The 2020 PGA Championship marks the 102nd time that this major is held. Brooks Koepka is sitting on the throne for two years straight now, but can anyone unseat him this time around? Let’s take a look at some of the favorites, sleepers, and long shots for the first major of the year.
McIlroy is no stranger to success at the PGA Championship. He is among the golfers in history with multiple PGA Championship titles, having won his first in 2012 in South Carolina and his second (and most recent one) in 2014 in Kentucky. Can he get his third PGA Championship title this week? Let’s just say that he’s won at TPC Harding before when he topped the field at the 2015 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play.
Is Dechambeau running out of steam? After a hot stretch of top-10 starts, Dechambeau missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament then recovered a bit with a T30 at the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Whatever the case may be, Dechambeau still has more success than faceplants this season. Plus, he remains No. 1 with a driving distance of 324.4.
All things considered, Rahm’s season is going just as well as anyone would have realistically preferred. Rahm became the No. 1 ranked plate after winning the Memorial Tournament last month. Although Rahm settled for a disappointing T52 at the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude Invitational last week, he has only missed the cut once in 11 starts and finished inside the top 5 five times.
Berger is back at it again. After missing the cut at the Memorial Tournament, he got back up and had a T2 last week at the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He’s finished inside the top three in three of his last four starts, including a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Many could’ve forgotten about Stenson, as he’s only made four starts to date this season. His latest appearance was at the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, which was also his first PGA Tour event since March. Stenson finished with a T35 there and could be warm enough to have a better performance this week at TPC Harding.
Furyk has missed the cut five times in 11 starts this season. He made the cut at the Memorial Tournament but finished with a T48. His best performance to date this season was a T17 at the Safeway Open back in September 2019.
Dufner is a one-time PGA Championship winner, as he won this major seven years ago at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester. This season, however, he hasn’t made the top 25 in any of his past 17 starts.
