PGA Championship 2023 – Does Tiger Woods have any hope at the PGA Championship? If not, who does?

TULSA, Okla. — The PGA Championship returns to Southern Hills Nation Membership for the first time since 2007, when Tiger Woods acquired his thirteenth major championship and fourth Wanamaker Trophy.

Woods shall be once more proper right here this week trying to win his sixteenth major championship and 83rd PGA Tour victory, which may be most likely essentially the most in historic previous.

2023 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: TEE TIMES, TV COVERAGE AND MORE

Defending champion Phil Mickelson is just not proper right here, as his exile from expert golf continues after his controversial suggestions in regards to the PGA Tour and financiers of a Saudi Arabian-backed breakaway circuit grew to change into public. It’ll be merely the fourth PGA Championship with out the defending champion throughout the self-discipline. Woods was the ultimate one; he didn’t defend his title in 2008 whereas recovering from knee surgical process.

Whereas Woods is just not anticipated to be a variety of a contender in merely his second start after a extreme automotive accident in February 2021, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, who shall be trying to complete the career grand slam, are among the many many favorites.

Who can win throughout the scorching and blustery conditions at Southern Hills? Here’s a check out each of the players throughout the self-discipline, divided into groups from the dependable contenders to the PGA membership professionals:

Soar to a chunk:
Guys who can win | If all of the items goes correct | Miracles happen
| Fully glad to make the reduce Amateurs

Tier I: The blokes who can win

They’re a variety of golf’s largest youthful stars, who’ve the game, guts and nerves to cope with 4 pressure-packed rounds at a big championship.

Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler would attain unusual air alongside along with his fifth PGA Tour victory. Before now 30 years, in line with evaluation by ESPN Stats & Information, solely three players have acquired 5 tour events in a stretch of 10 begins or fewer: Woods (a lot of events), Vijay Singh (2004) and Nick Value (1994). Scheffler would moreover flip into the first participant to win 5 events in a season sooner than the highest of Would possibly since Tom Watson in 1980.

Jon Rahm
The Spaniard picked up his first victory in nearly a yr, as a result of the 2001 U.S. Open, on the Mexico Open earlier this month. He owns a career scoring frequent in majors of 70.90, which is not solely greater than Woods (70.98), nonetheless is fifth-best all-time amongst players with 50 major rounds carried out. Rahm has accomplished throughout the prime 10 in 41% of his major championship begins.

Justin Thomas
Thomas merely turned 29 and has only one major championship victory, the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Gap. He admitted on the Masters that he hasn’t carried out properly ample in majors. A magician with a wedge in his arms, JT is prone to be poised to complete the drought this week. He would flip into solely the fifth participant to win a lot of PGA Championships sooner than the age of 30.

Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay is prone to be the right participant on the planet who hasn’t acquired a big championship. His 5 tour victories since October 2020 are most likely essentially the most by any participant on tour. In his remaining two begins, he misplaced to Jordan Spieth in a playoff on the RBC Heritage and paired with Xander Schauffele to win the Zurich Fundamental.

Cameron Smith
The Australian’s observe file throughout the PGA Championship hasn’t been good. His most interesting finish was in his first one, a tie for twenty fifth at Whistling Straits in 2015. Nonetheless his putter has been red-hot; he ranks fourth in one-putt proportion (44.97) and pictures gained inserting (.922).

Rory McIlroy
The two-time PGA Championship winner is coming off consecutive top-5 finishes for the first time since March 2020, with a runner-up on the Masters and solo fifth on the Wells Fargo Championship. He seems to be in good kind to complete an nearly eight-year drought with no major title. He has 14 Excessive-10 finishes since his remaining major win, tied for second most of any participant as a result of the start of 2015.

Jordan Spieth
Spieth acquired as soon as extra on the RBC Heritage remaining month and accomplished second on the AT&T Byron Nelson this earlier weekend. He solely needs a victory throughout the PGA Championship to show into the sixth man to complete the career grand slam throughout the Masters interval. Given his present kind, his sixth strive is prone to be his most interesting likelihood. At 28 years outdated, he’d be the third-youngest to carry out the feat, behind solely Woods (24) and Jack Nicklaus (26).

