Mark Flaherty has resigned from the PGA TOUR Policy Board, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said Sunday in a memo to the TOUR membership where he thanked Flaherty for his "countless contributions." Below is Flaherty's statement: "Fellow Directors, I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign from the PGA TOUR Policy Board, effective immediately. "It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve on the Policy Board for the past 4 1⁄2 years. Golf has always been a significant part of my life. Being able to blend my passion for the sport with the intricate workings and growth of the PGA TOUR has been a truly rewarding experience. "I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Commissioner Monahan and Chairman Herlihy for their leadership in driving a successful business and product agenda; it is one that consistently prioritizes our fans, players, title sponsors, media, tournaments, marketing partners and volunteers. "Additionally, I want to express my sincere appreciation to the dedicated staff at the PGA TOUR who work tirelessly to support the Board and ensure the flawless execution of our events each week, thus providing a superior product for the golf world to enjoy. "Thank you to everyone for your support throughout my tenure on the Policy Board.

Mark Flaherty has resigned from the PGA TOUR Policy Board, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said Sunday in a memo to the TOUR membership where he thanked Flaherty for his "countless contributions."

Mark Flaherty resigns from PGA TOUR Policy Board

Over four days spent in horse racing country, Xander Schauffele led the PGA Championship out of the gate, around the quarter pole, into the final furlong, and eventually across the finish line at Valhalla Golf Club to capture his first-ever major championship with a record-breaking winning score of 21-under par. After Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, Schauffele was the third-highest choice on the pre-tournament odds board at +1400 to win the championship via BetMGM Sportsbook. Schauffele tied a major championship record with a round of 62 on Thursday, taking First Round Leader honors at +2000. He fired two straight rounds of 68 on Friday and Saturday to get to 15 under heading into the final round and tied for the lead with Collin Morikawa. <ul><li>Pre-tournament:&nbsp;+1400</li>,<li>After Round 1 (led by 3):&nbsp;+250</li>,<li>After Round 2 (led by 1):&nbsp;+275</li>,<li>After Round 3 (co-leader):&nbsp;+260</li></ul> As the final round got underway, birdies were flying in for the leaders. With the rains that had led up to the championship in the Louisville area, the golf course had been playing soft all week, allowing players to play just about any shot into these greens and get the ball to hold the surface. While Morikawa largely stalled out, Shane Lowry and Bryson DeChambeau both got off to fast starts to challenge Schauffele. Despite having yet to hit a fairway, Schauffele poured in his second birdie of the day at No. 4 and the lead was now two shots as he moved to 17 under and +110 to win the championship. Viktor Hovland got into the mix, making three straight birdies at Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to get to 16 under and one back of Schauffele along with his playing partner, DeChambeau. Both DeChambeau and Hovland moved to +350 with Schauffele at +150 to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy. The drama was building with every shot struck. PGA Championships at Valhalla have a history of producing such riveting finishes. Mark Brooks won in a playoff over Kentucky native, Kenny Perry in 2006. Tiger Woods won in a thrilling playoff over Bob May in 2000 and Rory McIlroy held off Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in the dark in 2014. This year was no different where these big names on the leaderboard were trading punches like Louisville's own Muhammad Ali in his prime. The heat intensified when Schauffele bogeyed the easiest hole on the golf course, No. 10, while Hovland birdied No. 12 and the two were now tied at 18 under, both players in search of their first major. Both players were also now at +140 to grab that life-changing title. Hovland added his third birdie in four holes at No. 13 to have to solo lead - for a moment. But Schauffele bounced back with a birdie of his own on the 11th and we were tied again at 19 under. Results from Golfbet&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/expert-picks/2024/05/13/pga-championship-valhalla-scottie-scheffler-rory-mcilroy-louisville">Expert Picks</a> <ul><li>Will Gray: Collin Morikawa (+2800)&nbsp;T4</li>,<li>Ben Everill: Rory McIlroy (+750)&nbsp;T12</li>,<li>Chris Breece: Ludvig Åberg (+1800)&nbsp;MC</li>,<li>Matt DelVecchio: Ludvig Åberg (+1800)&nbsp;MC</li>,<li>Rob Bolton: Rory McIlroy (+750)&nbsp;T12</li>,<li>Mike Glasscott: Rory McIlroy (+750)&nbsp;T12</li></ul> I asked Senior Manager at Mandalay Bay Race and Sportsbook in Las Vegas, Tristan Davis, who his shop was rooting for. "We are in a good position with Xander. He really has not had much support pre-tournament and throughout the live action," said Davis. "Punters will be cheering for Bryson as he was one of the best-backed players pre-tournament and throughout." I was rooting for Schauffele, too. I was actually in a good position as well with pre-tournament outright bets on Schauffele, DeChambeau, and Morikawa - but my heart was with Schauffele, hoping to see him finally shed the label of not being able to close the deal. Thomas Gable, director of Race and Sports at The Borgata in New Jersey said that Schauffele winning would be a good result for his book. "But Lowry has been very popular with in-tournament live betting," said Gable. After a steely up and down for par on the 17th hole, Schauffele stood on the par-5 18th tee box, needing birdie and a round of 65 to win his first major championship. DeChambeau had gone to the practice tee to prepare for a potential playoff, currently tied with Schauffele at 20 under after a birdie of his own on the 72nd&nbsp;hole. Schauffele hit an incredible 4-iron second shot from the first cut of rough, with the ball nearly a foot above his feet as he stood in a bunker. He chipped onto the green to 6 feet and rattled home the birdie putt for the win while DeChambeau looked on from the big-screen monitor overlooking the practice area. Fitting indeed with the 18th hole at Valhalla being named "Photo Finish." After failing to cash in at THE PLAYERS Championship and last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, after holding the 54-hole lead in both events, Schauffele made like a speed horse and set a blistering pace this week at Valhalla. After firing that opening round 62, he never looked back. Not one time all week was he not in the lead except for just a few minutes on Saturday. He closed the deal in grand fashion, shooting a final-round 65. Schauffele ranked third in this field for the week in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, second for SG: Approach, 13th in SG: Putting, and was No. 1 in Greens in Regulation. According to Justin Ray, Schauffele tied the mark for the most greens in regulation hit by a PGA Championship winner in the last 30 years with 60 out of 72 holes. The only other player to do so, was Tiger Woods in 2000, also at Valhalla Golf Club. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is scheduled to be back in his home state of Texas next week to play the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, where he will again likely be a heavy favorite. Schauffele will defend his PGA Championship crown next May at, of all places, Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte – where he couldn't close the deal last week but has now shown he can on one of golf's biggest and most pressure-packed stages. Congratulations, Xander. Results from Rob Bolton&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/sleeper-picks/2024/05/14/pga-championship-valhalla-fantasy-dash-picks-tips-golf-advice-viktor-hovland-jason-day">Sleeper Picks</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/betting-dfs/2024/05/15/golfbet-insider-rob-bolton-pga-championship-valhalla-jordan-spieth-patrick-cantlay-matt-fitzpatrick">Golfbet Insider</a> <ul><li>Jason Day to win (+5500) T43</li>,<li>Viktor Hovland Top 5 finish (+650) 3rd</li>,<li>Corey Conners Top 10 finish (+600) T26</li>,<li>Chris Kirk Top 20 finish (+400) MC</li>,<li>Mark Hubbard Top 40 finish (+250) T26</li>,<li>Patrick Cantlay Top 20 finish (+160) T53</li>,<li>Matt Fitzpatrick Top 20 finish (+250) MC</li>,<li>Sam Burns Top 20 finish (+240) MC</li>,<li>Tommy Fleetwood Top 20 finish (+150) T26</li>,<li>Jordan Spieth to Miss the Cut (+180) T43</li>,<li>Si Woo Kim, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka all make the cut (+180) MC/T6/MC</li>,<li>Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele both Top 10 (+900) T26/WIN</li>,<li>Keegan Bradley Top 40 finish (+150) T18</li>,<li>Corey Conners Top Canadian (+240) T26</li>,<li>Thomas Detry Top 40 finish (+200) 4th</li>,<li>Rickie Fowler to Miss the Cut (+125) T63</li>,<li>Alex Noren Top 20 finish (+320) T12</li>,<li>Patrick Reed Top 40 finish (+125) T53</li>,<li>Erik van Rooyen Top South African (+350) T53</li>,<li>Matt Wallace Top 40 finish (+225) T43</li>,<li>Hideki Matsuyama Top 20 finish (+200) T35</li></ul>

