monday afternoon four shots behind Luke Donald. 

He and Long made an agreement: no leaderboard-watching. 

"I didn't want to think about what might happen," he said. "Just finish the tournament and see where I stood." 

Funk started a run with birdies at two tough holes, Nos. 7 and 8, and was 1-under on the front. He then birdied Nos. 12 and 13 but finally needed to know where he stood. 

Funk had a three-shot lead. 

He was hitting the ball as straight as usual off the tee, and his iron game dialed in. But the putter began betraying him and Funk lost two shots of his margin with three-putt bogeys at the 14th and 15th holes. 

He got one back with a birdie at the 16th, set up when a 3-iron approach -- a new Taylor Made weapon that he had been deadly with all week. 

The lead was back to two, then one again, courtesy of another 3-putt, at No. 17. 

A few minutes later, he was studying his bunker shot at No. 18 and realized he had caught a big break. 

"It left a pretty good fried egg hole, but the ball had popped out of the egg hole and was sitting right on top of the lip," Funk said. "I had short-sided myself and if that ball stays in the hole, I would have had nothing." 

Funk prided himself on his mental toughness. Indeed, it's what sustained a PGA Tour career that didn't start until he was 33 years old but eventually resulted in eight PGA Tour titles and nine on the PGA Tour Champions. 

But he said the three players tied for second would have been a formidable group to beat had he not made the final putt. 

"Look at those guys ... [Tom] Lehman, a bulldog ... [Scott] Verplank, a bulldog ... Luke Donald, one of the most consistent players in the world at that time. That was an amazing group come down the stretch. I'm just glad I ended it when I did."

PGA TOUR Schedule 2005

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2005 PGA Championship

Golf tournament / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, dear wikiwand ai, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:.

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Summarize this article for a 10 year old

The 2005 PGA Championship was the 87th PGA Championship , played August 11–15 at the Baltusrol Golf Club Lower Course in Springfield, New Jersey , west of New York City . [2] Phil Mickelson earned his first PGA Championship and second major title by flopping a chip out of deep rough to 2 feet (0.6 m) for birdie on the final hole for a one-shot victory over runners-up Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjørn . [3] [4] [5] The purse was $ 6.5 million with a winner's share of $1.17 million.

It was the first PGA Championship held at Baltusrol, which had hosted the U.S. Open seven times, and was the first major championship at Baltusrol since the 1993 U.S. Open , won by Lee Janzen .

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Kapalua, Hawaii

The 2005 PGA Tour season began here in paradise with considerable promise. As if on Ponte Vedra’s cue, star power picked up where it left off: High on the marquee all week.

So pull up recliner and refreshment and tune in because the top shelf of professional golf hasn’t been in better competitive condition since the Big Three days of the 1960s. Four decades later we have, what, a Big Four, a Goose and maybe more?

This delectable fare, of course, can be credited mainly to Tiger Woods. The six-time Player of

the Year and notable swing tweaker has slipped back toward the field. Inspired and sometimes embarrassed by Woods’ setting of a high curve, others, most notably new No. 1 Vijay Singh, have improved. The result, finally, is powerful parity at the top.

Three, four, five years ago we wondered when Woods would have competition. Golf had a gap nearly as wide as the Kapalua Plantation Course’s 18th fairway. Woods used to win major championships by double-digit margins. Now, having gone through a second swing reconstruction, he hasn’t won one, period, since June 2002.

We now have at least an elite handful hitting stride at the same time. Besides Singh and Woods, the protagonists are Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and a pack that includes Davis Love III, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Mike Weir, Stewart Cink, Adam Scott and several others like Mercedes Championships repeat winner Stuart Appleby who could step up.

“It would be like having the best of the ’70s, the best of the ’80s and the best of the ’90s all happening at one time,” Joey Sindelar, who joined the Tour in 1984, said of the modern guns.

At Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., the current state is fodder for yet another house ad and, of course, to keep fees from falling as the Tour enters a renegotiation year with television networks.

Even Goosen showed a pulse when discussing the 2005 possibilities. And the Goose doesn’t seem to usually flash a heartbeat, even when winning U.S. Opens and probably lotteries.

“This year is going to be exciting,” Goosen said. “There will probably be a No. 1 player a few times this year.”

Great seasons are defined by dramatic duels involving big names in major championships. There’s no reason all four majors, like last year, won’t feature at least one of the top four players in a stretch duel.

Golf grew because of Mickelson-Els at the Masters, Goosen-Mickelson at the U.S. Open, surprise winner Todd Hamilton vs. Els and Mickelson at the British Open, and Singh against Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco at the PGA.

“You’ve seen the era of (Jack) Nicklaus, (Arnold) Palmer and (Gary) Player, (when) those guys were at their best,” Singh said. “You’re seeing the same thing now. There’s not just one guy dominating. There’s three, four, five guys that can win the Player of the Year any year coming soon.

“Everybody is geared up. Everybody in the top 10 or 15 is looking to play really good golf. It’s going to be a great season. There won’t be too many new faces winning golf tournaments.”

Singh, of course, won nine times last year, once thought unthinkable in the Woods era for anyone but Woods. Singh came to Hawaii not looking back but saying he thinks he can improve upon 2004. As it happened, he led each of the Mercedes’ first three rounds and was tied until he lost his drive and triple-bogeyed No. 13 on Sunday.

Woods, 29, is enthused about his 10th Tour season because his swing changes paid off in November and December when he won the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan by eight strokes and his own Target World Challenge despite poor putting. Woods said his swing is better than ever, which is saying a lot considering he won 17 Tour events in 1999-2000 and only once last year.

Woods had an “I’ve got it!” moment in November, similar to the one he had when overhauling his swing in 1997-99. This one occurred while he was hitting 8-irons at Big Canyon in Southern California.

We’re not sure exactly what clicked because Woods is as secretive about his swing changes as Donald Rumsfeld is about troop deployment in Iraq. He says “zero point zero” of the many who have dissected his swing have correctly diagnosed what he’s working on with instructor Hank Haney. But he declined to enlighten. He seems to enjoy the cloak of mystery surrounding his laboratory.

Suffice it to say, Woods’ swing is more rounded off around his body and probably squarer at the top. He says the club hasn’t gotten “stuck” behind him on the downswing in months. He says his upper and lower body finally are matching up and that he can be better than ever. For the most part, Woods controlled his shots well at Kapalua, leading the field in most accurate approach shots. But he had trouble on the slow, grainy greens and tied for third with Els, two strokes back.

Because Singh spends half his life on a practice range, he knows a thing or two about the swing. But he took a humorous pass when asked if he has noticed a difference in Woods’ action. “I’m not a swing coach,” the Fijian said. “You’ve gotta ask Butch that.”

The reference, of course, was to Woods’ former coach of 10 years, Butch Harmon, whose comments about Woods’ swing last year rattled his ex-star pupil.

What’s more, the jab shows that Singh not only is golf’s best player, he might be trying to become its funniest after years as a weak quote.

As for the others, Masters champion Mickelson came eight strokes from winning the Grand Slam, evidence he has tightened his game and focus. Els is Els, a man for all seasons. He too contended in all four Grand Slam tournaments and is hungry to win more majors after they painfully eluded him last year. The unflappable Goosen claimed his second U.S. Open in June, charged to take the season-ending Tour Championship, then won the Nedbank Challenge. He could be on the verge of a breakthrough season.

Bottom line, the traveling circus is doing all right. And the cast knows it.

“Golf’s very fortunate,” Garcia said. “It’ll be exciting to see what’s going to happen.”

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The top 100 players on the PGA Tour, ranked

How did the PGA Tour's best players spend their "winter breaks?" Relaxing? Working on their games? A little of both? These are the questions we'll be asking beginning at this week's Sentry Tournament of Champions, as the tour resumes the 2021-22 season in Maui. Ahead of that, our Golf Digest staff spent its winter break coming up with our second annual ranking of the top 100 players on tour. To gather our list, we looked through the prism of what we expect from players in 2022 while acknowledging their form and feats from the recent past. Below is our collective answer.

For clarification, this list is specific to those who play on the PGA Tour. This is why you won’t see players like Victor Perez or Min Woo Lee, both fine talents who spend most of their time on the the European Tour. Obviously a handful of players compete on multiple circuits; we judged these jump balls as best we could.

Here then are the top 100 players on the PGA Tour, from No. 100 to the top spot.

100. Andrew Landry

Age: 34 / owgr (as of jan. 3, 2022): 187 / ’22 fedex cup (entering sentry toc): 40.

Landry came out on the business end of the 2020-21 “super season,” missing the cut in half of his starts and turning in a lone top-25 finish. Four MCs in six fall starts doesn’t look much better. But top-10s in those two made cuts this past autumn (T-4 at Sanderson Farms, T-7 at Mayakoba) give hope that a turnaround is ‘round the corner. — Joel Beall

99. Taylor Pendrith

Age: 30 / owgr: 229 / ’22 fedex cup: 47.

Canadian rookie has one of the most impressive moves you’ll see anywhere—think Matthew Wolff meets Jim Furyk, with 190-mph ball speed. There’s a good chance he finishes top five in driving distance when the dust settles. —Dan Rapaport

98. Jason Day

Age: 34 / owgr: 126 / ’22 fedex cup: 196.

It seems like eons since the talented but injury-prone Aussie was one of the most dominant players in golf. Coming off his worst season since 2012, when he hadn’t yet fully rounded into the form that made him a force in 2015-16, Day appears at a crossroads at age 34. Just four top-10s dotted an unremarkable season that saw him fail to reach the second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time. He has fallen out of the top 100 in the world, and most of his struggles appear to be with his usually reliable putting, where he dropped to 95th in strokes gained. His tee-to-green game (37th SG) still shines, so there is something to build on. Or rebuild on. —Dave Shedloski

MORE: How Jason Day is rediscovering his game with an assist from a 9-year-old

97. Denny McCarthy

Age: 28 / owgr: 180 / ’22 fedex cup: 30.

If one man could ever disprove the old adage, “You drive for show and you putt for dough,” it’s this guy. McCarthy has twice led the PGA Tour in strokes gained/putting, yet he’s still searching for his maiden victory. That being said, he’s made some decent dough with $4.3 million in earnings in four seasons, and he’s started this campaign by making more with four consecutive made cuts. —Alex Myers

96. Hudson Swafford

Age: 34 / owgr: 163 / ’22 fedex cup: 118.

It's extremely difficult to bring up Swafford without noting his eerie physical similarity to college teammate Harris English, and we'll be the latest to fail. To his credit, he takes it in stride, and plods steadily along in a career that reads as "journeyman" on the surface, but does include two tour wins, including his latest in September 2020 in the Dominican Republic. It's a fact of life that Swafford is going to miss cuts, but as he proved last season, he can miss a bunch (17) and still post a high FedEx Cup finishing position (36th). — Shane Ryan

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95. Adam Schenk

Age: 29 / owgr: 156 / ’22 fedex cup: 37.