Collin Morikawa
Morikawa acquired the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park, in his first start on the event. The sooner three players to win the event at age 23 had been Nicklaus, Woods and McIlroy. Morikawa’s ballstriking experience shall be at a premium at Southern Hills.

Viktor Hovland
Hovland carried out at Oklahoma State and nonetheless lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma, so the swirling winds of Southern Hills most likely is not going to be a difficulty for him. He made the reduce in eight of his 9 career major begins, nonetheless has however to file a Excessive-10 finish.

Hideki Matsuyama
The 2021 Masters champion has been bothered by neck and once more accidents this season, nonetheless he’s been glorious when healthful. He tied for third on the Byron Nelson and is definitely one in every of merely three players to make the reduce in each PGA Championship since his debut on the event in 2013.

Xander Schauffele
Schauffele has 9 top-10 finishes in 19 begins in majors, nonetheless just one throughout the PGA Championship: a tie for tenth at Harding Park two years up to now. He has carried out Southern Hill merely as quickly as, an newbie event eight years up to now.

Will Zalatoris
The ballstriking machine grew up in Texas, so he’ll be used to the unpredictable gusts at Southern Hills. He acquired the rain-shortened Trans-Mississippi Championship proper right here as an newbie, at 17 years outdated in 2014.

Shane Lowry
Lowry was rounding into kind heading into the PGA Championship, with a tie for third at every the Masters and the RBC Heritage. The Irishman loves blustery conditions, as evidenced by his victory in The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.

Dustin Johnson
The two-time PGA Championship runner-up hasn’t been in competitors so much this season, nonetheless he hasn’t exactly carried out unhealthy golf, each. He had two top-10s at The Players and WGC-Dell Utilized sciences Match Play and tied for twelfth on the Masters.

Sam Burns
The 25-year-old has already acquired thrice on tour, nonetheless hasn’t fared very properly in majors. That change will flip sometime rapidly. His most interesting finish in a big was a tie for twenty ninth throughout the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.

Max Homa
Inside the 2016-17 season, Homa had 17 tour begins and missed 15 cuts. Since Would possibly 2019, he has acquired 4 events on the PGA Tour. Solely Cantlay, McIlroy, Morikawa and Thomas have acquired additional often.

Daniel Berger
A once more injury has restricted Berger to easily eight begins on tour this season. Nonetheless he’s most likely the best players on the planet with a wedge in his arms, so he’s prone to be a component at Southern Hills.

Brooks Koepka
The two-time PGA champion hasn’t carried out since missing the reduce on the Masters. He withdrew from remaining week’s AT&T Byron Nelson for undisclosed causes. He tied for second at Kiawah Island remaining yr, 2 strokes behind Mickelson.

Tier II: If all of the items goes correct

Listed below are the darkish horse candidates to raise the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday. The guidelines consists of former major champions who’ve battled accidents and inconsistency this season. Will all of it come collectively this week at Southern Hills?

Tyrrell Hatton
The Englishman is just not a fan of Augusta Nationwide, nonetheless he has two top-10s on the PGA Championship. He’s most likely the best putters on tour.

Louis Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen hasn’t had good kind this season. Nonetheless he accomplished tied for third or greater in three of 4 majors in 2021.

Billy Horschel
Horschel has been one in every of many additional fixed players on tour, nonetheless not so much throughout the majors. He has one top-10 in 32 career begins in majors. He has been good as of late, with 5 finishes of sixteenth or greater in his remaining eight begins.

Joaquin Niemann
The wire-to-wire winner at The Genesis earlier this season, Niemann has however to finish greater than a tie for twenty third at a big.

Adam Scott
The Australian has six career top-10s on the PGA Championship, along with a tie for third at Medinah in 2006 and solo third at Bellerive in 2018.

