It’s time for the 2nd major championship of the year and the golf world heads to Rochester, New York and Oak Hill Country Club for the 105th PGA Championship.
Oak Hill CC has hosted a number of major championships on the PGA Tour including the 1956, 1968 & 1989 U.S. Opens, and the 1980, 2003, and 2013 PGA Championships. This will be the fourth PGA Championship that Oak Hill has hosted.
One of the top stories coming into this week is the inclusion of LIV Golf players in this major championship.
16 players from the Saudi funded league will be in the field for the second major championship of the year.
With most of the same LIV Golfer having competed in the Masters last month with no incidents to note, we can imagine that the participants will be on their best behavior for major championship week.
LIV Golfers in the field
| Dustin Johnson | Brooks Koepka | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Talor Gooch | Phil Mickelson | Cam Smith |
| Joaquin Niemann | Patrick Reed | Harold Varner III |
| Mito Pereira | Anirban Lahiri | Brendan Steele |
| Thomas Pieters | Abraham Ancer | Dean Burmester |
Three time PGA Championship winner, Tiger Woods, will not be in the field this week.
Woods is still recovering from ankle surgery stemming from an injury that also caused him to miss the first major of the year after his withdrawal from the Masters.
Players to Watch
Tony Finau
This will be Tony’s first trip to Oak Hill Country Club, but his eighth PGA Championship. Tony has three top-10 finishes with his best finish being a tie for fourth in 2020.
So far this season in 14 events, Finau has 11 top-25 finishes which include four top-10s. Tony also has two wins on the season. The first win was at the Cadence Bank Houston Open back in November, and the second was the Mexico Open at Vindanta in April.
Tony is currently ranked 4th in the FedEx Cup and 11th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Sahith Theegala
This will be Sahith’s first trip to Oak Hill Country club, and first PGA Championship.
So far this season in 18 events played, Theegala has ten top-25 finishes which include seven top-10s.
In the first major championship of the year, the Masters, Sahith finished in a tie for ninth place.
His most recent event was the Wells Fargo Championship finishing in a tie for 56th place.
Sahith is currently ranked 18th in the FedEx Cup and 25th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Harold Varner III
This will be Harold’s first trip to Oak Hill Country Club, but it will be his sixth PGA Championship. His best finish was in 2020 when he finished in a tie for 29th place.
In six events on the LIV Golf circuit Harold has two top-10 finishes. His best finish this season, fourth place, was at the most recent LIV Golf event held in Tulsa. Varner’s other top-10 finish was ninth place in Singapore back in April.
In the first Major Championship of the year, the Masters, Varner finished in a tie for 29th.
Harold is currently ranked 64th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Since his defection to LIV Golf, and suspension by the PGA Tour, Varner III is no longer eligible for FedEx Cup points.
JJ Spaun
This will be JJ’s first trip to Oak Hill Country Club, and fourth time competing in the PGA Championship. His best PGA Championship appearance was in 2018 when he finished in a tie for 35th place.
In 18 events this season, JJ has eight top-25 finishes which include two top-10s.
His most recent event was the Wells Fargo Championship where he finished in a tie for 27th place.
JJ is currently ranked 61 in the FedEx Cup and 74th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Tee Times
Finau: Thursday – 1:36 PM ; Friday – 8:11 AM
Theegala: Thursday – 7:55 AM ; Friday – 1:20 PM
Varner III: Thursday – 7:38 AM ; Friday – 1:03 PM
Spaun: Thursday – 2:15 PM; Friday – 8:50 AM
How to watch
Thursday (5/19) & Friday (5/20): 2 – 8 PM ESPN
Saturday (5/21) & Sunday (5/22): 10 AM to 1 PM (ESPN); 1 to 7 PM (CBS)