The man with the most unfortunate name in golf hit anything but a shank over the last eight months. Since the RBC Heritage, Schenk has finished T-18 or better five times, including three inside the top four. Should he keep it rolling into 2022, there are ample low-key, early-season events for the former Purdue Boilermaker to pick off a maiden win. —Christopher Powers

94. Adam Hadwin

Age: 34 / owgr: 150 / ’22 fedex cup: 126.

The streaky Canadian—he missed three straight cuts during three stretches in 2021—can put it all together at times. Hadwin had three top-eights last season but the short hitter rarely produces a charge on the weekend. He averaged 70.38 on both Saturday and Sunday—91st for both days on tour. —Tod Leonard

MORE: Complete top 25 of Golf Digest’s Newsmakers of 2021

93. Luke List

Age: 36 / owgr: 152 / ’22 fedex cup: 28.

List is the only player from the last decade to have led the tour in driving distance for the year and never won on tour. Most other to lead in distance, like Bubba, Bryson, DJ, and Rory, also have majors. List can hammer the ball, and his tee-to-green numbers will always be elite with that asset. But his putting has been historically poor—if you look at one of those Data Golf charts measuring five skills, the shape List delivers is more of the rare triangle than some form of pentagon. But hey, you just need one hot week with the putter and you can pull the Cameron Champ and pick off a win or two. —Brendan Porath

92. Henrik Norlander

Age: 34 / owgr: 162 / ’22 fedex cup: 49.

The Swede finished fourth at Sanderson Farms in the fall, spurred by a final-round 64. Though he turned pro in 2011 after helping lead Augusta State to back-to-back NCAA team titles, this is just Norlander’s fifth season on the PGA Tour, alternating between the Korn Ferry and Challenge Tours in between. His strength is his iron play: Norlander ranked 27th last season on tour in strokes gained/approach. — Stephen Hennessey

91. Robert Streb

Age: 34 / owgr: 120 / ’22 fedex cup: 45.

After winning the 2020 RSM Classic, Streb played 23 events the rest of the 2020-21 season and missed more cuts than he made (12 to 11) with just three top-20 finishes. The fall was better, though, with two top-10s, and having a card through 2023 means he doesn’t have to sweat things out this season. That has to be somewhat liberating after finishing outside the top 125 in 2018, 2019 and 2020. —Ryan Herrington

90. Troy Merritt

Age: 36 / owgr: 106 / ’22 fedex cup: 52.

When you hear discussions about how the tour is looking out for its rank-and-file members, Merritt is the player they’re talking about. He’s proven he can win (he’s done it twice), made more than $11 million and has played well enough to keep his card for nine straight seasons. Yet for as consistent a career as that is, he’s never gotten to the Tour Championship. Can 2022 be different? Perhaps … he finished the fall ranked 14th in SG/approach the green and 34th total, which rank as career bests if extended through an entire season. —R.H.

89. Aaron Rai

Age: 26 / owgr: 100 / ’22 fedex cup: 59.

Perhaps known best by American golf fans for his iron headcovers, Rai made a name for himself in the U.S. in 2021, nearly winning on the Korn Ferry Tour in his first start. It was a painful runner-up finish—needing just an up-and-down to secure victory he instead took four strokes, missing a playoff—but the KFT result in Boise secured his PGA Tour card for this season. The Englishman missed his first three cuts on the PGA Tour but finished the year with three consecutive top-20s. — S.H.

Steve Dykes

MORE: This pro’s reason for using iron headcovers will make you feel pretty bad about making fun of him

88. Brendan Steele

Age: 38 / owgr: 101 / ’22 fedex cup: 20.

The Sultan of the Safeway Open had a “down” 2021, if you consider it purely on FEC finish, which was 105th. But he still made almost $1.4 million, so he was making cuts and cashing checks, which he’s done all his career. Steele has the length to hang on the modern tour, and he’ll pick and choose his venues where he knows he can pop after several years on the circuit. —B.P.

87. Davis Riley

Age: 25 / owgr: 362 / ’22 fedex cup: 111.

Cruelly, the former Alabama star was third on the Korn Ferry points list in 2020, but didn’t get promoted when the season was extended due to the pandemic. Riley forged on with seven top-10s, including two wins, that got eventually got him onto the PGA Tour for 2021-22. The new season has been a rollercoaster—four missed cuts, countered by a T-7 in Bermuda. The flat stick in a hinderance: Riley is 131st in SG/putting. —T.L.

86. Chris Kirk

Age: 36 / owgr: 96 / ’22 fedex cup: 97.

Between 2011 and 2015, Kirk ripped off four wins and earned a spot on the 2015 U.S. Presidents Cup team. The six years that followed were tough both on and off the course for Kirk, who opened up about his battle with alcoholism in 2019. Since then he’s found his golf game again, winning a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2020 and collecting eight top-16 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2021. Perhaps 2022 is the year he ends what is now a six-plus-year victory drought. —C.P.

85. Lanto Griffin

Age: 33 / owgr: 111 / '22 fedex cup: 42.

We haven't fully checked the record books, but it seems likely that Griffin is the one-and-only PGA Tour winner to be named by his hippie parents after a spiritual master (in this case, "Lord Lanto, a Chohan of the Second Ray of Illumination"). It took him years to reach the PGA Tour, but a win at the 2019 Houston Open gave him serious traction, and after holding on to the top 100 last season, he's off to a big start with two top-10s in the fall. And fun fact: Thanks to those hippie parents, Griffin has never eaten red meat. —S.R.

MORE: Lanto Griffin—from broke to the PGA Tour in five months

84. Matt Kuchar

Age: 43 / owgr: 116 / ’22 fedex cup: 91.

One of the game’s top earners for more than a decade, Kuchar has cooled down with only one top-10 in each of the past two seasons. The nine-time tour winner was always able to get around a lack of distance, but that’s getting harder to do these days—especially with an eroding iron game. Kuchar ranked 108th and 98th in SG/approach the past two seasons, and is currently 184th. —A.M.

Alex Goodlett

MORE: Even Matt Kuchar is chasing speed with his swing

83. Bubba Watson

Age: 43 / owgr: 85 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Because he remains one of the longest hitters, and because he can create shots, and because he puts himself out there with genuine emotion, Watson still is a compelling and competitive presence on the PGA Tour. To return to legitimate threat, the lithe left-hander needs to shake off that middle-aged putting stroke, because being 149th in SG/putting (minus-.210) last season nullified an encouraging 36th position in SG/tee to green (plus-.751)—which explains his paltry 3.59 birdie average. And though he had just five top-10 finishes in 22 events, he only missed four cuts (plus one WD), and he qualified for the playoffs for the 15th time, one of just six players with perfect attendance in the FedEx Cup era. Watson and longtime caddie Ted Scott have split amicably, but maybe a new voice will get him to a 13th career win. —D.S.

MORE: In new book, Bubba opens up about the struggles he kept to himself

82. Adam Long

Age: 29 / owgr: 143 / ’22 fedex cup: 36.

Started this wrap-around season with four straight top-25 finishes to set himself up nicely in the FedEx Cup race. Don’t let the name fool you—he ranked only 88th in driving distance last season. —D.R.

81. Jhonattan Vegas

Age: 37 / owgr: 82 / ’22 fedex cup: 56.

Vegas enjoyed a career revival in 2020-21 thanks to three runner-up finishes, a performance he carried over into the fall (fifth in SG/off-the-tee, 17th in SG/tee-to-green). That this is a Presidents Cup year should provide extra incentive for Vegas. The International team has depth for the first time in, well, forever, yet most of those names are young and unproven. Vegas—who won his singles match at the 2017 Presidents Cup—will be 38 when the biennial match kicks off at Quail Hollow, and would give captain Trevor Immelman a steady, likeable veteran presence on the squad. —J.B.

Mike Ehrmann

80. Pat Perez

Age: 45 / owgr: 280 / ’22 fedex cup: 192.

Perez has historically used the fall to jumpstart his seasons, but this autumn was none too kind (five starts, three missed cuts, a WD and a T-44). Turning 46 in March, it’s fair to wonder how much gas Perez has left in the tank. Yet the man has been a model of consistency, missing the playoffs just once in its 15-year existence … and that once was due to an injury that sidelined him for seven months in 2016. The 2021 super season was another solid campaign for Perez, making the cut in 21 of 32 starts and finishing 53rd in strokes gained. He’ll need the West Coast Swing to right his wrongs, but it’s a safe bet to see Perez once again come playoff time. —J.B.

79. Emiliano Grillo

Age: 29 / owgr: 92 / ’22 fedex cup: 114.

Sometimes, the PGA Tour rookie of the year award is a harbinger of greatness. For Grillo, the 2016 winner, it hasn’t quite turned out that way, though he remains a terrific ball-striker who’s seen success in weaker-field events. —D.R.

78. Joel Dahmen

Age: 34 / owgr: 93 / ’22 fedex cup: 46.

A season with three top-10s doesn’t sound all that great, except that when one of them is your first PGA Tour win in your 12th year as a professional, it’s everything. So Dahmen, winner in the Dominican Republic, has that going for him, which is … well, you know … nice. One of the shorter drivers of the ball, Dahmen has to do other things well. Hitting fairways is one where he did fine (ranked 22nd). Getting to the greens and then operating on them, not so much, and on that last item, the 34-year-old Washington native gave up way too much ground at 164th SG/putting (minus-.344). —D.S.

Kevin C. Cox

MORE: How Joel Dahmen got his mind right before his first PGA Tour win

77. Lee Westwood

Age: 48 / owgr: 37 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Oh, what could have been in 2021 as Westwood played his way into the final pairing in back-to-back events (Bay Hill and the Players) before finishing runner-up in both. Sadly, reminiscent of his long list of close calls in majors throughout his career. Westy’s OWGR remains rather lofty based on those two finishes as well as winning the 2020 Race to Dubai title on the European Tour, but a T-21 as his best performance since March indicates he’s headed on a different trajectory now as he closes in on his 49th birthday in April. —A.M.

76. Cameron Young

Age: 24 / owgr: 135 / ’22 fedex cup: 26.

Search for Cameron Young on Wikipedia, and the first hit is a G-League NBA player; check the World Ranking, and Young is the fifth-most famous Cameron, after Smith, Tringale, Davis and Champ. And yet the Wake Forest grad is brimming with raw potential, and even more importantly, he's a winner: He earned his card on the strength of back-to-back wins on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, and though he ran hot-and-cold the rest of the season, he nearly won his second PGA Tour event at Sanderson Farms. The son of the head pro at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, Young is still untested, but he has a nose for trophies. —S.R.

MORE: 7 unsung heroes of the PGA Tour fall season

75. Sahith Theegala

Age: 24 / owgr: 382 / ’22 fedex cup: 85.

Theegala is not yet on the level of some of the other studs in his age group, but his appearance in this ranking is a prediction that he will be soon. He didn’t rewrite the Korn Ferry Tour history books in the 2020-21 season, but his consecutive top-six finishes in the final two KFT Finals events saw him earn his PGA Tour card for the 2021-22 season. There will be growing pains, no doubt, but we’re betting on the crazy-talented 24-year-old from Pepperdine to introduce himself to the casual golf fan in a big way in 2022. —C.P.