Matt Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick, a 27-year-old Englishman, leads the tour in pictures gained full and is fourth in scoring frequent. That has to translate into his first tour victory ultimately.

Corey Conners
Conners, 30, has produced three straight top-10s on the Masters. His most interesting finish on the PGA Championship was a tie for seventeenth remaining yr.

Seamus Power
Power had a scorching start after the model new yr, nonetheless cooled off considerably by missing the reduce in 5 of eight events.

Russell Henley
A 3-time winner on the PGA Tour, Henley continues to be searching for his first top-10 at a big.

Justin Rose
The earlier world No. 1 had prime 10s in each of the ultimate two PGA Championships: ninth at Harding Park in 2021 and a tie for eighth at Kiawah Island remaining yr.

Sebastian Munoz
No participant had shot 60 within the an identical season until Munoz did it throughout the first spherical of ultimate week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. His 60 on Thursday included a one-shot penalty for an unplayable lie. He moreover shot 60 on the RSM Fundamental.

Tony Finau
After a not-so-great start to the season, there have been indicators of life with a tie for second on the Mexico Open. He had back-to-back top-10s throughout the remaining two PGA Championships: a tie for fourth at Harding Park and a tie for eighth at Kiawah Island.

Abraham Ancer
Ancer had his most interesting finish at a big in remaining yr’s PGA Championship with a tie for eighth. He shot 7-under 65 throughout the final spherical at Kiawah Island.

Kevin Kisner
Kisner is inserting very properly as soon as extra, and he’s pretty creative throughout the inexperienced. He can be at a disadvantage off the tee as a result of measurement of Southern Hills, so there’s little margin for error.

Gary Woodland
Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open winner, has two top-10s in 10 begins on the PGA Championship.

Webb Simpson
Simpson, the 2021 U.S. Open winner, has under no circumstances had a top-10 finish in 11 PGA Championship begins.

Patrick Reed
Reed’s sport has been out of sorts for lots of this season with just one top-10 in 16 tour begins.

Cameron Champ
Champ hits the ball very, very far — he leads the tour in driving distance (323.8 yards) — nonetheless the rest of his sport hasn’t been good this season. He tied for sixth on the Mexico Open.

Talor Gooch
One different former Oklahoma State star, Gooch is an area of Midwest Metropolis, Oklahoma. He’ll be a fan favorite at Southern Hills.

Brian Harman
Harman was rounding into kind with a number of top-10s since late March. He withdrew from the AT&T Byron Nelson remaining week for undisclosed causes.

Marc Leishman
A six-time winner on the PGA Tour, Leishman missed the reduce in each of his earlier three begins on the PGA Championship.

Harold Varner III
HV3 made the reduce in each of his remaining three PGA Championship begins, tying for thirty sixth, twenty ninth and forty ninth.

Luke Document
Document, who acquired for the first time on tour on the Farmers Insurance coverage protection Open in January, was solo sixth on the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.

Cameron Youthful
The PGA Tour rookie already has three runner-up finishes and averages higher than 315 yards off the tee.

Davis Riley
The earlier Alabama star already has 5 top-10s as a PGA Tour rookie, along with a tie for ninth on the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Tier III: Hey, miracles happen

They’re prolonged pictures — even when the guidelines consists of the biggest star in golf historic previous. It ought to take a wide range of breaks and good bounces for them to be in competitors this weekend.

Tiger Woods
It’s distinctive that Woods, a four-time PGA Championship winner, is once more having fun with golf after nearly dropping his correct leg in a automotive wreck in February 2021. As we seen at Augusta Nationwide in April, anticipating Woods to compete for 72 holes may be asking an extreme quantity of, too rapidly. Nonetheless he’s had 5 additional weeks to get stronger, so it’s most likely silly to rule him out completely.

Bubba Watson
The two-time Masters championship missed the reduce in three of his remaining 5 PGA Championship begins.

Aaron Sensible
Harry Higgs
Tommy Fleetwood
Sergio Garcia
Joel Dahmen

Kevin Na
Na’s observe file on the PGA Championship hasn’t been good. He missed the reduce in eight of 13 begins and has just one top-10 finish.

Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau had surgical process to revive a fractured hamate bone in his left hand on April 14. His restoration was anticipated to take 6-8 weeks, nonetheless he was ripping drivers at his residence this weekend and arrived at Tulsa on Monday. Barring a setback, he’ll try to compete this week.

4 weeks and a pair of days since surgical process. pic.twitter.com/shymowoCBU

— Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) Would possibly 15, 2023

Jason Kokrak
A 3-time winner on the PGA Tour, Kokrak continues to be searching for his first top-10 at a big. He tied for 14th on the Masters in April.

Robert MacIntyre
Francesco Molinari
Jason Day
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Sepp Straka
Straka acquired his first PGA Tour event on the Honda Fundamental in late February. He’ll be making merely his second PGA Championship start; he tied for 66th in 2020.

Keegan Bradley
Lee Westwood

Tom Hoge
Hoge picked up his first PGA Tour victory at Pebble Seaside in early February. He has just one top-15 finish since then.

Okay.H. Lee
Lee, back-to-back winner of the Byron Nelson, as quickly as joked that he wished to be the “No. 1 sexiest golfer on the planet.”

Matthew Wolff

Kevin Streelman
Streelman, who as quickly as put 200,000 miles on his mom’s Nissan whereas having fun with on the Dakotas Tour, accomplished a stunning eighth at Kiawah Island remaining yr.

Mackenzie Hughes
Hudson Swafford
J.J. Spaun
Brendan Steele

Stewart Cink
Cink, 48, tied for fourth on the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive.

Si Woo Kim
Alex Noren
Ryan Fox
Lanto Griffin

Ian Poulter
Might this be the ultimate time we see Poulter sooner than he jumps to the Saudi Arabian-financed LIV Golf Invitational Sequence? Along with Mickelson, Westwood and Garcia, Poulter has been rigorously associated to LIV Golf.

Lucas Herbert
Zach Johnson
Matt Jones
Chan Kim
Chris Kirk

Matt Kuchar
Kuchar has been always good throughout the PGA Championship with 4 top-10s and 6 top-25s in 13 begins.

Min Woo Lee
Keith Mitchell
Erik van Rooyen
Thomas Pieters

Tier IV: Fully glad to make the reduce

They are not anticipated to be among the many many contenders besides one factor magical happens. There are former champions who’re nonetheless having fun with on account of, properly, they earned the prospect to keep up having fun with. No person gave Mickelson a variety of a possibility of worthwhile at Kiawah Island remaining yr, each.

Lucas Glover
Mito Pereira
Chad Ramey

Maverick McNealy
The 26-year-old former Stanford star is dripping with experience, and it’ll not be prolonged sooner than he wins on the PGA Tour. Nonetheless he has however to make a reduce at a big.

Garrick Higgo
Carlos Ortiz
Daniel van Tonder
Bernd Wiesberger

Padraig Harrington
Mickelson wasn’t the one getting older former champion who carried out properly at Kiawah Island remaining yr. Harrington, the European Ryder Cup captain at Whistling Straits, tied for fourth at 2 beneath, 4 pictures behind Mickelson.

Jhonattan Vegas
Cameron Tringale
Henrik Stenson
Rikuya Hoshino

Rickie Fowler
Fowler had his most interesting exhibiting at a big shortly lastly yr’s PGA Championship. He tied for eighth at 1 beneath with three sub-par rounds.

Anirban Lahiri
Justin Harding
Cam Davis
Adam Hadwin
Sam Horsfield
Ryan Palmer

Nicolai Hojgaard
Hojgaard, from Denmark, is taken into consideration definitely one in every of Europe’s up-and-coming stars for future Ryder Cups. Solely 21, he has already acquired twice on the DP World Tour.

Branden Grace
Dean Burmester
Richard Bland

Ryan Brehm
Brehm, who acquired the Puerto Rico Open in March to retain his PGA Tour standing, is having fun with in merely his second major. He tied for 53rd on the 2017 U.S. Open.