Over four days spent in horse racing country, Xander Schauffele led the PGA Championship out of the gate, around the quarter pole, into the final furlong, and eventually across the finish line at Valhalla Golf Club to capture his first-ever major championship with a record-breaking winning score of 21-under par. After Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, Schauffele was the third-highest choice on the pre-tournament odds board at +1400 to win the championship via BetMGM Sportsbook.

Golfbet Recap: Xander Schauffele birdies 72nd hole to capture maiden major title at PGA Championship

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa shared the lead at the PGA Championship on a chaotic Saturday with more scoring records and constant jockeying for a shot at winning a major championship. Just about everyone was involved but Scottie Scheffler. Schauffele overcame a double bogey late by closing with two birdies for a 3-under 68. Morikawa holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th at Valhalla Golf Club for a 67.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/18/shane-lowry-shoots-record-tying-62-major-championship-history-round-3-pga-championship-valhalla">Shane Lowry missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole</a>&nbsp;and had to settle for his place in major championship history with a 62 — the second one this week at vulnerable Valhalla. When the cheers finally ended, Schauffele and Morikawa were at 15-under 198, one shot ahead of Sahith Theegala, who had a 68. The stage was set for endless possibilities in the final round, with 15 players separated by five shots. The shocker was Scheffler not being among them. Scheffler was coming off the most heart-racing day of his career that featured an arrest, brief jail time and a 66 to get into contention for a second straight major. But he fell apart early and never quite recovered,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/18/scottie-scheffler-round-3-73-major-championship-under-par-streak-broken-pga-championship-valhalla">ending his streak of 42 consecutive rounds at par or better with a 73</a>. He was nine shots behind, with 23 players ahead of him. “Too many mistakes,” Scheffler told CBS. He declined to speak to reporters. “I came out here hoping to have a good round and didn't get it done.” Even at the home of the Kentucky Derby, this final round could be tough to handicap. Lowry's magnificent performance — he made 161 feet worth of putts — ended with a wedge to just inside 12 feet and a clear shot at 61, only to not give the putt enough pace. “Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62,” Lowry said. “Look, I went out there with a job to do today, and my job was to try to get myself back in the tournament. And I definitely did that.” He had plenty of company. Bryson DeChambeau set off the throng of spectators by chipping in for eagle on the par-5 18th for a 67, pounding his fist in celebration. He joined Lowry at 13-under 200, just two shots behind. Viktor Hovland, the FedExCup champion last year who decided to retool his swing and disappeared from leaderboards this year, birdied three of his last four holes for a 66 and also was only two behind. Justin Rose (64) was three shots back. The group five behind at 10-under 203 included Justin Thomas, the Louisville native who felt chills on a steamy day when he hacked out of the weeds, down to the green and into the cup on the par-3 14th for a most unlikely birdie. He shot 67. That's 15 players at 10-under or better, the most through 54 holes in major championship history. The previous record was seven players, most recently at St. Andrews in 2022. The scoring average for the third round was 69.55, a fraction behind the record for the PGA Championship set at Bellerive in 2018. This was the day to go low just to stay in the hunt. Scheffler,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/14/scottie-scheffler-fill-in-caddie-saturday-ted-scott-pga-championship-valhalla">using fill-in caddie with regular looper Ted Scott</a>&nbsp;attending his daughter's high school graduation in Louisiana, was in trouble from the start — a double bogey on No. 2 from mangled rough, a tee shot into a hazard left of the reachable par-4 fourth hole. He was 4 over through four holes, and on three occasions he followed a birdie with a bogey. It was his highest score since a 73 in the third round of the TOUR Championship last August. Now the focus turns to Schauffele, the Olympic gold medalist from the Tokyo Games in 2021 who is trying to bag a silver prize — the heavy Wanamaker Trophy — for his first major. Schauffele has been leading or tied in six of his last seven rounds. The exception was losing a 54-hole lead last week to Rory McIlroy's closing 65 at Quail Hollow. “I just need to stay in my lane, and hopefully it's enough,” Schauffele said. Morikawa already had two majors at age 24 and is slowly working his way back to that smooth, repeatable swing. He had one early wobble missing a 4-foot par putt on the second hole, and that was really his only big mistake. There was no shortage of candidates to claim the second major of the year. The leading six players included three major champions, an Olympic gold medalist and the FedExCup champion. And there was Theegala, five shots behind at one point, chipping in from behind the 15th green for one of six birdies on his last 10 holes. It was crowded at the top, just like it was at Harding Park in 2020, when a dozen players were separated by three shots going into the final round. Morikawa emerged with his first major.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa shared the lead at the PGA Championship on a chaotic Saturday with more scoring records and constant jockeying for a shot at winning a major championship.

Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa tied at PGA Championship with plenty of company

LOUISVILLE, Ky – Valhalla Golf Club knows how to produce drama. The last time it was the stage for a PGA Championship Sunday, Rory McIlroy reigned supreme in the dark. Fourteen years before that, Tiger Woods outdueled Bob May in an epic final-round slugfest. What will Valhalla provide this time around? It’s certainly set up for heroics. Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa are tied atop the leaderboard at 15-under, with six more players within three shots of the lead. Here are five big storylines going into the final round of the PGA Championship. <h3>1. Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele should be comfortable in contention</h3> Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, the co-leaders at 15-under, won’t have to think back too far to remember the last time they were in contention in a big moment. Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler were in the last group Sunday at the Masters Tournament in April, but Morikawa shot a final-round 74 to tie for third as Scheffler won. Although Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship almost immediately after turning pro, he’s had a bit of a lull since then. “Yeah, I'm going to tap in just kind of that mental state I've been in,” he said. “Not only those two (major victories), but in other tournaments I've played well in. I think the goal for me tonight before my tee time is just to be as mentally sharp by that first hole.” At Augusta, he said, he could have done with some more self-talk before starting the round. As a result, he said, he wasn’t mentally sharp and a couple bad holes took him out of the tournament. Schauffele, who has not won since the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open, had the final-round lead as recently as last Sunday, when he was the frontrunner at the Wells Fargo Championship before being overtaken by a surging Rory McIlroy and left in the dust over their final nine holes. What’s more, Schauffele also has eight straight top-20 finishes in the majors, the most on TOUR, but is seeking his first trophy to go with his seven TOUR wins and a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He also has shot two 62s, the lowest score ever in a major, but the first time he did so, in the first round at last summer’s U.S. Open, he faded to a tie for 10th. All of which begged the question of whether he might be helped by playing with no lead to protect at Valhalla, and whether it might free him up to know he needs to stay aggressive. “No, you want the lead,” Schauffele said. “Against these guys, you want as many shots as you can possibly take, no matter how nerve-racking it can be.” <h3>2. Can a resurgent Viktor Hovland capture major No. 1?</h3> Viktor Hovland entered the week in the wilderness. He may end the week with his first major championship. The reigning FedExCup champion has struggled mightily to replicate his breakthrough 2023 campaign. Ahead of the PGA Championship, Hovland had yet to finish inside the top 15 in any event this season and was outside the top 80 in the FedExCup. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/16/viktor-hovland-reunites-with-swing-coach-joe-mayo,-shoots-68-at-pga-championship">Returning to swing coach Joe Mayo might be the perfect course correction</a>. Hovland rekindled his relationship with Mayo last week, traveling to Las Vegas for instruction. With Mayo’s help, Hovland won three times during the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season, hoisted the FedExCup trophy and had his best opportunity to win a major at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill. But the two parted ways over the offseason as Hovland sought a different direction. Hovland’s time away from Mayo was primarily spent trying to achieve heightened control. He left the 2023 season unsure whether his play was sustainable. He felt the way he swung it in 2020 and 2021 was more conducive to the consistency he craved. He started working with Grant Waite and Dana Dahlquist and went down “other rabbit holes.” His willingness to scour for answers, wherever they may come from, is part of what has made Hovland great. It also appeared to be the catalyst for Hovland’s performance dip. And in his first tournament back with Mayo, Hovland has shined. The Norweigan is two shots back entering the final round of the PGA Championship. Hovland shot a bogey-free 66 on Saturday. A well-rounded game has propelled him. Hovland ranks inside the top 30 in every strokes gained category (off-the-tee, approach, around the green and putting). That’s a roadmap for success. <h3>3. Can anyone get major No. 2?</h3> Any major championship victory is career-defining. For some, it’s the long-awaited validation of an impressive career. For others, it’s a stepping stone to greater heights. But the list of major champions is long. In total, 232 golfers have won a major, and history looks upon more than a few as flukes. A few contenders at this year’s PGA Championship have the chance to join the more exclusive club of multi-time major winners, a category free of doubt and full of generational golfers. Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau are all in contention entering Sunday’s final round. All would capture major No. 2 with a victory. Fair or not, the jump from one major to two is drastic in the eyes of history… and its players. Of the 232 golfers to win a major championship, only 87 (roughly 38%) have won two. “To win multiple, you're kind of a bit of a different level,” Lowry said after a historic third-round 62 that tied the lowest round ever at a major. The Irishman won the 2019 Open Championship. Nothing is deserved in golf, but Rose, 43, has the requisite accolades – 23 worldwide victories, six Ryder Cup appearances and an Olympic gold medal – of a multi-time major winner. He claimed his lone major victory at the 2013 U.S. Open. “That's what's motivating me to stick with it and keep working hard is to try to give myself like the Indian summer of my career,” said Rose, 12-under after a Saturday 64. “Try to still steal one or two of these to really make it a fantastic career.” Only 18 holes separate one of the three from reaching the next level. <h3>4. After eight straight American winners at the PGA, this leaderboard is a melting pot</h3> The PGA Championship has had eight straight American winners; the last player not born in the United States to raise the Wanamaker Trophy was Jason Day in 2015. This year’s leaderboard, though, is a melting pot. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/18/shane-lowry-shoots-record-tying-62-major-championship-history-round-3-pga-championship-valhalla">Lowry of Ireland shot 62 to reach 13-under par</a>, two off the lead. Hovland of Norway shot 66 and is also 13-under. Rose of England (64, 12-under) and Robert MacIntyre of Scotland (66, 12-under) aren’t too far back to win. Lowry and Rose played together – along with 2015 PGA champion Day (69, 6-under) – and racked up 10 birdies between them on the first eight holes. Who had the honor? “Yeah, me,” Rose said. “Shane was like, ‘Geez, I can't get the honor.’ I thought it would be nice to make bogey up No. 9. He was getting a bit irritated.” Added Lowry, who missed a birdie putt for a record 61 at the last, “I went out there with a job to do today, and my job was to try to get myself back in the tournament, and I definitely did that.” The top three players on this year’s leaderboard are Americans but are a portrait of Southern California multiculturalism, adding to the melting-pot vibe at this PGA. Morikawa (67, 15-under, co-leader), who grew up in Los Angeles, has Chinese and Japanese ancestry. Schauffele (68, 15-under), of San Diego, has Japanese and German ancestry. Sahith Theegala, who grew up in Orange, California, has Indian heritage. “I haven't been in this spot before,” said Theegala, whose chip-in birdie at the 15th hole was the highlight of his 5-under-par 31 on the back nine. “My other nice spot in a major was a mega back door. Didn't really get in the top 5, two holes left in the tournament. “It's going to be a different feel tomorrow,” he continued. “I felt a lot of those feelings today and was able to overcome the nerves and stick to my process.” Also in the top 10 going into Sunday: Dean Burmester of South Africa (68, 11-under, four back) and Thomas Detry of Belgium (70, 10-under). <h3>5. Is there another record round out there?</h3> Valhalla has already yielded two of the lowest scores in major championship history. Schauffele and Lowry tied the major championship scoring record with rounds of 62s. Schauffele’s came in the first round, grabbing a lead he hasn’t relinquished, while Lowry shot up the leaderboard on Saturday with a 62 that included 161 feet of made putts. In most major championships, any golfer who hopes to win on Sunday must enter the day within a few shots. Per Justin Ray, 40 of the last 41 men's major winners have been within four shots of the lead entering the final round. Twelve of the last 13 PGA Championships were won by a player within two of the lead at the end. The only exception to both was Justin Thomas, who was seven shots back entering the final round of the 2022 PGA Championship. That suggests there are only a few genuine contenders. But very few majors have produced scores like this. The cut settled at 1-under on Saturday morning, the third time in major championship history that it was under par. The other two instances occurred at The Open Championship (1990, 2006). It’s just the second time a major championship has featured two 62s (2023 U.S. Open). So, while the odds may be low, plenty of golfers on Sunday believe they could make history. “I feel like I have done the most important part of putting myself at least within striking distance,” said Thomas, who is 10-under and five shots back after a Saturday 67. “I'm going to need a really good front nine tomorrow to work my way in the mix.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky – Valhalla Golf Club knows how to produce drama. The last time it was the stage for a PGA Championship Sunday, Rory McIlroy reigned supreme in the dark. Fourteen years before that, Tiger Woods outdueled Bob May in an epic final-round slugfest.

