The final major championship of the year on the PGA Tour gets started on Thursday at Valhalla Country Club just outside of Louisville, Kentucky.
This is the last chance for a top player to add a major title to his resume this season. He must wait eight months until the Masters in April, 2015 for the next opportunity.
Rory McIlroy enters the tournament as the No. 1 ranked player in the world with consecutive victories at the Open Championship and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He is driving the ball brilliantly and his entire game seems to be at its peak.
McIlroy won the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island and has also won the 2011 U.S. Open to go with his Open Championship win this year.
Sergio Garcia has been on the losing end of McIlroy’s great play of late, finishing runner-up to him at the Open Championship and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Will this be the week Sergio breaks through and wins his first major championship?
Rickie Fowler has also been performing up to expectations this summer. He is the only golfer to have top-five finishes in all three majors in 2014 and continued his stellar play with a T-8 finish last week at Firestone.
Tiger Woods appearance this week at the PGA Championship is questionable. He reinjured his surgically repaired back while attempting a shot on Sunday at the WGC-Bridgestone and was forced to withdraw after nine holes.
Dustin Johnson is not in Louisville, after he announced last week that he would be taking a leave of absence from the PGA Tour. It is rumored that he is serving a six-month suspension due to violation of the PGA Tour’s substance abuse policy.
2013 U.S. Open Champion, Justin Rose, 2014 U.S. Open Champion Martin Kaymer, and two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson are in the field this week and have to be considered favorites to win more major hardware.
Another big storyline this week is Phil Mickelson. Can he erase his inconsistent play this year and win another major title?
The PGA Championship also awards 20 spots to PGA club professionals that qualify via the PGA Professional Golf Championship. Most of the hard-working club professionals do not make the cut on Friday night, but the experience of walking the fairways with the best players in the world is an experience of a lifetime.
Other touring professionals are trying to earn enough points to secure automatic berths on the U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams. The PGA Championship is the last opportunity to earn one of the nine automatic spots.
With just two tournaments remaining on the 2014 regular season schedule, many are trying to gain entry into the FedEx Cup Playoffs that begin with The Barclays in just three weeks.
The total purse of $10 million is second only to the Players Championship and the first-place check of $1.8 million definitely gets every golfer’s complete attention.
Tiger or no Tiger, there is a lot on the line and this should be a fantastic week of golf at Valhalla.