Sam Greenwood

74. Cameron Davis

Age: 26 / owgr: 78 / ’22 fedex cup: 151.

The Aussie has been trying to live up to the promise he showed in capturing the 2017 Australian Open, beating the likes of Jordan Spieth and Jason Day. Davis finally delivered on the Fourth of July by outlasting Troy Merritt in a five-hole playoff to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He also had a third in The American Express, but posted only one other top-10. Davis is a big hitter (19th in driving distance), but not strong with the irons (120th in GIR). —T.L.

73. Tom Hoge

Age: 32 / owgr: 110 / ’22 fedex cup: 27.

An established regular on tour, Hoge has moved beyond “No, what is it?” status. That’s the reply Tiger Woods gave in 2015 when he was asked if he would recognize Tom Hoge, who would be his playing partner the next day at the Wyndham (presumably Tiger thought the inquisitor was referring to a sandwich of some sort). Hoge will likely make some 30 starts and make around as many cuts as he misses, relying on hot stretches with his below-average putter that occasionally bump him into contention. —B.P.

72. Matt Wallace

Age: 31 / owgr: 80 / ’22 fedex cup: 48.

Wallace had five top-10 finishes across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in 2021, including a T-4 at the Zozo Championship in the fall. He held a share of the 54-hole lead at the Valero Texas Open, falling short to Jordan Spieth despite Wallace putting on a ball-striking clinic, gaining 15.3 strokes to the field tee-to-green. — S.H.

71. Ian Poulter

Age: 45 / owgr: 57 / ’22 fedex cup: t-141.

The Brit turns 46 on Jan. 10 and with no Ryder Cup to aim for in 2022, the question is what kind of motivation does he have. To wit, he missed three cuts in four tour starts after Whistling Straits last fall. The most cuts he’s missed in any season on tour since 2005 is four. That said, he has posted 39 top-10s in 92 tour starts from 2017-21. —R.H.

70. Harold Varner III

Age: 31 / owgr: 95 / ’22 fedex cup: 64.

There might not be any player on tour who more of his peers are pulling for to get that first win than Varner, the North Carolina native is that well liked. But the journey to win No. 1 continues to have its rocky moments as Varner struggles to sustain momentum after posting solid first rounds. The good news? In 2021, he had a career-best 10 top-25s, along with his first top-three finish (T-2 at Harbour Town). And as a new dad to baby Liam, there’s some new incentive to succeed in 2022. —R.H.

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69. Charley Hoffman

Age: 45 / owgr: 76 / ’22 fedex cup: 92.

Entering his 17th year on tour, Hoffman has been a model of consistency—keeping his card every year since 2006. The San Diego native had five top-10s last season, including a runner-up at the Valero Texas Open (where he closed with rounds of 66-65-66) and a third-place finish at Colonial, adding to an impressive résumé in the Lone Star State: 14 career top-10 finishes and 30 top-25s. —S.H.

68. Alex Noren

Age: 39 / owgr: 71 / ’22 fedex cup: 126.

After getting hot in the playoffs and nearly making it to Atlanta, 2021 was a rebound season of sorts for Noren, who once ascended into the top 10 in the world and made a Ryder Cup team. Noren’s majors record is rather underwhelming after 30 career starts, and his tee-to-green deficiencies relative to the modern elite players will continue to make breakthroughs at many of those setups a challenge. — B.P.

67. Cameron Champ

Age: 26 / owgr: 83 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

We don’t yet know what Champ’s season is going to look like because a wrist injury forced him to shut things down after just one start in October. He must be hugely disappointed, considering Champ—who was third on the tour in driving distance (317 yards)—won for the third straight year in July at the 3M Open. It’s the putter that holds Champ back from contending more; he was 188th in SG/putting in 2020-21. —T.L.

66. Keith Mitchell

Age: 29 / owgr: 89 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 31.

Mitchell owns one of the more impressive non-major wins in recent memory, defeating both Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler by one stroke at the 2019 Honda Classic. He hasn’t followed it with another trophy, but a trio of recent top-five finishes (Wells Fargo, 3M Open, CJ Cup) would lead one to believe that the former Georgia Bulldog isn’t likely to be just a one-win wonder. —C.P.

65. Keegan Bradley

Age: 35 / owgr: 86 / ’22 fedex cup: 84.

The peak of Bradley's career so far came in 2012, when he came into the Ryder Cup as a major champion and teamed with Phil Mickelson to electrify the Chicago crowds for the first two days. He's only 35, but the fall from those heights was definitive, and he's only managed a single win since. Still, he hasn't gone away, and on the strength of four top-10s last season, he put himself in position to make the Tour Championship and prove that even though that initial surge to stardom was part mirage, he's still a very good professional golfer. —S.R.

64. Garrick Higgo

Age: 22 / owgr: 61 / ’22 fedex cup: 160.

The talented South African has been piling up wins at an impressive rate, no matter what tour he plays on. After winning on the European Tour in back-to-back months, Higgo captured his first PGA Tour title at Congaree in June, just weeks after turning 22. He enters 2022 outside the top 50 in the OWGR, but it doesn’t appear like he’ll stay there for long. —A.M.

63. Branden Grace

Age: 33 / owgr: 70 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 105.

There is a reason that Grace’s best SG stat is around the greens: He doesn’t hit many of them, averaging just 64.47 percent last season (144th on tour). But when he does have a week like he did at the Puerto Rico Open, where he was T-3 in the field after finding 57 of 72 (79.2 percent), the South African veteran does OK. In fact, he won his second tour title there and first anywhere in five years. Hey, that was one more win than countryman Louis Oosthuizen, the hard-luck loser of 2021 majors. Grace posted three other top-seven finishes, including runner-up at the Wyndham. He tends to make the most of his opportunities. —D.S.

62. Kevin Streelman

Age: 43 / owgr: 77 / ’22 fedex cup: 128.

Not someone you’d stop to watch on the driving range, but he’s kept his tour card for 15 years and has made more than $23 million. Picked up his first major top-10 in 26 tries at the PGA Championship at Kiawah. —D.R.

MORE: Kevin Streelman was the other underdog at the 2021 PGA

61. Aaron Wise

Age: 25 / owgr: 64 / ’22 fedex cup: 22.

The rookie of the year in 2018 went sideways in his second and third years on tour but bounced back in a big way during 2020-21, racking up nine top-25 finishes on his way to reaching the second stage of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Wise carried that fine display to the fall with three top-15s in five starts thanks to a stout tee-to-green game. If he can tighten up his short game (no better than 132nd in SG/putting the past three seasons) the former NCAA champ could be on the precipice of a breakout campaign. —J.B.

60. Rickie Fowler

Age: 33 / owgr: 87 / ’22 fedex cup: 43.

The 2021 super season was a super nightmare for Fowler. He had just one top-10 against nine missed cuts in 24 starts, failed to qualify for the Masters and U.S. Open, and he did not make the postseason for the first time in his career. But Fowler did contend in the fall at the CJ Cup in Vegas, ultimately coming in T-3 (his first top-three finish since the 2019 Honda Classic) to show the obituaries are premature. To keep the momentum going into 2022, Fowler will need to shore up his short game. Historically one of the better putters on tour (even ranking first in SG/putting in 2017), Fowler fell to 126th in the category last season. —J.B.

Gregory Shamus

59. Brian Harman

Age: 26 / owgr: 59 / ’22 fedex cup: 189.

Somewhat limited due to his lack of length but Harman makes a boatload of cuts. Manages his game extremely well and ranked inside the top 30 in both SG/putting and around the green in 2020-21. —D.R.

58. Ryan Palmer

Age: 45 / owgr: 47 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 108.

In the long history of great Texas golfers, Palmer wouldn’t garner much attention, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a very good player for a very long time. The four-time tour winner is sinewy strong, averaging 304.6 yards off the tee last season (38th) while ranking 49th in SG/off the tee. That will keep you relevant. He remains a decent putter (89th SG), also helpful. The only category where he lost strokes was around the greens. —D.S.

57. K.H. Lee

Age: 30 / owgr: 63 / ’22 fedex cup: 66.

We’ll be rooting for the former “husky boy” to achieve his stated goal of becoming the “sexiest golfer in the world” in 2022, unless he already claimed that title in your view. In 2021, Lee captured his first tour win, triggering another run of firsts in the coming year, where he’ll start inside the top 100 for the first time in his career, play his rookie Masters and, potentially, earn a Presidents Cup bid. The next step is making his first cut at a major championship, where his record is markedly inexperienced and thin (four starts, four missed cuts). —B.P.

56. Seamus Power

Age: 34 / owgr: 73 / ’22 fedex cup: 25.

It sounds unbelievable, but prior to Power’s win at the Barbasol in July, only four players from the Republic of Ireland had won a PGA Tour event. That was the cherry on top of an incredible summer for Power, whose World Ranking skyrocketed from the 400s to top 70 on the strength of that win and six other top-20 finishes. At the RSM Classic, the final event of the fall, he posted a T-4, giving warning that his meteoric rise in the summer was a beginning, not an end. —S.R.

55. Cameron Tringale

Age: 34 / owgr: 51 / ’22 fedex cup: 13.

Even if you’re a casual golf-watcher, chances are you’ve seen Tringale’s name at the top of the leader board upwards of a million times over the last handful of seasons (he has 15 top-25s since November 2020). That has yet to translate into a win on the PGA Tour, but chances are if he continues to put himself in position to win he’ll get there sooner or later. —C.P.

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54. Stewart Cink

Age: 48 / owgr: 52 / ’22 fedex cup: 199.

Yes, Phil Mickelson rightfully grabbed the headlines by being the oldest major winner, but Cink notching two wins in a seven-month span, at 48, was arguably just as impressive. Remember, he won the Safeway Open by going 65-65 on the weekend and opened his title week in the Heritage with back-to-back 63s. For anybody, that’s playing your behind off. The iron play was fabulous, ranking Cink at 34th in SG/approach. He’s going to have to drive it better to be factor this year; in four events, he’s 104th in distance and 176th in accuracy. —T.L.

Patrick Smith

53 . Harry Higgs

Age: 30 / owgr: 138 / ’22 fedex cup: 69.

A social-media darling, and for good reason, as Higgs brings character, humor and flavor to a tour with one too many mayo sandwiches. At 30, his career progression has been steady and stable, what we used to see as the norm in a prior era. He’s worked his way up with success, and wins, at each level, and 2021 came with a top-five finish in his first (and still only) major championship. —B.P.

52. Phil Mickelson

Age: 51 / owgr: 33 / ’22 fedex cup: 174.

What a glorious year for Lefty, who become the oldest major champion in golf history by outdueling major slayer Brooks Koepka at Kiawah Island. He also added four victories in six starts on the PGA Tour Champions in his first season, becoming just the second player to accomplish the feat, joining Jack Nicklaus. The question is whether the senior success and that major magic will translate into more consistency in regular PGA Tour starts, where he had just one other top-20 showing outside the PGA win in the 2020-21 season. — S.H.

MORE: 101 things that happened to Phil Mickelson in 2021

51. Russell Henley

Age: 32 / owgr: 55 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 38.