Five storylines going into Sunday at the PGA Championship

&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Korn Ferry Tour AdventHealth Championship Round 4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Memories are fickle. Overarching moments stand the rigors of time, but the particulars fade. The 2024 Masters will be remembered for Scottie Scheffler, his unrelenting consistency and his arrival as golf’s next juggernaut. Ludvig Åberg netting a runner-up finish in his first major will be mentioned, too. Those moments will remain clear in our minds. Collin Morikawa’s Masters will occupy a different space in the collective consciousness. There will be snippets of a double-bogey on the ninth or his water ball on the 11th that officially thwarted his green jacket hopes, but the memories will be fuzzy. See, only so much can be remembered. Greatness and triumph and even abject failure are sticky. Everything else dissolves away. Morikawa has operated in the middle for the last two years, stuck in the historical gray area where most golfers reside. Good enough to conjure the “almosts,” “close calls” and occasional wins, as Morikawa did at last year’s ZOZO Championship, but not the transcendent play in the biggest moments that linger in the mind. That’s reserved mostly for the Schefflers, Woods and McIlroys of the world. The difference with Morikawa is he&nbsp;was&nbsp;there. He was once the up-and-coming superstar, the heir apparent to Tiger Woods and the leader in the “how many majors will they win” clubhouse. Morikawa won two of his first five major starts as a pro and was quickly the superstar of the next generation. Then, slowly, he wasn’t. Others rose, and Morikawa plateaued. Stardom is a “what have you done for me lately” game and Morikawa hasn’t had much to show. He went 27 months between wins and racked up major finishes that looked more impressive on Wikipedia than they felt in the moment.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Memories are fickle. Overarching moments stand the rigors of time, but the particulars fade.

'I still have it in me': Collin Morikawa back in contention, ready to re-kindle major mojo at PGA Championship

Medical extensions in order of the 2024 PGA TOUR Priority Ranking <ul><li>Maverick McNealy … In the eighth-to-last start on his Major Medical Extension, he fulfilled its terms with a six-way T37 at the Farmers Insurance Open. As a result, he will play out of no worse than Category 22 of the Priority Ranking for the remainder of the season.</li></ul> <ul><li>C.T. Pan … In the 11th-to-last start on his Major Medical Extension, he fulfilled its terms with a three-way T3 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta. As a result, he will play out of no worse than Category 22 of the Priority Ranking for the remainder of the season.</li></ul> <ul><li>James Hahn … In the last start on his Minor Medical Extension, he finished in a five-way T33 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta. He failed to fulfill its terms by 186.349 FedExCup points and fell short of the threshold for conditional status by 55.497 FedExCup points. As a result, the Past Champion has been demoted to Category 32 in the Priority Ranking</li></ul> ^ - Nicholas Lindheim is fully exempt via the Reshuffle category as a Korn Ferry Tour graduate (link: https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/golfbet/reshuffle), but if he meets the terms of his medical (in the same category), he'll be promoted to the Major Medical category.

Medical extensions in order of the 2024 PGA TOUR Priority Ranking

2024 Medical Extensions

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Japan Golf Tour Kansai Open Golf Championship 2024 Round 4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Scottie Scheffler, No. 1 in the world and No. 1 in the FedExCup, came into the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on the strength of four victories in his last five starts. In that torrid stretch he defended his title at THE PLAYERS Championship and won the Masters Tournament for the second time in three years. But he also had taken the last three weeks off while&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/13/scottie-scheffler-wife-meredith-welcome-first-child-baby-boy-ahead-of-pga-championship">awaiting the birth of his and wife Meredith’s first child</a>, a boy who was born last week. Would Scheffler be rusty? Nah. Scheffler holed out for eagle from 169 yards at Valhalla’s opening hole and some five hours later made par at the par-5 18 hole to close out an opening-round, 4-under 67. He is five back of first-round leader Xander Schauffele, whose&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/16/xander-schauffele-shoots-62-to-set-pga-championship-mark-valhalla-golf-club">PGA-record 62 was the best round of the day by three</a>. “Yeah, I mean, there's nothing I can do,” Scheffler said. “Xander went out and played a great round this morning, and I'm not really going to worry about trying to shoot 9-under. I'm just going to go out and try to hit good shots and play my own game. “Yeah, I'd like to clean up a few of the mistakes,” he added. “I missed two putts I felt like I should have holed today, but that's going to happen when the greens get a little chewed up.” Scheffler’s four wins in 10 starts this season give him a higher winning percentage than five Major League Baseball teams, the Elias Sports Bureau noted. Should he win this week, he would be the first to get halfway to the calendar-year Grand Slam since Jordan Spieth in 2015. The last to get to the halfway mark before that was Tiger Woods in 2002. Scoring was unusually low at rain-softened Valhalla, with many players taking advantage. Even after failing to birdie the par-5 10th and 18th holes, Scheffler, who is in a six-way tie for 12th place, had only 11 players ahead of him on the leaderboard. If he closes the gap and rise to the top of the leaderboard over the next 54 holes, when more rain is expected, Scheffler would be following in the footsteps of Woods and Rory McIlroy. Each was world No. 1 when he won PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2000 and ’14, respectively.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Scottie Scheffler, No. 1 in the world and No. 1 in the FedExCup, came into the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on the strength of four victories in his last five starts. In that torrid stretch he defended his title at THE PLAYERS Championship and won the Masters Tournament for the second time in three years.

