The 106th PGA Championship returns to Valhalla this week. Here are some of the big storylines.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KDKA) -- The PGA Championship returns to Valhalla Golf Club for the fourth time as the tournament is set to get underway this week.
Here are some of the big storylines ahead of the 106th playing of the PGA Championship.
Brooks Koepka eyeing his sixth major
Last year's defending champion is looking to win his sixth overall major, which would move him into a tie for 12th place all-time alongside names like Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, and Phil Mickelson.
Koepka heads into this week's tournament after winning at Oak Hill last year and finishing tied for 17th at last year's U.S. Open before a suboptimal showing at last year's Open Championship and this year's playing of the Masters.
Rory's decade-long drought
It's coming up on nearly a full decade since Rory McIlroy last won a major. Ironically enough, McIlroy's last major win came in 2014 when he won the PGA Championship at none other than, you guessed it, Valhalla.
This will surely be a massive talking point this week for one of the giants of the game.
McIlroy has had numerous close calls in recent years, finishing 2nd at the Masters and U.S. Open and 3rd at the Open Championship all within the last 13 months.
In his last ten major tournament appearances, McIlroy has seven top-ten finishes and has only missed the cut once.
Rory heads into the PGA this week in fine form with wins the last two weeks at the Zurich Classic alongside fellow Irishman Shane Lowry and at the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday.
Michael Block back in the limelight
Michael Block made all of the headlines a year ago when he made the cut at Oak Hill, finding himself paired with Rory McIlroy for the final day of the tournament.
He was the ultimate crowd favorite and made a hole-in-one with the world watching.
He wasn't done yet though, as he converted an exceptional up-and-down par on the 18th hole to earn his way into this year's tournament at Valhalla.
Scottie Scheffler no longer on baby watch
So far this season on the PGA Tour, no one has been able to stop Scottie Scheffler.
The #1 ranked player in the world, Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship in March before winning the Masters and the RBC Heritage last month.
There was talk heading into The Masters and this week that the pending birth of his first child might be the only thing able to keep him off of the course and outside of the winner's circle.
At Augusta National, Scheffler Baby Watch was on as his wife Meredith was prepared to go into labor and Scottie said he would leave the course and be there, no matter where he was at in the tournament.
Baby Watch continued on over the past few weeks, but the watch has ended, as Meredith and Scottie are celebrating the birth of their child.
Scheffler will be in the field at the PGA Championship this week and gunning for his third major.
Tiger Woods in the field
A past champion at Valhalla, Tiger is in the hunt for his 16th major this week at the PGA Championship.
Woods was out on the course for a practice round yesterday sporting a goatee that we didn't see earlier this year.
His arrival at Valhalla comes on the heels of last month's Masters tournament where he made his 24th straight cut.
Woods has won four PGA Championships in his career with his last coming in 2007 at Southern Hills.
Justin Thomas back in his home state
One of the fan favorites this week will surely be Kentucky's native son, Justin Thomas.
Born and raised in Louisville, Thomas was a standout youth and high school golfer before playing his college golf at the University of Alabama.
A two-time winner of the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022, Thomas is eyeing his third major championship and would surely love to do so in front of a home crowd.
Valhalla's fourth time hosting the PGA
Valhalla has played host to major championships before, hosting the PGA Championship three times -- in 1996, 2000, and 2014.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed course opened in 1986 and will play just over 7,600 yards for this week's tournament.
In past years, the tournament was held in August, but this will be the first time Valhalla hosts the PGA in May.
When does the tournament start?
The opening round of the PGA Championship will get underway on Thursday.
Tee times and pairings haven't been announced yet.