You think of Henley as older than 32 given the fact he’s already playing his 10th season. He’s been a consistent performer during that time, finishing inside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup ranking every year. Yet he’s only qualified for the Tour Championship twice (2014 and 2017) and hasn’t won since April 2017. So is Henley’s biological clock ticking? Perhaps. He’s learned to live with the fact he isn’t the longest player out there, but that means he needs to figure out a way to shore up his short game if he hopes to have more than a solid career. —R.H.

50. Sergio Garcia

Age: 41 / owgr: 45 / ’22 fedex cup: 73.

What’s left for Sergio, who has his major and his stellar Ryder Cup record and turns 42 on Jan. 9? In 2018 and 2020, he was outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list, only to bounce back with solid seasons in 2019 and 2021. Interestingly, the Spaniard hasn’t shot a round over par on the PGA Tour since the first round of The Northern Trust in August. Ended the fall with a T-7 finish in Mexico, which certainly provides a positive vibe heading into the new year. —R.H.

49. Shane Lowry

Age: 34 / owgr: 44 / ’22 fedex cup: 203.

The 2019 Open champion had six worldwide top-10s in 2021, plus a T-12 in defending his title at The Open. The Irishman had several career-best finishes last year: at the PGA Championship (T-4), the Memorial (T-6), The Players (eighth) and the Masters (T-21). — S.H.

Warren Little

48 . Justin Rose

Age: 41 / owgr: 42 / ’22 fedex cup: 103.

It’s been a disappointing past two-plus seasons for this former World No. 1. In 33 starts, Rose racked up just five top-10s with a T-3 at the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge being his best result. Still in tremendous physical shape (just check his Instagram feed), a final-round 65 at the RSM Classic in the last official round of 2021 to finish T-12 indicates he has more good golf left in him—even if it happens less frequently. —A.M.

47. Mito Pereira

Age: 26 / owgr: 98 / ’22 fedex cup: 21.

Still a mystery to most American fans, the Chilean could make a big splash in ’22 if his trajectory continues. The Texas Tech alum earned a battlefield promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour with three wins in 2021, including back-to-back victories in June. Since then, Pereira has three top-10s on the PGA Tour and finished just off the podium in the Olympics. The stellar iron player has already competed seven times for 2021-22 and has four top-30s and only one missed cut. —T.L.

46. Kevin Kisner

Age: 37 / owgr: 43 / ’22 fedex cup: 203.

“This ain’t no hobby” and “they give away a lot [of $$] for 20th,” two of Kisner’s famous quotes, seem to be opposing ideas, but they actually sum up his PGA Tour existence perfectly. Golf is not a hobby for Kisner (he’s among the 50 best in the world at it), but he knows his skills are limited to shorter, shot-maker’s golf courses. He pops at those spots, like Harbour Town, Sedgefield and Detroit Golf Club, then happily takes his T-23s in the events where distance matters greatly. He knows who he is and makes no apologies for it, making him a fan favorite. —C.P.

45. Maverick McNealy

Age: 26 / owgr: 68 / ’22 fedex cup: 12.

It's easy to fly under the radar when you're still looking for your first professional win, but McNealy was one of the more quietly impressive players on tour last year, rising from 166th in the World Ranking at the start of 2021 to 69th at the end. Second-place finishes at Pebble Beach and Napa are the highlights, and he became more consistent as the season went along, making seven straight cuts to reach the BMW Championship. At 26, it's clear that McNealy is beginning to enter his prime. —S.R.

44. Tommy Fleetwood

Age: 30 / owgr: 40 / ’22 fedex cup: 95.

Now in his 30s, Fleetwood doesn’t quite fit the “Young Gunz” category anymore, but he still has a lot of golf in front of him. That being said—and not to sound too much like Paul Azinger—it has to be disheartening that this five-time European Tour winner has yet to break through in the U.S. More alarming is the only time he came close last year ended with a Sunday 77 at Bay Hill. Already with a T-7 in Vegas and still one of the game’s best ball-strikers, we expect to see his name on more leader boards in 2022—even if it’s not all the way on top. —A.M.

43. Erik van Rooyen

Age: 31 / owgr: 66 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 138.

The South African enjoyed a rookie season that included a victory and a spot in the Tour Championship, thanks to consecutive top-five finishes in the Playoffs, so it stands to reason that expectations will be much higher in the coming year. He certainly has room for improvement, with a stat sheet that shows his best category was SG/putting (64th). Van Rooyen missed the cut in all three majors in which he competed and fell short of the weekend in 11 of 27 starts, so more consistency should be a stated goal in 2022. —D.S.

​​ 42. Lucas Herbert

Age: 26 / owgr: 41 / ’22 fedex cup: 9.

Secured his card through the Korn Ferry finals and promptly earned some job security by winning his third starts as a PGA Tour member in October at the Bermuda Championship. The Aussie has a great chance to make this year’s Presidents Cup team. —D.R.

41. Sebastian Munoz

Age: 28 / owgr: 60 / ’22 fedex cup: 19.

Munoz doesn’t do anything that particularly jumps out. In that same breath, the man possesses view weaknesses. See ball, hit ball, keep ball in play. It’s an equation that’s paid dividends: Thanks to a T-4 at the Zozo and a third at the RSM, Munoz begins 2022 inside the FedEx Cup top 20. Should he stay in the discussion for a trip to East Lake, it may be enough to snag a spot on the Presidents Cup team. To solidify his spot on the International squad, as well as make the jump into the next echelon of tour players, Munoz needs to keep the bigger numbers at bay: He ranked 131st in bogey avoidance last season. Improving his putting from inside 10 feet (111th in the category last year) will go ways towards that goal. —J.B.

Tom Pennington

40. Adam Scott

Age: 41 / owgr: 46 / ’22 fedex cup: 62.

Scott has advanced to the Tour Championship just twice in the last seven seasons. Part of that stems from his penchant for playing a light schedule (he’s only played more than 20 events once in his career), yet his performance in those limited appearances, while good, has trended the wrong direction with age. Nevertheless, Scott did post a T-5 at the CJ Cup in the fall, and a golfer’s 40s are no longer the purgatory they once were on tour. With the Presidents Cup on tap this year, don’t be surprised if we see a revival from the former Masters champ. —J.B.

39. Si Woo Kim

Age: 26 / owgr: 53 / ’22 fedex cup: 44.

Hard to believe he’s still three-plus years from 30. Hasn’t quite delivered on the top-10 potential he flashed in winning the 2018 Players at 21, but he’s got three wins and is coming off his most consistent season yet. —D.R.

MORE: The 31 biggest rules issues of 2021

38. Mackenzie Hughes

Age: 31 / owgr: 39 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 11.

A strong fall campaign, highlighted by a T-4 at the Zozo and second at the RSM, augers well for the Canadian veteran. Hughes did just enough during the 2020-21 campaign to make it to the BMW Championship despite losing more than half a stroke to the field in SG/total. Four top-10s, including T-6 at The Open, and adding a T-15 finish at the U.S. Open sure helped. His relative lack of power always will make things challenging, but the last few years Hughes has gotten the putting-for-dough thing nailed down (including 15th in SG, ninth in total putting last season). —D.S.

37. Matt Fitzpatrick

Age: 27 / owgr: 24 / ’22 fedex cup: 154.

The Brit has made a steady climb up the OWGR despite not winning yet on the PGA Tour. Already a seven-time champ in Europe, however, he clearly has what it takes to close out golf tournaments—especially those played in difficult scoring conditions. “I’d love to tick that off,” Fitzpatrick told Today’s Golfer in October. “But I’m not a rookie anymore. I’m 27. In my own mind, I know I’ve got to start competing in the big events so my name is up at the top of the leader board more often.” We couldn’t agree more, Matt. —A.M.

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36. Paul Casey

Age: 44 / owgr: 27 / ’22 fedex cup: 152.

The veteran Brit must have discovered the fountain of youth, and we're not saying that just because of his boyish face. Firmly in his mid-40s, he made 18 of 20 cuts on tour last season, posted seven top-10s, made yet another Ryder Cup, and is the oldest man inside the world top 30. His consistency is a marvel, and so is his approach game—in 2020-21, only Morikawa was better on SG/approach. —S.R.

35. Webb Simpson

Age: 36 / owgr: 28 / ’22 fedex cup: 54.

In comparison to 2018, 2019 and 2020, when Simpson enjoyed a career resurgence after going five-plus years without a win, 2021 was a down season for the former U.S. Open champ. And yet, he still had five finishes of T-9 or better in 21 starts, three of them coming at three of his favorite tour courses—Harbour Town (RBC Heritage), Sedgefield (Wyndham) and Sea Island (RSM Classic). You can pencil him in for top-10s at those stops again in 2022, and we should expect much more from this prolific winner who still has plenty of good golf left in him. —C.P.

34. Matthew Wolff

Age: 22 / owgr: 30 / ’22 fedex cup: 7.

He’s so young, but this still seems like a critical season for Wolff. Will he better handle the pressure that came with his early success and then sidelined him for a mental-health break in ’21? The early returns are positive, with Wolff finishing second, T-5 and T-11 among his first four starts of the 2021-22 season. The putter has been a huge strength (12th thus far in SG), and he’s fourth in SG overall. That’s impressive for a guy who was fourth in driving distance last year (315.9), though he needs to keep it more on the short stuff; Wolff was 189th in accuracy. —T.L.

MORE: Matthew Wolff details depths of his mental health struggles

33. Corey Conners

Age: 29 / owgr: 38 / ’22 fedex cup: 87.

Your favorite flusher’s favorite flusher became the trendy description of Conners in 2021, a breakout year for him with multiple appearances on major championship leader boards and a trip to Atlanta for the Tour Championship. If we’re judging just based on tee to green, he could have been argued as a top-10 player in the world. What happens around and on the green makes it a bit more adventurous, but he’s too skilled in all-too-important areas of the game to not expect a bucket of more top 10s and a likely Presidents Cup spot representing Canada in 2022. —B.P.

32. Carlos Ortiz

Age: 30 / owgr: 54 / ’22 fedex cup: 16.

Ortiz edged a crowded leader board to earn his first PGA Tour title at the 2020 Houston Open, becoming the first winner from Mexico since 1978 (Victor Regalado). He contended for a third straight year at Mayakoba in his home country but finished four strokes behind winner Viktor Hovland. — S.H.

31. Tyrrell Hatton

Age: 30 / owgr: 22 / ’22 fedex cup: 125.

The Englishman would likely place higher on this list if European Tour results weighed heavier: He won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and finished runner-up at the Alfred Dunhill Links in 2021. But Hatton had just one individual top-10 on the PGA Tour last year, a runner-up at Congaree. — S.H.

30. Billy Horschel

Age: 35 / owgr: 23 / ’22 fedex cup: 167.

Has some ground to make up in the FedEx Cup standings after playing just one PGA Tour event in the fall (T-33 at Mayakoba) while moonlighting on the European Tour. Still, he’s finished outside the top 50 only one since 2012 so there’s not much reasons to sweat it. A victory in the BMW Championship at Wentworth in September after a win at the WGC-Dell Match Play in March suggests Horschel has the game to win big events. But that record in majors—one top-15 finish and just two top-20s in 31 starts as a pro—is something that he would like to remedy. —R.H.