Scottie Scheffler shoots ‘solid’ 67 at PGA Championship

LOUISVILLE, KY. – Xander Schauffele has put himself in position to silence the doubters once more with a blistering record-setting opening to the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. A week after surrendering a lead to Rory McIlroy in the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship, recording his eighth top-10 from 12 starts this season (and second runner-up),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/16/xander-schauffele-shoots-62-to-set-pga-championship-mark-valhalla-golf-club">Schauffele put together a sublime 9-under 62 in Louisville</a>. It tied the record for the lowest major score in history, a mark he was already part of after his 8-under 62 from last years U.S. Open. It’s just the fourth 62 in major history, but the first of 9-under par. Schauffele is the first player to do it twice and is also the first person to shoot 62 in PGA Championship history. Rickie Fowler matched him last June at Los Angeles Country Club (8-under 62) while South African Branden Grace shot 8-under 62 at the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The Olympic gold medalist joins McIlroy (9-under 63) at the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews and Greg Norman (9-under 63) at the 1996 Masters as the lowest score relative to par in the first round of a major. His efforts also bested the lowest score relative to par in the first round of a PGA Championship, beating Michael Bradley’s 8-under 63 at Riviera Country Club in 1995. The sensational bogey-free effort gave the seven-time PGA TOUR winner a three-shot lead over Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala and Mark Hubbard who all put up tidy 65s. McIlroy is lurking once again, tied fifth with his Ryder Cup teammate Robert MacIntyre at 5-under. Collin Morikawa, Thomas Detry, Tom Hoge, Maverick McNealy and Tom Kim are also at the same score. Incredibly Scottie Scheffler, who’s last five PGA TOUR starts read 1-1-2-1-1 including his wins at THE PLAYERS and Masters, opened his round with a hole-out eagle from 168-yards. He forged his way to a round of 67 and is second on the odds boards despite being five shots back. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/13/what-is-the-weather-forecast-at-106th-pga-championship-valhalla-golf-club">Rain is forecast for Friday’s second round</a>, likely softening up what is already a very getable golf course. Those who don’t go low are going to be left behind. Here are the latest odds from BetMGM Sportsbook with my take on who to consider for your bets going forward. <ul><li>+275:&nbsp;Xander Schauffele (9-under)</li>,<li>+400:&nbsp;Scottie Scheffler (4-under)</li>,<li>+500:&nbsp;Rory McIlroy (5-under)</li>,<li>+1400:&nbsp;Collin Morikawa (5-under)</li>,<li>+1400:&nbsp;Brooks Koepka (4-under)</li>,<li>+2200:&nbsp;Sahith Theegala (6-under)</li>,<li>+2500:&nbsp;Tony Finau (6-under)</li>,<li>+4000:&nbsp;Bryson DeChambeau (3-under)</li>,<li>+4000:&nbsp;Max Homa (3-under)</li></ul> <h3>Draws</h3> Rory McIlroy +500 He was my pre-tournament pick to win so why would I jump off now after a pretty decent 5-under 66. What is incredible is McIlroy, who won at Valhalla in 2014, had a really poor day off the tee – usually his strength. McIlroy hit just seven of 14 fairways and ranked 134th in Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee – a stat he ranks fourth this season on the PGA TOUR. He made up for the shortfall by being first in SG: Around the Green and a respectable 21st in SG: Approach and 24th in SG: Putting. There is no way McIlroy drives it as poorly from here on out and fresh off back-to-back TOUR wins, he is primed to make a run. “I thought I got a lot out of my game today,” McIlroy said. “I had a little bit of a scrappy part around the turn there, but overall really happy with… not really happy with how I played but at least happy with the score.” Brooks Koepka +1400 The defending champion, a three-time PGA Championship winner, managed to post a score without his best stuff. Much like McIlroy, Koepka had some scrappy moments, but still found a way to put his name up on the leaderboard at 4-under. A year ago he opened with a 2-over par round and sat T38 before streaking to victory at Oak Hill. Majors are what bring out his best and I’m not prepared to say he won’t claim a sixth here this week. He ranked sixth in the field in SG: Approach and only faltered a little on the greens, losing -0.381 in SG: Putting, something he can rectify on Friday. “Just stay patient. That's what majors are all about,” Koepka said. “You can't win it today, but you just try to hang around and give yourself a chance or in a good spot come Sunday.” <h3>Fades</h3> Xander Schauffele +275 This one hurts because I genuinely like the guy, but if you didn’t get on him before the tournament you can’t possibly entertain this number with 54 holes to go. We know he entered the week with a 69.81 scoring average in the opening round of majors, the lowest all-time career first-round scoring average in major championship play among those who have appeared in at least 25 majors (courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau). But yet, he hasn’t won one. Schauffele has been a frequent contender at majors for nearly a decade, recording 12 top-10 finishes in 27 career major starts. This includes runner-up finishes at the 2018 Open Championship and 2019 Masters. But again. Hasn’t won one. Last week he started hot but was run down by McIlroy. He looked a winner at THE PLAYERS but was run down by Scheffler. He has played in Sunday’s final group four times this season with no wins. And the list of chasers behind him now at Valhalla has some huge gravitas. Would I like him to finally close the door? Sure. Can he? Absolutely. But am I willing to say it’s a lock right now? Not at all. “I look at every tough spot now as another opportunity, try to flip it into a positive and make myself want to earn it versus getting scared of the moment. Just embrace it, and really earn it and all the hard work you’ve been doing is worth it. Kinda taking that mentality on,” Schauffele said. Scottie Scheffler +400 Relax! I know what I’m doing. This number on Scheffler is diabolical for a player five shots back who most likely won’t get to see the course at its softest after forecast rain in the second round. Is Scheffler close enough to win? Yes. But is the juice worth the squeeze on these odds? No way. The only way to play the world No. 1 is to ride the live rollercoaster. Hopefully you heeded the Golfbet advice of waiting until his tee time if you wanted some Scheffler action as he drifted from his +400 starting price to +600. He promptly eagled the opening hole to drop the number fast!

LOUISVILLE, KY. – Xander Schauffele has put himself in position to silence the doubters once more with a blistering record-setting opening to the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.

Draws and Fades: Xander Schauffele in familiar territory, Rory McIlroy lurks at PGA Championship

