Five storylines to follow at this week's PGA Championship
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[May 16, 2023]
(Reuters) - Five storylines to follow as the best players in
the world descend upon Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York,
this week for the May 18-21 PGA Championship.
RED-HOT RAHM
Spaniard Jon Rahm, whose Masters triumph in April took him halfway
towards completing the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors,
arrives at Oak Hill as the betting favourite.
Rahm's Masters triumph marked his fourth win of the season and in
his last PGA Tour start the Spaniard finished runner-up at the
Mexico Open where he was the defending champion.
There are hardly any flaws in Rahm's game and the world number one,
whose best finish at a PGA Championship came in 2018 when he
finished in a share of fourth, has found a way to put himself in
contention almost everywhere he plays.
At Augusta National, Rahm trailed Brooks Koepka by two shots
entering the final round and needed four holes to close the gap,
pulled ahead two holes later and never relinquished the lead.
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LIV GOLF
Just like at the Masters, there will be 18 LIV Golf members in the
field at Oak Hill where they will once again look to prove critics
wrong following a mostly impressive showing at Augusta National in
April.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/16/images/ads/current/library_sda_PROMGRAD_2023.png)
Twice PGA Championship winners Phil Mickelson and Koepka, who
finished joint-second at the Masters, headline a group from the
Saudi-backed circuit that includes Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson,
Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed.
Koepka took a two-shot lead into the final round of the Masters but
faded badly and closed with a disappointing 75 while Mickelson fired
his best closing round (65) in the event to vault up the leaderboard.
Given LIV Golf features 54-hole events with 48 players, no cuts and
paydays for all, critics wondered whether the circuit's members
could be competitive on the game's biggest stages, which they have
proven is not a problem so far.
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SPIETH'S GRAND SLAM BID
Jordan Spieth, who withdrew from last week's AT&T Byron Nelson
citing a left wrist injury, hopes to tee it up at Oak Hill and make
his seventh attempt at completing the coveted career Grand Slam.
In the year's first major Spieth made a final-round charge up the
Masters leaderboard to get within striking distance but an untimely
bogey on 18 dashed his chances as he went on to finish in fourth
place.
Spieth later said he arrived at the Masters overworked and mentally
fatigued after having played eight weeks out of the previous 10 on
the PGA Tour.
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![](../images/051623pix/sports49.jpg)
Golf - The Masters - Augusta National
Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 9, 2023 Spain's Jon Rahm
thanks the late Seve Ballesteros during his speech after winning The
Masters REUTERS/Mike Segar
![](../images/ads/current/graue_lda_4_2021.png)
If Spieth can triumph at the PGA Championship,
where his best result was a runner-up showing in 2015, he would join
Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods in
golf's elite club of those who have completed the Grand Slam.
- -
THOMAS EYES REPEAT
Justin Thomas missed the cut at the Masters in April and will now
hope a return to the tournament where he has won his two major
titles will bring a return to form.
Thomas triumphed at last year's PGA Championship when he carded a 67
to overcome a seven-shot deficit in the final round at Southern
Hills before emerging as the winner in a three-hole aggregate
playoff.
In 11 PGA Tour starts this season, Thomas has only managed two
top-10 finishes and his best result came three months ago at the
Phoenix Open where he finished fourth.
A win this week would put Thomas alongside Woods and Koepka as the
only players to successfully defend a PGA Championship title since
the event switched to stroke play in 1958.
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ABSENT WOODS
Four-times champion Woods will be a notable absentee this week as he
continues his recovery from the ankle surgery he had in April to
address post-traumatic arthritis related to the injuries he suffered
in a February 2021 car crash.
There is no timetable for the 15-time major champion's return to
competition and it is widely expected that he will at least miss the
rest of the majors in 2023.
Woods, who has been playing a limited schedule on a rebuilt leg
following his car accident, made the cut at the Masters in April but
withdrew before the weather-delayed third round resumed and cited a
flare-up of his plantar fasciitis.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/16/images/ads/current/skdavison_sda_PROMGRAD_2023.png)
At last year's PGA Championship, which was Woods' second start after
the crash, he withdrew after carding a nine-over-par 79 in the third
round during which his surgically-repaired right leg appeared to be
causing him significant discomfort.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
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