29. Talor Gooch

Age: 30 / owgr: 32 / ’ 22 fedex cup: 1.

There was no hotter player on the tour this fall than the former Oklahoma State golfer. He carded five top-11 finishes in six starts including an “at last” breakout win at the RSM Classic to jump top the FedEx Cup ranking entering 2022. And this all happened despite ranking 149th in SG/off the tee (-.124). That’s been typical of Gooch in his four years on tour; he has never ranked better than 107th and always finished with a negative number. If he could shore up his driving, he has an iron game that will get him to the Tour Championship for the first time in his career. —R.H.

Cliff Hawkins

MORE: Talor Gooch finishes excellent fall with breakthrough win

28. Marc Leishman

Age: 38 / owgr: 36 / ’22 fedex cup: 18.

Leishman bats it around as well as anyone on tour, and while he may have been inconsistent week-to-week last year, the year-over-year results speak for themselves. He’s got five wins in the last five years and finished inside the top 30 of the OWGR in five of the last six. He’s a reliable, professional golfer with a couple top five finishes already in the fall portion of the season. —B.P.

27. Louis Oosthuizen

Age: 39 / owgr: 11 / ’22 fedex cup: 117.

The South African is coming off a tremendous campaign, but there’s the nagging feeling that he missed out on something truly special. Oosthuizen tied for second in the PGA Championship and then held the Sunday back-nine lead in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines before succumbing to Jon Rahm’s charge. He also had a T-3 in The Open. Oosthuizen is the consummate “putt for dough” player—ranking No. 1 in SG/putting in ’21 while being 101st off the tee. —T.L.

MORE: Louis Oothuizen is not wondering ‘what if’ about major misses

26. Max Homa

Age: 31 / owgr: 35 / ’22 fedex cup: 6.

Homa, once a Korn Ferry Tour grinder who struggled his first few seasons on the PGA Tour, has come into his own in his late 20s and early 30s. He’s now a certified winner, with three victories between 2019 and 2021, two of them in big-time events (Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow, Genesis at Riviera). No longer just the funny golfer on Twitter, Homa now lets his clubs do the talking, though he’s still pretty hilarious when he logs on to the bird app. —C.P.

25. Joaquin Niemann

Age: 23 / owgr: 31 / ’22 fedex cup: 55.

Plainly put, it's time for Niemann to win again. In the last calendar year, he's had six top-10s on tour, another in the Olympics, and came agonizingly close to winning his second career title at both the Sentry TOC and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He lost in a playoff each time, but his World Ranking steadily improved throughout the year. Before a rocky finish to the fall, he had missed exactly one cut in 13 months, and even though he's still very, very young, he's ready to move from the upper echelons of the tour to the upper, upper echelons. —S.R.

24. Kevin Na

Age: 38 / owgr: 29 / ’22 fedex cup: 199.

Incredibly, this guy already has two decades of being a pro in the books. More amazing, though, is the fact he’s coming off the best season of his career. After winning just once in his first decade on tour, Na enters this year on a four-season winning streak. And after entering his name into the Ryder Cup conversation, perhaps he’ll finally get to wear the red, white and blue at this year’s Presidents Cup. —A.M.

23. Patrick Reed

Age: 31 / owgr: 25 / ’22 fedex cup: 29.

After winning his ninth tour title in January at the Farmers Insurance Open and occupying the top 10 in the World Ranking for the first half of 2021, Reed was hardly a factor the rest of the season. The falloff, and an untimely illness that landed him in the hospital, cost the so-called “Captain America” a spot on the record-setting U.S. Ryder Cup team. The guy’s short game and putting (seventh in SG/around the green, fourth in SG/putting) still prove to be lethal, but it’s right to wonder how long the former Masters winner can stay among the top Americans while his greens in regulation figures continue to deteriorate. —D.S.

MORE: Patrick Reed confronts his image and his critics

​​ 22. Will Zalatoris

Age: 25 / owgr: 34 / ’22 fedex cup: 67.

Fell one shot short of becoming the first since 1979 to win his first Masters appearance and holds the rare distinction of winning rookie of the year despite not being a full member of the PGA Tour. Now in his first FedEx Cup-eligible season, he’ll be keen to back up his breakout season with a first tour victory. —D.R.

21. Sungjae Im

Age: 23 / owgr: 26 / ’22 fedex cup: 3.

It’s frankly amazing that Im has logged more than 100 starts on tour … and he doesn’t turn 24 until March. A strong start in the fall (highlighted by a win at the Shriners followed by a T-9 at the CJ Cup) has Im poised for another stellar season. Despite his youth there’s little to nitpick with his game; the next step for Im would be for a bit more consistency at the big events—following a runner-up at the 2020 Masters, he failed to crack the top 15 at the majors or Players in 2021—but, again, he’s just 23. He seems odd to earmark Im as a potential breakout candidate given his success, yet with the Presidents Cup on tap along with some major venues that fit his game (cough, cough Southern Hills), the fledgling star is not far from gaining full-blown leading-man status in the sport. —J.B.

MORE: Sungjae Im (aka the Birdie Machine) was the perfect fit to win in Las Vegas

20. Abraham Ancer

Age: 30 / owgr: 17 / ’22 fedex cup: 63.

He has a lone win to his name. Don’t let that fool you; this cat can ball. Ancer is coming off a career year, finishing the regular season sixth in the FedEx Cup and ranking 12th in scoring and 15th in strokes gained. The output is especially impressive considering Ancer is one of the shortest hitters on tour (157th in distance), although he more than compensates by hitting more fairways than a John Deere (fifth in accuracy). It is fair to wonder if the lack of pop has held him back at majors, with just one top-10 finish in 11 starts; conversely, it could also just be a matter of reps, and his second-shot prowess (23rd in approach), ability to rack up red figures (20th in birdies) while keeping the big numbers off the card (fifth in bogey avoidance) should make him a formidable figure at one of golf’s big four … and soon. —J.B.

19. Cameron Smith

Age: 28 / owgr: 21 / ’22 fedex cup: 33.

The Aussie flashes one of best short games on tour, even if he’s still prone to a foul ball off the tee, like the one that sealed a playoff loss to Tony Finau at The Northern Trust. Cruised into the Tour Championship on the strength of perhaps his best year as a professional. —D.R.

Stacy Revere

18. Harris English

Age: 32 / owgr: 12 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

Dismissing his dismal fall performance (two missed cuts and a WD), English enjoyed his best year in 2021 with a pair of wins and a fourth-place finish in the FedEx Cup regular-season standings. He rose to a career-best 10th in the World Ranking. At 32, he’s in the prime of his career, and the Georgia native has shown he knows how to score—and win—despite stats that don’t necessarily impress. He’ll go as far as his putter (12th SG/putting) takes him. —D.S.

17. Daniel Berger

Age: 28 / owgr: 19 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

The man who won the first event of the COVID restart in 2020 added another victory at Pebble Beach in 2021 to make that four in his PGA Tour career. Berger also had a pair of top-10s in majors and played (well) in his first Ryder Cup after being one of Steve Stricker’s captain’s picks. Interesting didn’t make a start in the fall season. It’s unlikely he’ll ever reach the level or status of fellow Class of 2011 stars Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, but being the third wheel among that group isn’t too shabby. —A.M.

16. Jason Kokrak

Age: 36 / owgr: 20 / ’22 fedex cup: 8.

A victory at the Houston Open in the fall gave the big-hitting, 6-foot-4 Ohio native his third title in a 13-month span, adding to wins at Colonial (2021) and Shadow Creek (2020)—after going winless in his first 232 starts on the PGA Tour. The biggest difference-maker for the 36-year-old? His putting. Kokrak ranked sixth last season in strokes gained/putting. Compare that to his ranks in the previous five seasons: 151st; 103rd; 110th; 175th; 154th. — S.H.

15. Hideki Matsuyama

Age: 29 / owgr: 18 / ’22 fedex cup: 4.

As the game of golf gets increasingly global, there are fewer barriers to break, but Matsuyama shattered two huge ones when he became the first Asian-born golfer to win the Masters, and the first Japanese man to win a major. The rest of his season was decidedly average, which is understandable, but with a fall win at home at the Zozo Championship, he's riding into 2022 with major momentum. We could be looking at another career year. —S.R.

Atsushi Tomura

14. Jordan Spieth

Age: 28 / owgr: 14 / ’22 fedex cup: 141.

The former World No. 1 finally ended his post 2017 Open Championship “slump” in April, winning the Valero Texas Open just one week before the Masters. A T-7 at Augusta, plus a solo second later in the summer at The Open, served as definitive proof he was all the way back. A fourth major title will effectively silence any doubters left, and the 2022 majors schedule, which includes two of his favorite haunts (Augusta, St. Andrews), sets up quite nicely for him to check off that box. —C.P.

13. Tony Finau

Age: 32 / owgr: 15 / ’22 fedex cup: 169.

Finau shook off the King Kong-sized gorilla on his back when he gutted out a playoff win in August’s Northern Trust to win for the first time in 142 starts. He had eight runners-up in that span, and at least we don’t have to hear the laments that he can’t close. A slow starter, Finau ranked 116th in first-round scoring average (70.92) in ’21, but he was a Friday monster, averaging 68.60 (second). —T.L.

12. Brooks Koepka

Age: 31 / owgr: 16 / ’22 fedex cup: 172.

He remains golf’s best big-game hunter on the men’s side, with three more finishes T6 or better at the majors in 2021. An MC at the first, The Masters, came largely due to a knee injury he probably should not have been playing on yet. Given he admitted early last year that there were dark times rehabbing and his knee may never be 100 percent, injuries will continue to be a concern in 2022. But set aside the season-long numbers or holistic rankings, he’s the best at performing when it matters most and we’d need to see a year of total flops for that title to change. —B.P.

MORE: Brooks Koepka doesn’t hold back in our poolside interview

11. Scottie Scheffler

Age: 25 / owgr: 13 / ’22 fedex cup: 14.

An impressive Sunday singles victory over Jon Rahm at the Ryder Cup built Scheffler more equity as he tries to grab what feels inevitable—a first win on the PGA Tour. But the longer it takes, the trickier it will be fending off questions of why it hasn’t happened yet. Let’s just remember, the guy is only 25 and he’s already had 17 top-10 finishes in just 57 starts. He had two top-five finishes in the fall despite not ranking in the top 50 in any major strokes-gained category. When his game gets in gear at some point this spring, it’s hard not to think the inevitable comes to pass. —R.H.

10. Sam Burns

Age: 25 / owgr: 10 / ’22 fedex cup: 2.

The former college POY at LSU in 2017 had a breakout year in 2021, winning his first two career titles and holding the lead after the most rounds of any player on tour. After starting the year 154th in the World Ranking, he finished 11th, the biggest jump of any player in the top 50. Burns leads the tour at the winter break in SG/tee-to-green after being ninth in SG/putting in 2020-21, showcasing the versatility within his game. Just missed making the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but we have to think he’s a likely candidate for Davis Love III’s Presidents Cup squad. —R.H.