Golf's second major championship of the year is upon us. The PGA Championship returns to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the fourth time and for the first time in a decade. Mark Brooks won here in a playoff over Kenny Perry in 1996. Tiger Woods won the PGA at Valhalla in year 2000 and Rory McIlroy captured his last major to date, 10 years ago here at Valhalla. Both McIlroy and Woods are back in the field this week with McIlroy coming off a blistering final round last week that was good enough to earn him his fourth Wells Fargo Championship title. But maybe the biggest storyline this week involves world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, who we haven't seen in competition since he won in back-to-back weeks at the Masters and then at the RBC Heritage. Scheffler and his wife have&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/13/scottie-scheffler-wife-meredith-welcome-first-child-baby-boy-ahead-of-pga-championship">welcomed their first child into the world</a>&nbsp;in the last week and bettors are wondering how this will impact his golf game. Taking three weeks off is not anything too out of the ordinary, especially for some of the game's star players, but to have this built around the arrival of one's first child is different. Will there be fatigue? Will there be a bit of rust due to a lack of playing or practicing? One thing I believe we can say for sure is that Scheffler's incredible run of four wins in his last five starts, has been interrupted. Will he come out on the other side no worse for the wear - or will he be off a tick? "With the questions coming in, it is tough to back Scheffler at that price (+450),” said golf bettor and director of content at Betsperts, Andy Molitor. "But with the big purse, I'm using him in some one-and-done fantasy entries. I'll give him a bit of a bump in some head-to-head matchup betting this week as well.” "I'm not counting on his recent fatherhood to negatively impact his game," said professional bettor and handicapper, Paul Stone. At the same time, Stone says, "But it's difficult to play Scheffler in any of the markets because you are paying such a premium. Personally, I'm not going to step in front of the best golfer in the world in a major." Evidently many golf bettors are confident that there will be no change in Scheffler's game this week. Drew O'Dell, senior data analyst at BetMGM points out, "Scheffler is No. 1 at BetMGM for highest ticket count (18.2%), highest handle (29.4%), and is our biggest liability in the outright winner market." O'Dell went on to note that Scheffler is also responsible for the highest ticket count in the First Round Leader market. He is second here in handle, trailing only McIlroy. Long time sports betting writer/reporter and now host at VSiN, Matt Youmans provided his thoughts. "Scheffler has been Superman, so it's tough to bet against him, but maybe he'll lose that edge with the baby and the brief layoff." Scheffler did not make my outright card, either. For me it is an unknown as to how he will come out of the gates immediately off this brief but life-changing hiatus. I believe it is possibly similar to a bye-week in the NFL. When you have a team that has won four or five games in a row (in the case of Scheffler, golf tournaments), and you interrupt that momentum with a week off, often times those teams come out on the other side with a down performance. We will see if that is the case with Scheffler but there is no doubt that this has paused what has been a historically red-hot run. If you are one who is staying away from Scheffler this week, then who are we betting to win at Valhalla in 2024? "This is the first time in several years that I have had great respect for McIlroy's all-around game coming in but I'm looking for reasons to bet the favorites," said Youmans, a well-connected long time Las Vegas bettor. "I'm not betting players at single-digit odds anyway.” I have to throw my own hat in this ring as well as I fancy Brooks Koepka's chances this week. Despite the overwhelming love for a three-time PGA Championship winner, he's nearly impossible to ignore. He's also been a machine at TPC Southwind over the years, which is another course that has Zoysiagrass fairways. The combination of Zoysiagrass fairways and bentgrass greens were present at Bellerive where Koepka won his second PGA in 2018 and are exactly the same pairing we have at Valhalla. Molitor said he is exploring the finishing position markets but does already have a play on another very interesting figure in this week's field. "Xander Schauffele for a top-10 finish is an auto-bet, I suppose," he said. Once again, I am aligned with Molitor as I have both an outright bet and a top-10 finish play on Schauffele. It is hard to give Schauffele a pass on two lost 54-hole leads, last week at the Wells Fargo Championship and back in March at THE PLAYERS Championship. But let's also note, Schauffele didn't necessarily "lose" those championships - rather, he was beaten. He shot a two-under round of 70 on Sunday at THE PLAYERS, only to be tracked down by Scheffler who fired a 64. Last Sunday, he was better than the majority of the field, shooting an even-par 71, but again, and outlier round got the best of him - in this case, a 65 by McIlroy. While the world is doubting Schauffele, I believe it is a good spot to be in the minority and take another shot with the No. 3 ranked player in the world at what I believe is a very fair price (+1400). Stone landed on some long shots to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy this week. "I took Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry at triple-digit prices," said the Texas native. "I also played them for top-20 finishes and I took Straka in a matchup over Alex Noren." Straka is a player I identified in my early handicapping last week and I too grabbed him to win as well as finish top-20. He comes off of an eighth-place finish last week at Quail Hollow Club, was 16th last month at the Masters, and finished seventh at the PGA Championship last year, while being the runner-up at The Open Championship last summer. He's really starting to show that he can handle golf's biggest stages, including the Ryder Cup, where he earned a point for Team Europe last fall, paired with the aforementioned, Lowry. Straka also has a PGA TOUR win on a Jack Nicklaus design (as is Valhalla), winning at PGA National in 2022. Youmans wins the clever line of the day in further explaining his handicap this week. "My longer shots are Justin Thomas, Joaquin Niemann, and Tyrrell Hatton. This is a long course already and it will play even longer with the rain - so look for a 'Louisville Slugger.' Well done. Senior Manager at Mandalay Bay Race and Sportsbook, Tristan Davis, checked in with some of the action he is seeing in other markets at his shop in Las Vegas. "All sharp money on Viktor Hovland to beat Wyndham Clark in a head-to-head matchup. We went from -130 to -145 on Hovland. Weirdly enough, other sharp action on Clark to beat Cam Smith, moving from -120 to -135," said Davis. And then of course, there is Tiger Woods. "At +20000, there is some support still for him but nowhere near what we saw back in April," Davis continued. "A notable market as always, 'Will Tiger Make the Cut.' Classic case of the sharps versus the recreational players. Great two-way battle with the 'NO' winning the handle ever so slightly at -185 versus +140 for 'YES.' Sharps are playing the 'NO' option as they tend to do with the Tiger markets.” I'm in line with what Youmans said about this golf course playing even longer with the rain leading up to this tournament and possibly continuing in spots during the championship. This will also make the four-inch rough even nastier. I played Denny McCarthy over Patrick Reed in a head-to-head matchup along with Will Zalatoris over Dustin Johnson. I'm just not sure Johnson is in form but Reed is not a bomber and will be punished when missing fairways if errant off the tee. Relying on short game to bail you out all week, that was a notion I am willing to bet against.

Golf's second major championship of the year is upon us. The PGA Championship returns to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the fourth time and for the first time in a decade. Mark Brooks won here in a playoff over Kenny Perry in 1996. Tiger Woods won the PGA at Valhalla in year 2000 and Rory McIlroy captured his last major to date, 10 years ago here at Valhalla.

