2023 PGA Championship Preview: Golf's second major returns to Oak Hill Country Club
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's PGA Championship week.
While that may not have the same charm as 'Masters Week' or the tradition of Augusta National Golf Club, it's still a big deal in both the golf world and throughout the sports world.
Oak Hill Country Club
Golf's second major championship of the year has returned to western New York, with the tournament being held at Oak Hill Country Club outside Rochester, where the event was last hosted in 2013.
The Donald Ross designed track is expected to give players some fits this week, as many are predicting a tough test for the major title.
The defending champion
Justin Thomas is heading into the week as the defending champion, winning last year's tournament at Southern Hills, also winning the tournament in 2017.
Thomas is coming off a rough outing at this year's Masters, letting things slip away on the 18th hole and missing the cut in the process.
We won't see last year's runner-up from the tournament, though. Will Zalatoris underwent back surgery last month after withdrawing from the Masters before play began, and has been sidelined for the rest of the season.
As is the case in nearly every discussion about golf these days, there's always chatter about the LIV Golf players being back in the spotlight at these big events.
LIV Golf players in the spotlight
Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka tied for second at the Masters, with the man known as 'Lefty' shooting a score of -7 in his final round at Augusta -- while Koepka let a 54-hole lead slip away on Sunday, falling short of Jon Rahm, who won the tournament by four shots.
Ironically enough, those two players have won three of the past five PGA Championships, with Mickelson taking home the title in 2021 at Kiawah Island, while Koepka went back-to-back in 2018 at Bellerive and in 2019 at Bethpage Black.
With all that said, who's going to be the hot pick to get it done and win this year's event?
The world's best player looking for another major
Will it be someone like Jon Rahm, looking to win his second major in a row, back on top of the world rankings at #1?
Seeking the career grand-slam
Or will it be a player like Jordan Spieth, who's only missing the PGA Championship to complete the career grand-slam? If he were to win this year's PGA, he'd become only the sixth player of all time reach that milestone achievement.
And we can't forget about Scottie Scheffler, who despite a disappointing performance at the Masters, still finished tied for 10th place, and is always a hard player to bet against these days.
Can Rory bounce back?
Speaking of disappointments, Rory McIlroy's performance at the Masters left a lot to be desired and he's going on nearly a decade since his last major title win.
The Tiger Effect, or the lack thereof
We won't see the Big Cat Effect on display at Oak Hill, though, as Tiger Woods underwent ankle surgery last month following his withdrawing from the Masters in the middle of his third round of play.
New man on the bag
While Tiger won't be in the field, his now-former caddie will be on the bag for Patrick Cantlay, who's looking to win his first major.
Needless to say, all eyes will be on Western New York this week as the PGA is set to get underway on Thursday.
Live coverage of the tournament will air on KDKA-TV on both Saturday and Sunday starting at 2 p.m.
