Breaking down seven compelling storylines for 2023 PGA Championship

There are a litany of storylines coming into the PGA Championship this week at Oak Hill Nation Membership outdoors of Rochester, the place the foremost hasn’t been performed since 2013.

Right here’s a have a look at our high seven storylines within the second main championship of the season:

The favorites

Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler have traded the No. 1 world rating for a bit, however Rahm brings it to Oak Hill.

His latest runner-up end on the Mexico Open introduced Rahm’s PGA Tour season earnings to $14,462,840, setting a brand new file for cash earned in a single season.

Scheffler has two wins this 12 months already, together with the Gamers Championship.

In his previous 12 occasions, he has completed no worse than twelfth, and in eight of these, he was within the high 10.

Rory enigma

It has been a curious few months for Rory McIlroy, one of many high gamers on the planet.

He completed second on the Arnold Palmer, then missed the minimize on the Gamers Championship, was all-in for the Masters and missed the minimize at Augusta.

Then, McIlroy skipped the RBC Heritage, a PGA Tour “elevated’’ occasion, which price him $3 million.

Final week at Quail Hole, the course on which he received his first PGA Tour event and has had nice success, McIlroy missed the minimize and refused to talk to reporters afterward.

Which Rory will present up this week is anybody’s guess.

Struggling champ

Justin Thomas hasn’t performed poorly since he received the 2022 PGA Championship, the second of his profession, he simply hasn’t performed in addition to he anticipated after successful his second main.

Thomas tied for thirty seventh on the U.S. Open final 12 months, tied for 53rd on the British Open and missed the minimize on the Masters final month. He has just one top-five end this 12 months.

Frustration appears to be constructing within the fiery Thomas.

There can be 18 gamers from LIV Golf within the 156-player discipline: Abraham Ancer, Dean Burmester, Paul Casey, Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Sihwan Kim, Brooks Koepka, Anirban Lahiri, Phil Mickelson, Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, Thomas Pieters, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Brendan Steele and Harold Varner III.

Mickelson and Koepka completed tied for second at the Masters, and Reed completed fourth.

Absentees

There can be a couple of gamers not within the discipline who often are, starting with four-time PGA winner Tiger Woods — who’s out for the season after undergoing a subtalar fusion surgery in his right ankle following his withdrawal from the Masters. Woods was compelled to withdraw from final 12 months’s PGA after having made the minimize at Southern Hills.

Sergio Garcia is one other massive identify who’ll be conspicuous by his absence.

Garcia has fallen out of the highest 100 on the planet rankings since becoming a member of LIV.

This would be the first time for the reason that 1999 U.S. Open that Garcia has didn’t qualify for a significant championship.

Will Zalatoris, who misplaced to Thomas in a playoff on the 2022 PGA, is out with a again damage and never anticipated to play for the remainder of this season.

First-timer?

There are a number of candidates among the many high gamers who’ve been taking part in nicely for a very long time, however are nonetheless searching for a primary main championship.

Xander Schauffele is seventh in strokes gained/complete on the PGA Tour this season, has seven profession wins and 7 top-five finishes in majors to go along with his Olympic Gold Medal.

Patrick Cantlay, who two weeks ago began working with Joe LaCava as his caddie, completed third within the 2019 PGA, his greatest end in a significant.

Cameron Younger continues to be in search of his first PGA Tour victory, however he’s come so near successful a significant.

He completed a stroke out of the playoff ultimately 12 months’s PGA and was runner-up on the British Open.

The Jordan journey

Jordan Spieth wants solely a PGA Championship title to finish the profession Grand Slam, and his kind this season has been terrific.

However Spieth withdrew from the Byron Nelson this previous week with a wrist damage. So, his standing is up within the air.

Since he received the 2017 British Open for the third leg of the Slam, Spieth has had six cracks at successful the PGA and has completed tied for twenty eighth, tied for twelfth, tied for third in 2019, tied for 71st, thirtieth and thirty fourth.