Prop Farm: Valhalla trends, angles on how to bet ‘Superman’ Scottie Scheffler

Update: Thursday, 7:25 a.m. ET: After a 10-minute fog delay, the opening round of the 106th PGA Championship is underway, with a trumpet ceremony leading into Michael Block's opening tee shot at Valhalla. Thursday's forecast looks pleasant overall, with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Temperatures should reach 80F, with winds W-SW, 5-10 mph, and perhaps a passing light shower between 5 and 7 p.m. Thunderstorms could arrive overnight, making for a potentially soggy Friday. Here's the weather forecast for the next three days, as of 6 a.m. Thursday: <ul><li>Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, 90% chance of rain. Low: 62F, High: 72F. Winds: S-SW 10-15 mph. Projected .50 to .75 inches of rainfall.</li>,<li>Saturday:&nbsp;Chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms, 40% chance of rain. Low: 62F, High: 78F. Winds: E-NE 4-8 mph. Projected .20 to .30 inches of rainfall.</li>,<li>Sunday:&nbsp;Partly cloudy and warm, 20% chance of rain. Low: 62F, High: 84F. Winds N-NE, 10-15 mph.</li></ul> Update: Thursday, 7:20 a.m. ET:&nbsp;The start of Thursday's opening round at the 106th PGA Championship has been delayed 10 minutes due to fog. Michael Block will now hit the opening tee shot at 7:25 a.m. ET. Update: Tuesday, 10:40 a.m. ET:&nbsp;Tuesday's practice round has resumed after a brief suspension due to dangerous weather in the area. The total time of delay was 46 minutes; play was suspended at 9:50 a.m. and resumed at 10:36 a.m. Update: Tuesday, 9:50 a.m. ET:&nbsp;Tuesday's practice round at the PGA Championship has been suspended due to potentially dangerous weather in the area. "Please seek shelter immediately," said the official tournament announcement. "The leading edge of the system is potentially dangerous." The current forecast calls for 1/2 to 1 inch of rain across the day, with locally higher amounts. "Storms are not expected to be severe, but could produce gusty winds, small hail and heavy rainfall," wrote the tournament weather forecast issued at 6 a.m. Tuesday. "Showers and storms will decrease in coverage this evening as we lose the heating of the day." Scroll below to see the overall weather outlook for the week as well as a day-by-day forecast. -- LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The weather played a prominent role at the 2014 PGA Championship, the last time the year’s second major was hosted at Valhalla Golf Club. Rory McIlroy won his fourth major championship while racing against darkness after torrential rain flooded the course and caused delayed tee times in the final round. The weather may again play a factor at this week’s PGA Championship, with rain forecasted to arrive at Valhalla as early as Monday evening and remain in the area for several days. A low-pressure system is expected to slowly move across the region Tuesday, bringing scattered showers and thunderstorms through the day. Rainfall could be heavy at times, with up to 3/4 of an inch forecasted. Showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected to linger for most of Wednesday before the system finally moves east. Drier weather returns Thursday before another low-pressure system brings showers and thunderstorms back to the region Friday into Saturday morning. Here's a day-by-day breakdown (through Sunday) of the PGA Championship official weather forecast, as of 6 a.m. Tuesday: <ul><li>Tuesday:&nbsp;Scattered showers and thunderstorms likely, 80% of rain. Low: 61F, High: 73F. Winds: S 10-15mph.</li>,<li>Wednesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, 60% chance of rain. Low: 60F, High: 73F. Winds: NE to WSW, 4-8 mph.</li>,<li>Thursday:&nbsp;Partly cloudy, 20% chance of rain. Low: 56F, High: 78F. Winds: SW, 10-15 mph.</li>,<li>Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, 80% chance of rain. Low: 62F, High: 75F. Winds: SW 10-15 mph.</li>,<li>Saturday:&nbsp;Chance of AM showers, 50% chance of rain. Low: 61F, High: 80F. Winds: NW 10-15 mph.</li>,<li>Sunday:&nbsp;Mostly sunny and warm, 0% chance of rain. Low: 62F, High: 83F. Winds N 6-12 mph.</li></ul>

Update: Thursday, 7:25 a.m. ET: After a 10-minute fog delay, the opening round of the 106th PGA Championship is underway, with a trumpet ceremony leading into Michael Block's opening tee shot at Valhalla.

PGA Championship weather: Round 1 begins after fog delay

Tiger Woods knows he's competitively rusty, compared to the vast majority of this week's PGA Championship field. That doesn't mean he expects any less of himself. Woods, 48, gets underway at 8:14 a.m. ET Thursday for the opening round of the 106th PGA Championship, grouped alongside Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. (A 10-minute fog delay pushed back his tee time from 8:04.) Woods' history echoes throughout the grounds, as his 2000 PGA Championship victory here (outlasting Bob May in a three-hole playoff) marked the third leg of the "Tiger Slam," which he completed at the 2001 Masters. Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open and The Open by a combined 23 shots, before the wily veteran May gave him all he could handle for 75 holes at Valhalla. As has often been the case in a nearly three-decade professional career, though, Woods was the last man standing. Can Woods recapture that magic this week at Valhalla? His body isn't what it once was (he'd be the first to admit) as various injuries and surgeries have taken their toll. Then again, he was within striking distance of the leaders through 36 holes at last month's Masters, where he made the cut with rounds of 73-72 before drifting backward on the weekend. He'll look for a stronger 72-hole effort at this week's PGA, if his body holds up.

Tiger Woods knows he's competitively rusty, compared to the vast majority of this week's PGA Championship field.

