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No Reason To Doubt Justin Thomas In The PGA Championship

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No Reason To Doubt Justin Thomas In The PGA Championship

The PGA Championship is the second PGA Tour major of the season and promises to be every bit as exciting as the first from a competitive standpoint but won’t have the same Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5) storyline in the Masters.

Having already achieved his personal Grand Slam in the Masters, McIlroy punctuated his career brilliance and his long pursuit of the coveted green jacket.

Whatever he does going forward is like the proverbial icing on the cake.

He really has nothing left to prove, unless he wants to start chasing major wins. With five already, he is far short of the record 18 owned Jack Nicklaus and the 15 of Tiger Woods (Bridgestone Tour B X).

But the way he has been playing this year with three wins, it is hard to overlook McIlroy in the PGA Championship. He won’t have the pressure of a Masters victory. Moreover, McIlroy will have an advantage in the PGA Championship because of prior success at Quail Hollow. He has won four times in 13 starts, the last one in 2021 at the Wells Fargo Championship. Jordan Spieth (Titleist Pro V1), who needs a win at the PGA Championship to complete his career Grand Slam, has called Quail Hollow the “Rory McIlroy Country Club.” You know what they say about horses for courses.

Obviously with his stunning and emphatic win in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1) has to be considered the primary player to beat McIlroy in the PGA Championship. But he has limited experience at Quail Hollow, playing five rounds and not win any in the 2022 Presidents Cup. But many people are picking Scheffler to win. He might have put his frustration in recent tournaments in the rear-view mirror. One thing is for sure, he will not undergo the same mental and emotional hurdles that he did in last year’s tournament when he was arrested and charged for assaulting a police officer, from which he was later acquitted, leading into the second round of the tournament. That will forever remain one of the most bizarre incidents in PGA Tour history.

But if past history, combined with current form, is any indicator, Justin Thomas (Titleist Pro V1x) has to be given serious consideration. He won the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. He is also coming into the tournament with a win and two seconds in his last four starts. He seems to have found some magic with a new caddie. He tied for second last week in the Truist Championship. I really like his chances, though expected rain could be an equalizing factor.

Xander Schauffele (Callaway Chrome Tour) is the defending champion, but the tournament was played last year at Valhalla Golf Course. Schauffele is slowing rounding into last year’s form following a rib injury. In his last four starts, he has posted T11, T18, T8 and T12. He currently has 12 consecutive top-20 finishes in majors. He has runnerup finishes at Quail Hollow the last two years.

As usual Bryson DeChambeau (Titleist Pro V1x) will be a factor. He came into the final round of the Masters in excellent striking position and then faded. You just know he will take that experience and mentally calculate what went wrong. He comes into the PGA Championship off of a win in LIV Golf. He has top-six finishes in five of his last eight majors. He had a T9 at Quail Hollow in 2021.

Spieth came alive in the CJ Cup with a sizzling nine-under par in the final round. His lowest career score in the final round of a tournament since 2021. So, was that a sign of, perhaps, he has found something in his game or he simply played well on a course he knew well? This will be the ninth time he comes into the tournament trying to complete the career Grand Slam.

Tommy Fleetwood (TaylorMade TP5x) looms as another interesting choice. He has yet to win his first PGA Tour event, but his form cycle is good. He had a T4 last week in the Truist Championship, preceded by a seventh in the RBC Heritage. Previous to that he had a T21 in the Masters. He would be the type of player who would benefit from a rain-drenched course.

Joaquin Niemann (Titleist Pro V1x) is another LIV player to consider. He is leading LIV in points having won three of seven tournaments.

 

 

 
Perry Lefko
Perry Lefko
Perry Lefko is an award-winning writer who has published nine books, three of them bestsellers. He has been involved in sports writing for more than 35 years and has interviewed many superstar athletes. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and enjoys watching golf and playing it.

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