9. Dustin Johnson

Age: 37 / owgr: 3 / ’22 fedex cup: 194.

Spring 2021 was not kind to the 2020 Masters champ—DJ had just one top-10 finish from February through June. But the 24-time PGA Tour winner had top-10s in four of his final six starts of the season and then punctuated his 2021 with a flawless 5-0 performance at the Ryder Cup. If DJ wins this season (which we’d expect to happen), he’d have a victory in his first 15 seasons on tour. Only Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer boast a higher total (17). —S.H.

8. Bryson DeChambeau

Age: 28 / owgr: 5 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

PIP metrics and trophies aside, he is arguably the tour’s top superstar (non-Tiger category) thanks to a swarm of curiosity and tumult that extends to a larger audience outside the golf corner of the world. He once again led the tour in driving distance and drama in 2021. His all-gas, no-brake focus on the tee ball has yielded resounding results in its first couple years. He led the tour in SG/off-the-tee again in 2021, and the difference between his average and second place was the same as second all the way to 18th. Given the offseason social-media videos replete with speed training, expect the same in 2022. —B.P.

MORE: Bryson vs Brooks feud dominated golf chatter but was it good for the game?

7. Xander Schauffele

Age: 28 / owgr: 5 / ’22 fedex cup: 112.

The Olympic gold medal and a stellar first appearance in the Ryder Cup certainly defined a memorable season for Schauffle, but there’s more work to be done. Namely, to get that first major win to salve the sting of six top-fives in the Big Four. For the second straight appearance, Schauffele contended deep into Masters Sunday, but was beaten by a hotter player. In trying to win for the first time since early 2019, he had seconds in the CJ Cup, Farmers and Phoenix, and he contended (T-7) in his home major, the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, despite a short-lived switch to an arm-lock putting grip. Few players on tour can match Schauffele’s consistent all-around attack. In 2020-21, he was 41st in SG/off-tee, 14th in approach and 16th in putting. —T.L.

6. Viktor Hovland

Age: 24 / owgr: 7 / ’22 fedex cup: 5.

With three wins—plus an OWGR-counting victory at the Hero World Challenge—before age 25, the young Norwegian has seemingly already delivered on all the promise he displayed in winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach. The one area that continues to hold him back, though, is chipping, which he once claimed he “sucked” at. Should he continue to make slight improvements around the greens, his ceiling is second only to Collin Morikawa among the tour’s rising stars. Oddsmakers tend to agree, as Hovland is +550 to win a major in 2022 on the DraftKings Sportsbook. —C.P.

5. Rory McIlroy

Age: 32 / owgr: 9 / ’22 fedex cup: 9.

Since 2014, the dominant strain of discourse around McIlroy has been when or if he'll win another major, and it will continue to be so forever, if necessary. The story is the same—his putting just isn't good enough, and to win majors as a below-average putter, you need to be an approach genius like Collin Morikawa, which Rory is not. Still, he's now won twice on tour in the last year, including his October win at the CJ Cup, his putting is improving, and maybe—maybe—he's ready to take the leap again. —S.R.

4. Justin Thomas

Age: 28 / owgr: 8 / ’22 fedex cup: 32.

It was a strange 2021 for the American star, who found himself mired in controversy and in the first prolonged slump of his career. After losing his Ralph Lauren deal in January and winning the Players Championship in March, Thomas didn’t record another top 10 until the FedEx Cup Playoffs. But two top fives in those three events followed by another two at the Mayakoba and Hero indicate he’s got his game in better shape. And as we saw with his five-win campaign in 2016-2017, few are capable of going on bigger heaters. —A.M.

3. Patrick Cantlay

Age: 29 / owgr: 4 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

After seeing his career derailed by a back injury for more than two years, Cantlay finally has assumed what many thought should be his rightful place among the elite of his age group by winning four times in the 2020-21 season, capturing the FedEx Cup and winning Player of the Year honors. He showed no real weaknesses in his game, ranking no worse than 30th in the key SG metrics and finishing third in SG/total. The only things left for the laconic California native is to add his name to the column of major winners and to rise to World No. 1, and who thinks he won’t eventually achieve those goals? —D.S.

2. Collin Morikawa

Age: 24 / owgr: 2 / ’22 fedex cup: 15.

In the past year, he’s taken “The Leap” from great young player to perhaps the finest player on Earth. His record through 60 professional starts—six wins, two majors, 24 top 10s—has drawn some (unfair) Tiger comparisons; so has his habit of closing out tournaments with relentless, bogey-free rounds. Among a historically great group of 30 and younger Americans, he currently stands alone at the top. —D.R.

1. Jon Rahm

Age: 27 / owgr: 1 / ’22 fedex cup: nr.

The numbers are staggering. Fifteen top-10s versus one missed cut in 22 starts last season. Second in SG/off-the-tee, eighth in approach and first in SG/overall. First in birdie average AND bogey avoidance. Yet those numbers fail to illustrate the most impressive figure of all: the “1” that replaced “0” in Rahm’s major total, shedding the label of backdoor finisher by closing out the 2021 U.S. Open with vigor. Though Rahm technically had just one win to his name—if “just” can describe his breakthrough at Torrey Pines—he tied for the lowest score over four days at East Lake during the Tour Championship and held a six-stroke lead through 54 holes at the Memorial before a positive COVID-19 test knocked him out of the event, in the process solidifying his claim as the sport’s top dog. —J.B.

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Here Are All 16 LIV Golfers in the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club

John schwarb | may 13, 2024.

Golf’s second major of 2024 is here, and fans can rejoice in how PGA Tour-LIV Golf squabbles are put aside with players from both sides settling matters on the course.

And the PGA of America has helped LIV Golf bring a sizable contingent to Valhalla Golf Club.

A bit more than 10% of the field—16 of 156 players—is from the Saudi-backed league, up from nine players a year ago at the PGA won by LIV’s Brooks Koepka. Koepka and eight other players were exempt into the field based on various criteria, and seven accepted special invitations. The PGA of America has significant leeway to invite whoever it wants , and it saw fit to invite perhaps a larger number of LIV players than many expected.

Thirteen players from LIV Golf were in the field at last month’s Masters.

Here are all 16 in order of Official World Golf Ranking, with how they qualified, recent history and outlook.

OWGR: 5th How qualified: Won 2023 Masters Recent history: Second in 2024 LIV points standings, T45 at Masters Skinny: LIV’s seismic offseason signing hasn’t won yet but hasn’t played poorly either with four top-5 finishes and just one outside the top 10. Had a disappointing Masters defense but will have less pressure this week.

Tyrrell Hatton

OWGR: 18th How qualified: T15 in 2023 PGA Championship Recent history: T5 LIV Golf Singapore, T9 at Masters Skinny: Fiery Englishman comes in off his best LIV finish. On a streak of nine consecutive made cuts in majors with five top-20 finishes.

Brooks Koepka

OWGR: 39th How qualified: Won 2018, 2019, 2023 PGA Championship Recent history: Won LIV Golf Singapore, T45 at Masters Skinny: The defending champion has his swagger back after winning two weeks ago and lives for majors . A third PGA would put him in rarefied air; only Tiger Woods has won as many in the last four decades.

Cameron Smith

OWGR: 61st How qualified: Won 2022 British Open Recent history: Second at LIV Golf Singapore, T6 at Masters Skinny: Indifferent LIV season got a boost in Singapore, the short-game ace has four top-9 finishes in last six majors starting with the 2022 win at St. Andrews.

Adrian Meronk

OWGR: 65th How qualified: Special exemption Recent history: T13 LIV Golf Singapore, missed cut at the Masters Skinny: The PGA traditionally invites all players inside the top 100 in the world, and Meronk remains there after three DP World Tour wins in the 2023 season. Was T40 in first PGA appearance last year. 

Lucas Herbert

OWGR: 90th How qualified: Special exemption Recent history: T29 LIV Golf Singapore Skinny: The Aussie did not qualify for the Masters and only has one top-15 finish all year on LIV. Was T13 at the 2022 PGA. 

Joaquin Niemann

OWGR: 91st How qualified: Special exemption Recent history: T8 LIV Golf Singapore, two-time winner earlier in year, T22 Masters Skinny: The Chilean got a special invite from the Masters for globetrotting that included an Australian Open win and played well off it. Now will make 14th consecutive major start, a streak that could be harder to maintain if he falls outside the top 100 in the world.

Patrick Reed

OWGR: 93rd How qualified: Special exemption Recent history: T15 LIV Golf Singapore, T12 Masters Skinny: The 2018 Masters champ remains inside the top 100 after a decent Masters but his LIV season hasn’t been notable as he’s 30th in season points.

OWGR: 109th How qualified: Special exemption Recent history: T27 LIV Golf Singapore Skinny: The 22-year-old Spaniard won twice in the offseason on the Asian Tour, which is looked favorably upon. His only other major start is a T39 in the 2023 U.S. Open.

Bryson DeChambeau

OWGR: 124th How qualified: Won 2020 U.S. Open Recent history: T28 LIV Golf Singapore, T6 Masters Skinny: Had a three-event stretch of top-7 finishes in LIV before a pair of T28 efforts, led after 36 holes at Augusta before fading on weekend. T4 at last year’s PGA.

Dean Burmester

OWGR: 133rd How qualified: Special exemption Recent history: T17 LIV Golf Singapore, won LIV Golf Miami Skinny: The Zimbabwean is third in LIV points and won back-to-back late last year on the DP World Tour, perhaps all of that factored into being allowed to make his fourth straight PGA Championship start.

Phil Mickelson

OWGR: 160th How qualified: Won 2005, 2021 PGA Championship Recent history: T22 LIV Golf Singapore, T43 Masters Skinny: The 53-year-old hasn’t shown much form this season, 34th in LIV points with one top-10 finish. 

Andy Ogletree

OWGR: 220th How qualified: Top 3, International Federation OWGR list Recent history: T45 LIV Golf Singapore Skinny: The 26-year-old Georgia Tech grad had his best LIV Golf finish two events ago, a T5 in Adelaide, and now makes his first major start since 2020.

Dustin Johnson

OWGR: 392nd How qualified: Won 2020 Masters Recent history: T7 LIV Golf Singapore, missed cut at the Masters Skinny: The 2022 LIV Golf season champion won his third career LIV event in February in Las Vegas then didn’t have another top-10 until two weeks ago at Singapore. Has five top-10s in the PGA, the last being T2 in 2020.

Talor Gooch

OWGR: 668th How qualified: Special exemption Recent history: T4 LIV Golf Singapore Skinny: The most polarizing LIV golfer in the field said in February that a potential Rory McIlroy Grand Slam would have an asterisk for not being against all the game’s best. This could be Gooch’s only major start of the year as he wasn’t invited to the Masters and said he won’t qualify for the Opens.

Martin Kaymer

OWGR: 4,338th How qualified: Won 2010 PGA Championship Recent history: T20 LIV Golf Singapore Skinny: The 39-year-old German is set at the PGA thanks to his win at Whistling Straits but his last made cut was 2018. He’s 42nd in LIV points with a best finish of T14.