Patton Kizzire
Laurie Canter
Beau Hossler
Adri Arnaus
Troy Merritt

Bio Kim
The establish might sound acquainted. Kim was suspended for one yr from having fun with on the Korean Tour after flipping off a fan and slamming his membership to the underside at a match on Sept. 29, 2019. He misplaced his temper after the fan’s cell-phone digicam went off all through his swing.

Scott Stallings
Shaun Norris
Oliver Bekker
Yuki Inamori
Russell Knox
Adam Schenk
Charl Scwhartzel

Alex Cejka
Cejka was disqualified from the Areas Customized in Alabama, an event he acquired remaining yr, after the third spherical on Saturday for using “a yardage e book that had not been accredited for the rivals by the PGA Tour Champions Tips Committee.” He was disqualified from the 2019 Honda Fundamental for the same pointers violation.

Kazuki Higa

Pablo Larrazabal
Larrazabal, from Spain, may be the one participant throughout the self-discipline who as quickly as jumped proper right into a lake to evade stinging hornets. It occurred on the 2014 Malaysian Open. He wished injections for a lot of stings, nonetheless someway nonetheless shot 68 throughout the spherical.

Kramer Hickok
Sadom Kaewkanjana
Takumi Kanaya

Joohyung Kim
The 19-year-old from South Korea is having fun with in his second major after missing the reduce at Harding Park in 2020. Apparently, he goes by the establish Tom on account of his love of the TV current “Thomas the Tank Engine & Buddies” as a toddler.

Ryosuke Kinoshita
Jinichiro Kozuma
Rich Beem

John Daly
In all probability essentially the most memorable second of the 1991 PGA Championship winner’s effectivity remaining yr was when his golf cart (the PGA permits him to make use of 1 on account of osteoarthritis in his correct knee) acquired caught throughout the sand at Kiawah Island. He accomplished remaining after capturing 85-86. Daly moreover was disqualified from the Areas Customized on Friday for failing to sign his scorecard.

Jason Dufner
Martin Kaymer
Shaun Micheel
Y.E. Yang

Tier V: PGA professionals

They accomplished throughout the prime 20 in elements on the PGA Expert Championship in April to earn a spot throughout the self-discipline. Only one PGA skilled, Brad Marek, made the reduce at Kiawah Island in 2021.

Alex Seaside
Seaside, from Rye, New York, is ambidextrous. Although he performs left-handed, he can swing a membership right-handed greater most days.

Brandon Bingaman

Michael Block
It’s good to love the Californian’s optimism. He has “Why Not?” imprinted on his golf balls.

Matthew Borchert

Tyler Collet
The membership skilled from Vero Seaside, Florida, carried out just one yr of golf in highschool and didn’t play at Japanese Kentucky Faculty.

Paul Dickinson

Tim Feenstra

Austin Hurt
Hurt, from Bainbridge Island, Washington, competed throughout the 2001 Little League World Sequence.

Colin Inglis
Knowledgeable from Junction Metropolis, Oregon, Inglis’ sister, Caroline, performs on the LPGA Tour.

Nic Ishee

Jared Jones
A former Ohio State letterman, Jones caddied for Nicklaus on the Scarlet Course in 2006 after the Golden Bear redesigned it for $1.

Sean McCarty
McCarty, a former star at Iowa, grew up having fun with on a nine-hole course that his dad and mother bought when he was 3.

Kyle Mendoza

Jesse Mueller
Mueller is the general supervisor of the Grand Canyon Faculty Golf Course and a volunteer assistant on the school. He acquired the PGA Expert Championship by 5 pictures in April.

Dylan Newman
Zac OakleyCasey Pyne
Ryan Vermeer
Shawn Warren

Wyatt Worthington II
Worthington, from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is making his second start throughout the PGA Championship. In 2016, he grew to change into merely the second Black membership skilled to play throughout the PGA Championship; Tom Woodard was the first in 1991.