JOHN SCHWARB

John Schwarb is the Senior Editor of SI Golf. He has covered golf for the St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), PGATour.com and Visit Florida; and has also written for ESPN.com, The Golfers Journal and several magazines. He lives in Indianapolis and graduated from Indiana University.

Has a LIV golfer ever won a PGA event? Performances explored

T he PGA Championship is set to begin in a day, and this year, sixteen LIV Golf-associated players will compete at Valhalla Golf Club. This marks the second consecutive year in which we will witness the playing field divided between LIV Golf and PGA Tour professionals.

Since joining the PIF-sponsored league, only one player has won a PGA event. Brooks Koepka claimed the PGA Championship last year, beating Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland by a one-stroke margin. While this was his first major win as a LIV Golf member, it marked his third PGA Championship win and fifth major overall.

Regarding other players, LIV boasts several names who have previously won on the PGA Tour or claimed PGA events before joining the Saudi-backed circuit. While the likes of Dustin Johnson (24), Bubba Watson (12), Jon Rahm (11), Patrick Reed (9), and Bryson DeChambeau (8) have won multiple titles on the PGA Tour, including major championships, they haven't won a PGA event yet.

Here's a closer look at the LIV-associated players who have registered a win in PGA events.

LIV Golf players with the most PGA event wins

1) brooks koepka.

Brooks Koepka is the defending champion at the PGA Championship and has also won the event in 2018 and 2019. He became the first player to defend his title here since Tiger Woods in 2007.

Overall, he has nine wins on the PGA Tour, including five majors.

2) Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson is the two-time champion at the PGA Championship. He first won the title in 2005 and then triumphed again in 2021, becoming the oldest major champion.

Overall, Mickelson has won 45 PGA Tour titles, including six major championships. He is joint eighth on the list of all-time winners on the tour.

3) Martin Kaymer

Martin Kaymer is the third and last player from LIV to have won a PGA event. He won the 2011 PGA Championship , defeating Bubba Watson in a playoff.

Kaymer has three wins on the PGA Tour, which includes two major championships. Besides, he also has eight wins on the European Tour.

PGA Championship field to include 16 LIV Golf players, including 2023 champ Brooks Koepka

The PGA Championship has already had one of its recent winners come from the LIV Golf ranks. This year, 16 players − including defending 2023 champion Brooks Koepka − will try to make it two in a row for the Saudi-backed tour.

The 2024 PGA Championship will take place May 16-19 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky and it will be the second time in a row that 16 LIV Golf players are participating in the event. The crop of LIV Golf players also includes other previous champions who won the event when they were members of the PGA Tour.

Here's everything you need to know about the LIV Golf players competing at the 2024 PGA Championship.

Who are the LIV Golf players competing at the 2024 PGA Championship?

Here's the list of the 16 LIV Golf players who will compete in the 2024 PGA Championship, in alphabetical order:

Dean Burmester , 34, Stinger GC Bryson DeChambeau , 30, Crushers GC Talor Gooch , 32, Smash GC Tyrrell Hatton , 32, Legion XIII Lucas Herbert , 28, Ripper GC Dustin Johnson , 39, 4Aces GC Martin Kaymer , 39, Cleeks GC* (2010) Brooks Koepka , 34, Smash GC* (2018, 2019, 2023) Adrian Meronk , 30, Cleeks GC Phil Mickelson , 53, HyFlyers GC* (2005, 2021) Joaquin Niemann , 25, Torque GC Andy Ogletree , 26, HyFlyers GC David Puig , 22, Fireballs GC Jon Rahm , 29, Legion XIII Patrick Reed , 33, 4Aces GC Cameron Smith , 30, Ripper GC

*denotes previous PGA Championship title

How can I watch the PGA Championship?

The PGA Championship will take place starting Thursday, May 16 and will run through Sunday, May 19. Thursday and Friday's coverage will be available on ESPN and ESPN+, while the morning coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be on ESPN and ESPN+ and the afternoon coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be on CBS and Paramount+.

What is the LIV Golf Invitational Series?

The LIV Golf Invitational Series made its debut in June 2022 after the tour lured some notable players from the PGA Tour such as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Others like Brooks Koepka,  the winner of the most recent PGA Championship , Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith have since joined. The LIV tour presented a disruption in the dynamics of the sport.

Why is LIV Golf so controversial?

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth investment fund of Saudi Arabia and one of the largest in the world, has backed and is financing LIV Golf Investments, the parent company of LIV Golf. As the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman is the head of the PIF. According to a  declassified U.S. intelligence report  released in February 2021, Salman approved an operation  "to capture or kill"  Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi  inside a Saudi consulate  in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018.

The Saudi government is accused of  other human rights violations  and has  invested  in Western  athletic opportunities  in an apparent attempt to improve its image, a practice known as " sportswashing ."

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10 golfers to watch during PGA Championship at Valhalla, including Scottie Scheffler

Masters champion scheffler and defending pga championship winner brooks koepka headline the field..

By The Associated Press

8:00 AM on May 14, 2024 CDT

A capsule look at 10 key players going into the PGA Championship, which starts May 16 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Listed in predicted order of finish:

Scottie Scheffler

Age: 27 Country: United States

World ranking: 1 Worldwide wins: 11

Majors: Masters (2022, 2024)

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Best PGA Championship finish: Runner-up at Oak Hill in 2023

Backspin: Scheffler has won three of his last four starts, including his second Masters . The exception was a runner-up finish in Houston. A decent putting week means he’ll be in contention. A good putting week usually means an easy win. But he comes into the PGA Championship off a three-week break for the birth of his first child.

Related: Scottie Scheffler, after break for child’s birth, aims for next major at PGA Championship

Brooks Koepka

Age: 34 Country: United States

World ranking: 37 Worldwide wins: 16

Majors: PGA Championship (2018, 2019, 2023), U.S. Open (2017, 2018)

Best PGA Championship finish: Won at Bellerive in 2018, Bethpage Black in 2019 and Oak Hill in 2023

Backspin: Koepka restored his reputation as “Big Game Brooks” last year by winning his fifth major in seven years . He wasn’t a factor in his three majors since winning at Oak Hill. But he won a LIV Golf event in Singapore that was sure to boost his confidence.

Rory McIlroy

Age: 35 Country: Northern Ireland

World ranking: 2 Worldwide wins: 35

Majors: PGA Championship (2012, 2014), U.S. Open (2011), British Open (2014)

Best PGA Championship finish: Won at Kiawah Island in 2012 and Valhalla in 2014

Backspin: McIlroy can’t come to a major without being reminded of what he hasn’t done. His PGA Championship title at Valhalla in 2014 was the last time he won a major. The Masters was another letdown for him. At least he comes to Valhalla having won the team event in New Orleans with Shane Lowry.

Ludvig Aberg

Age: 24 Country: Sweden

World ranking: 6 Worldwide wins: 2

Majors: None

Best PGA Championship finish: Making his PGA Championship debut

Backspin: Aberg is starting to be anointed as the biggest threat to Scottie Scheffler and this is only his second major appearance. He was runner-up to Scheffler in his major debut at the Masters . He was in the mix the next week. Rough-framed fairways would seem to suit him with his length and accuracy off the tee.

Jordan Spieth

Age: 30 Country: United States

World ranking: 21 Worldwide wins: 16

Majors: Masters (2015), U.S. Open (2015), British Open (2017)

Best PGA Championship finish: Runner-up at Whistling Straits in 2015

Backspin: This will be Spieth’s eighth attempt at trying to complete the career Grand Slam and join the most exclusive group in golf. The good news for Spieth is expectations have rarely been this low. He is getting next to nothing out of his game. He has missed the cut in four of his last five tournaments that had a 36-hole cut, including the Masters .

Age: 29 Country: Spain

World ranking: 5 Worldwide wins: 20

Majors: Masters (2023), U.S. Open (2021)

Best PGA Championship finish: Tied for fourth at Bellerive in 2018

Backspin: Rahm has gone 13 months without winning, and he is 0-for-7 on LIV Golf since he defected in December to the Saudi-funded league . He was lucky to make the cut at the Masters. But an angry Rahm can also be a dangerous one in the majors.

Age: 33 Country: United States

World ranking: 10 Worldwide wins: 7

Best PGA Championship finish: Tied for 13th at Southern Hills in 2022

Backspin: The last piece of the puzzle for Homa is the majors and he showed up in a big way at the Masters. He challenged all the way until a bad break on the par-3 12th at Augusta National but came away believing his game can stack up to the biggest tests.

Bryson DeChambeau

World ranking: 117 Worldwide wins: 11

Majors: U.S Open (2020)

Best PGA Championship finish: Tied for fourth at Harding Park in 2020 and at Oak Hill in 2023

Backspin: DeChambeau has played well enough to win twice on LIV Golf, but more telling are the majors. He opened with a 66 at the PGA Championship last year and was on the fringe of contention in the final round. He shared the 36-hole lead at the Masters last month until a slow slide. Cleaning up a few mistakes could go a long way.

Justin Thomas

Age: 31 Country: United States

World ranking: 29 Worldwide wins: 15

Majors: PGA Championship (2017, 2022)

Best PGA Championship finish: Won at Quail Hollow in 2017 and Southern Hills in 2022

Backspin: This is a rare occasion where a player has a hometown major. Thomas has gone winless since his second PGA Championship title two years ago, though his game is never as far off as it looks. The test will be not to try too hard before a home crowd. This will be his third tournament with new caddie Matt Minister.

Tiger Woods

Age: 48 Country: United States

World ranking: 801 Worldwide wins: 93

Majors: Masters (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019), PGA Championship (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007), U.S Open (2000, 2002, 2008), British Open (2000, 2005, 2006)

Best PGA Championship finish: Won at Medinah (1999, 2006), Valhalla (2000) and Southern Hills (2007)

Backspin: Woods won at Valhalla in 2000 when he was 24 and healthy. He has not played since making the cut and then finishing in last place at the Masters , and the PGA Championship will be only his third tournament this year. A fifth PGA title would tie the record held by Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen.

Find more golf coverage from The Dallas Morning News here .

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The First Look: PGA Championship

The First Look

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The season’s second major championship is here – and there's no shortage of exciting storylines as the TOUR returns to the Bluegrass State.

Valhalla Golf Club, now lengthened and completely renovated, will make for a solid championship test once again, with Mother Nature sure to have her say as well.

Whether it’s someone seeking their first major, or Scheffler or McIlroy looking to add to their legacy (or even Jordan Spieth, eyeing the final leg of the career Grand Slam), it’s set to be a loaded week in Louisville.

Here’s everything else you need to know for the 106th PGA Championship.

FIELD NOTES : Scottie Scheffler is expected to return to action after nearly a month off as he and wife Meredith have been expecting the birth of their first child. Scheffler, who leads the way on TOUR in basically every key statistical category, has won four of his last five starts on TOUR, including his last two – the Masters and RBC Heritage… Rory McIlroy comes to Valhalla the same way he did in 2014 – off a win. McIlroy has won his last two TOUR starts (alongside Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship) and now looks to break a decade-long drought without a major title. He won the last PGA contested at Valhalla 10 years ago… Jordan Spieth eyes the career Grand Slam once again. This will be his seventh attempt. His best finish at the PGA Championship – since he started chasing the Grand Slam – came in 2019 when he finished T3… returns to action for the first time since he made the cut at the Masters. Woods, who won the 2000 PGA Championship played at Valhalla, has three Wanamaker Trophies in his collection… Xander Schauffele leads the pack of notables eyeing their first major title, an illustrious group that includes Patrick Cantlay, Will Zalatoris, Tony Finau and Max Homa – to name a few. Schauffele had the 54-hole lead at the Wells Fargo but fell victim to McIlroy’s late surge; he’s now 3-for-9 in converting 54-hole leads on TOUR. He also held the 54-hole lead at this year’s PLAYERS (finishing T2) and is even hungrier to get the major monkey off his back and snap a nearly two-year winless drought on TOUR… Ludvig Åberg will make his PGA Championship debut. Åberg finishing runner-up at last month’s Masters, his first career major start, and now he’ll try to do one better at his latest major debut… Two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas will tee it up at a major in his home state. Thomas has four top-15 finishes in nine starts so far this season… Chris Gotterup will make his PGA Championship debut after earning a spot in the PGA Championship thanks to his victory Sunday at the Myrtle Beach Classic … Brooks Koepka is the defending champion.

SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The next Signature Event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday… The top 10 players on the season-long FedExCup standings, not otherwise exempt, will earn spots at the Memorial via the Aon Next 10 … Ludvig Åberg remains atop the Aon Next 10… Taylor Pendrith was the only player to move inside the Aon Next 10 at the Wells Fargo Championship, finishing T10 a week after his maiden TOUR title… The top five FedExCup points earners across the Myrtle Beach Classic, Charles Schwab Challenge and RBC Canadian Open, not otherwise exempt, will earn spots via the Aon Swing 5… Thanks to his win in Myrtle Beach, Chris Gotterup leads the Aon Swing 5 , with Davis Thompson in the No. 2 position and six players tied for the final three spots.

COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 UPDATES : With his win at the Wells Fargo Championship, Rory McIlroy jumped into the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 for the first time this season, moving from No. 16 to No. 4 in the standings… Byeong Hun An , after finishing third at Quail Hollow , moved from No. 8 to No. 6. An and Chris Kirk remain the only players to have stayed in the TOUR TOP 10 every week so far this season… Xander Schauffele , after finishing second at the Wells Fargo Championship, moved up one spot from No. 3 to No. 2, swapping with Wyndham Clark … Jason Day’s T4 result in Charlotte jumped him up the standings from No. 27 to No. 12 – he’s now knocking on the door of moving into the TOUR TOP 10.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 750 FedExCup points.

COURSE: Valhalla Golf Club, par 71, 7,609 yards. In comparison to the previous PGA Championship at Valhalla (in 2014), the Kentucky club has been completed renovated. An extensive fairway renovation was coordinated by the PGA of America in 2021: The project consisted of changing fairway turf and tees from bent grass to Zeon Zoysia. Zeon Zoysia fairways (requiring less water) allow for firm, fast playing conditions all season long, as opposed to the seasonality of bent grass. The PGA Championship team, with consultation from the Nicklaus Design team, decided to create new championship tees on Nos. 1, 12, 13, 14 and 18. The total length of the 2024 PGA Championship is 151 yards longer than 2014.

The club was purchased by the PGA of America in 2000 but sold in 2022 to a group of Louisville investors with a continued desire to host elite events.

72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Brooks Koepka (2018 at Bellerive Country Club)

18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Bruce Crampton (Round 2, 1975 at Firestone CC), Raymond Floyd (Round 1, 1982 at Southern Hills), Gary Player (Round 2, 1984 at Shoal Creek), Michael Bradley (Round 1, 1993 at Inverness), Vijay Singh (Round 2, 1993 at Inverness), Brad Faxon (Round 4, 1995 at Riviera CC), José María Olazábal (Round 3, 2000 at Valhalla), Mark O’Meara (Round 2, 2001 at Atlanta AC), Thomas Bjorn (Round 3, 2005 at Baltusrol), Tiger Woods (Round 2, 2007 at Southern Hills), Steve Stricker (Round 1, 2011 at Atlanta AC), Jason Dufner (Round 2, 2013 at Oak Hill), Hiroshi Iwata (Round 2, 2015 at Whistling Straits), Robert Streb (Round 2, 2016 at Baltusrol), Brooks Koepka (Round 2, 2018 at Bellerive; Round 1, 2019 at Bethpage Black), Charl Schwartzel (Round 2, 2018 at Bellerive), Bubba Watson (Round 2, 2022 at Southern Hills).

LAST TIME: Brooks Koepka won his third PGA Championship, topping Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland by two shots at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York. Koepka joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Wanamaker Trophy three times in the stroke-play era. He had a one-shot lead through 54 holes and raced out of the gate, making birdie on Nos. 2-4. He made back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 but shot a 2-under 33 on his back nine to top Hovland and a hard-charging Scheffler, whose 5-under 65 tied for the low round of the day. Among those who also shot 65 in the final round were Cam Davis and Kurt Kitayama, who shared fourth place alongside Bryson DeChambeau. It marked a career-best major finish for both Davis and Kitayama.

McIlroy won the previous PGA Championship contested at Valhalla, in 2014.

HOW TO FOLLOW (all times ET):

Television :

• Thursday: 7 a.m.-noon (ESPN+), noon-8 p.m. (ESPN)
• Friday: 7 a.m.-noon (ESPN+), noon-7 p.m. (ESPN)
• Saturday-Sunday: 8-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN), 1-7 p.m. (CBS).

PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free on PGATOUR.COM/liveaudio :

• Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m
• Saturday-Sunday: 2-7 p.m. (SiriusXM)
• More information on International YouTube streaming of the 2024 PGA Championship will be available during tournament week.

Editor's note: The PGA of America, which owns and operates the PGA Championship, controls all digital streaming and broadcast rights to this event. PGA TOUR LIVE coverage will resume next week at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Click here for full How to Watch details via the PGA of America.

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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP ’24: Capsules of 10 key players at Valhalla

FILE - From left are golfers Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods. The 106th PGA Championship is scheduled to be played at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., May 16-19. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - From left are golfers Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Max Homa, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy. The 106th PGA Championship is scheduled to be played at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., May 16-19. (AP Photo/File)

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A capsule look at 10 key players going into the PGA Championship, which starts May 16 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Listed in predicted order of finish:

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER

Country: United States.

World ranking: 1.

Worldwide wins: 11.

Majors: Masters (2022, 2024).

Best PGA Championship finish: Runner-up at Oak Hill in 2023.

Backspin: Scheffler has won three of his last four starts, including his second Masters. The exception was a runner-up finish in Houston. A decent putting week means he’ll be in contention. A good putting week usually means an easy win. But he comes into the PGA Championship off a three-week break for the birth of his first child.

BROOKS KOEPKA

World ranking: 37.

Worldwide wins: 16.

Majors: PGA Championship (2018, 2019, 2023), U.S. Open (2017, 2018).

Best PGA Championship finish: Won at Bellerive in 2018, Bethpage Black in 2019 and Oak Hill in 2023.

Backspin: Koepka restored his reputation as “Big Game Brooks” last year by winning his fifth major in seven years. He wasn’t a factor in his three majors since winning at Oak Hill. But he won a LIV Golf event in Singapore that was sure to boost his confidence.

RORY MCILROY

Country: Northern Ireland.

World ranking: 2.

Worldwide wins: 35.

Majors: PGA Championship (2012, 2014), U.S. Open (2011), British Open (2014).

Best PGA Championship finish: Won at Kiawah Island in 2012 and Valhalla in 2014.

Backspin: McIlroy can’t come to a major without being reminded of what he hasn’t done. His PGA Championship title at Valhalla in 2014 was the last time he won a major. The Masters was another letdown for him. At least he comes to Valhalla having won the team event in New Orleans with Shane Lowry.

LUDVIG ABERG

Country: Sweden.

World ranking: 6.

Worldwide wins: 2.

Majors: None.

Best PGA Championship finish: Making his PGA Championship debut.

Backspin: Aberg is starting to be anointed as the biggest threat to Scottie Scheffler and this is only his second major appearance. He was runner-up to Scheffler in his major debut at the Masters. He was in the mix the next week. Rough-framed fairways would seem to suit him with his length and accuracy off the tee.

JORDAN SPIETH

World ranking: 21.

Majors: Masters (2015), U.S. Open (2015), British Open (2017).

Best PGA Championship finish: Runner-up at Whistling Straits in 2015.

Backspin: This will be Spieth’s eighth attempt at trying to complete the career Grand Slam and join the most exclusive group in golf. The good news for Spieth is expectations have rarely been this low. He is getting next to nothing out of his game. He has missed the cut in four of his last five tournaments that had a 36-hole cut, including the Masters.

Country: Spain.

World ranking: 5.

Worldwide wins: 20.

Majors: Masters (2023), U.S. Open (2021).

Best PGA Championship finish: Tied for fourth at Bellerive in 2018.

Backspin: Rahm has gone 13 months without winning, and he is 0-for-7 on LIV Golf since he defected in December to the Saudi-funded league. He was lucky to make the cut at the Masters. But an angry Rahm can also be a dangerous one in the majors.

World ranking: 10.

Worldwide wins: 7.

Best PGA Championship finish: Tied for 13th at Southern Hills in 2022.

Backspin: The last piece of the puzzle for Homa is the majors and he showed up in a big way at the Masters. He challenged all the way until a bad break on the par-3 12th at Augusta National but came away believing his game can stack up to the biggest tests.

JUSTIN THOMAS

World ranking: 29.

Worldwide wins: 15.

Majors: PGA Championship (2017, 2022).

Best PGA Championship finish: Won at Quail Hollow in 2017 and Southern Hills in 2022.

Backspin: This is a rare occasion where a player has a hometown major. Thomas has gone winless since his second PGA Championship title two years ago, though his game is never as far off as it looks. The test will be not to try too hard before a home crowd. This will be his third tournament with new caddie Matt Minister.

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU

World ranking: 117.

Majors: U.S Open (2020).

Best PGA Championship finish: Tied for fourth at Harding Park in 2020 and at Oak Hill in 2023.

Backspin: DeChambeau has played well enough to win twice on LIV Golf, but more telling are the majors. He opened with a 66 at the PGA Championship last year and was on the fringe of contention in the final round. He shared the 36-hole lead at the Masters last month until a slow slide. Cleaning up a few mistakes could go a long way.

TIGER WOODS

World ranking: 801.

Worldwide wins: 93.

Majors: Masters (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019), PGA Championship (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007), U.S Open (2000, 2002, 2008), British Open (2000, 2005, 2006).

Best PGA Championship finish: Won at Medinah (1999, 2006), Valhalla (2000) and Southern Hills (2007).

Backspin: Woods won at Valhalla in 2000 when he was 24 and healthy. He has not played since making the cut and then finishing in last place at the Masters, and the PGA Championship will be only his third tournament this year. A fifth PGA title would tie the record held by Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen.

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