2024 PGA Championship Tiger updates: Round 1 scores, highlights and where to watch

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – I haven’t had a sip of Kentucky’s vast array of bourbons … I swear. Despite being made to look the fool not once, but twice, this year while fading Scottie Scheffler publicly, I am going out on a limb again to say he is not the man you should be betting on at the PGA Championship. Before you stop reading because you think I’m nuts let me point out I’m not saying he can’t win … I’m just saying there are enough reasons why you should consider investing elsewhere. I’ve literally just come from the world No. 1’s pre-tournament interview at Valhalla where Scheffler is the +450 favorite. I’ve spoken to the man whose last five TOUR results read 1-1-2-1-1, including the season’s first major at Augusta National, and I am still convinced you should not put your hard-earned on him to win his third major. Let me lay out my reasons. 1. The odds are too short:&nbsp;Scheffler won the Masters at +500 odds but one can make the argument winning the green jacket against a field of 88, especially having already tasted success on the course, is a much easier task than beating 156 at a venue he’s never seen before.As good as he’s been winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters and RBC Heritage in recent weeks Scheffler is still human. And short of Tiger Woods in his absolute prime, anything this short in an outright market should be seen as nothing more than casual bettor bait. The more prudent play if you want to be a Scheffler bettor is to ride the live markets. Pick a number that works for you and hope he hits it at some point. It might be +800, or +1000, or even more before you bite and obviously if he shifts that high, it will be coupled with a slow start or some mistakes. The reality is Scheffler showed at both Bay Hill and Harbour Town that he does not need to be a slick starter to find his way to the top on Sunday. If you do like Scheffler for a hot start, consider the First Round Leader market instead at +1200. “I've been playing pretty good," Scheffler said. "I've had some weeks where my swing didn't feel 100 percent and I was able to make up for it with the putter. Then I had some weeks where maybe I wasn't holing a ton of putts and I was able to make up for it with my ball striking. I feel like I'm in a good head space. "The last couple months it seems like it has felt fairly easy at times. I think, as a professional… that's always what you're striving for, and it's been nice to see some of the benefits of the work that I've put in and see some results on the course, as well." 2. He’s a new father:&nbsp;What does this have to do with his golf… I can hear a few of you already asking the question. Well… frankly… plenty. Scheffler and his wife Meredith had their first child, a son, last week and I welcome him to dad life with open arms and heartfelt congratulations. But if they haven’t already, things are really going to start getting real for Scheffler now. With the distraction of leaving his new boy at home, the chances of the odd mental error on course increase dramatically. Not to mention the lack of focus in practice. For his part, Scheffler feels like his focus is on his preparations, but any dad will tell you, you cannot help but be drawn to thinking elsewhere at least some of the time. “I miss him like crazy. It was not easy to leave the house Monday morning,” Scheffler said. “But I told my son as I was leaving, I was like, I don't want to leave you right now, but I need to. I'm called to do my job to the best of my ability, and I felt like showing up Wednesday night wouldn't really be doing myself a service this week when it comes to playing and competing in the tournament, so I had to show up, especially with the weather forecast, showing up, being prepared and ready to play and being back home as quick as I can.” 3. Coming off a long(er) rest:&nbsp;All of Scheffler’s 10 PGA TOUR wins came either off no rest, one week, or two weeks rest. He has not won, to use a horseracing term since we are in Kentucky, off a long spell. The Texan admitted he would have played THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson had he not been on baby watch but instead has been off competition since winning the RBC Heritage. The competitive juices can be hard to replicate at home, although Scheffler claims he does a good job of it via money games with his friends. “I was able to practice and play plenty at home," Scheffler added. "Obviously, the last week was a bit different with our son coming. But yeah, I would say three weeks is probably a bit of a longer break than I would usually take. “Definitely rested going into this week for sure. I don't really feel like any rust has accumulated. I was able to practice and play a lot at home. I'm able to do stuff at home to simulate tournament golf, especially on the greens, competing and gambling with my buddies, I don't really want to lose to them, either, so I was able to simulate a little bit of competition at home.” 4. Caddie conditions:&nbsp;The other half of the dynamic duo on course for team Scheffler is caddie Ted Scott. While his role is minor compared to Scheffler’s it is an important one all the same. And as it stands, Scott will not be in Louisville for Saturday’s third round at Valhalla. Instead, and I applaud both men loudly for making this happen,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/14/scottie-scheffler-fill-in-caddie-saturday-ted-scott-pga-championship-valhalla">Scott will be flying home to attend his daughters high school graduation</a>, before returning for the final round. Again, I am all for this decision, but it does present another wrinkle from the fine-tuned machine we’ve seen over the last few months. The smallest error can make a huge difference in elite-level golf. “That's something we talked about from the beginning of our relationship was family always comes first, and it's the same thing for me as it is for my caddie. It was a pretty easy decision,” Scheffler said. “He told me at the beginning of this year that that was the date that it was, so I got a backup caddie lined up. One of my buddies is going to carry the bag on Saturday, and then Ted will be back for Sunday's round.” 5. Back-to-back consecutive majors is rare:&nbsp;Scheffler is for sure a special player who could join the list of back-to-back major winners but we haven’t had one since Jordan Spieth won the Masters and U.S. Open back in 2015. Prior to that it was Rory McIlroy with wins at The Open and the PGA Championship in 2014 and before that Padraig Harrington winning The Open and PGA Championship in 2008. 6. Rory McIlroy is on fire:&nbsp;Speaking of McIlroy, he comes into this contest off two straight wins of his own at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and his fourth Wells Fargo Championship. He was also the winner of the last PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2014. Sitting at higher odds of +750, of the two, it is McIlroy who represents better “value”. But much like the advice with Scheffler, I’d be hoping for a slide towards the +1000 mark before taking a more concerted plunge. So there you have it. Send help if Scheffler boat races this field and chalks up another win… but don’t be overly surprised if he doesn’t. For the record, I’m on the&nbsp;McIlroy&nbsp;bandwagon this week while also being intrigued by Golfbet colleague Will Gray’s selection of&nbsp;Collin Morikawa at +2800. The wildcard could well be Chris Breece and Matt DelVecchio’s pick of&nbsp;Ludvig Åberg at +1800.&nbsp;This is a course that should suit his game, but just how much trouble will his knee give him?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – I haven’t had a sip of Kentucky’s vast array of bourbons … I swear.

Benny and the Bets: Twice bitten, NOT shy. The case to fade Scottie Scheffler at PGA Championship

One of the most famous, and valuable, 7-irons in golf might be getting benched for the 2024 PGA Championship. In the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship, PGA Professional Michael Block shook up the golf world by recording an ace on the par-3 15th hole on Sunday at Oak Hill Country Club, while playing alongside Rory McIlroy. Block used a 7-iron to hit the 151-yard shot, but it wasn’t just any 7-iron; it was a TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC from 2014,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.golfwrx.com/714412/pga-club-pro-michael-block-makes-hole-in-one-at-the-2023-pga-championship-using-irons-from-2014/">which was loaded with lead tape</a>. The club garnered so much intrigue that he received multiple money offers, including one for $50K, and multiple requests from museums to display the iron. As Block revealed ahead of the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge a week later, however, the iron wasn’t for sale, because he was going to continue to play with it. Well, it appears the decade-old irons are now, finally, being replaced. On Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Block had a full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons in the bag. Block is the first player of many on the PGA TOUR to bag a set of the mysterious "Proto" irons. Rory McIlroy first&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/equipment-report/2024/04/04/rory-mcilroy-new-never-before-seen-taylormade-proto-4-iron-valero-texas-open-masters">switched into a “Proto” 4-iron at the Valero Texas Open</a>, and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.golfwrx.com/737642/inside-collin-morikawas-recent-golf-ball-driver-3-wood-and-proto-iron-changes/">Collin Morikawa followed suit</a>&nbsp;at the 2024 RBC Heritage. Block isn’t using just the 4-iron, though,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.golfwrx.com/739142/michael-block-witb-2024-may/?utm_source=Front&amp;utm_medium=Featured_Latest&amp;utm_campaign=GolfWRX_OnSite&amp;utm_content=unused">he’s using a full set</a>&nbsp;to go along with a TaylorMade Stealth UDI driving iron. Speaking with GolfWRX.com on Monday at the PGA Championship, Block revealed the full backstory. “I hit a couple super "Proto" irons when I was at the Kingdom (TaylorMade’s fitting facility in Southern California) a couple months ago, and it was a 9-iron that didn’t have any badges or anything on it,” Block said. “I had no idea what it was ... It was very similar to what I was using back then, you know, my old MCs, and very similar from the top. I hit it and absolutely loved it. For me to even think about switching irons from the last 11-12 years is crazy. “I got this set about two weeks ago, and I’m working my way into them. I hit them more solid; it comes off the face more solid. Much higher. I think they’re still slightly too upright for me, so they’re being bent a degree flatter, because they’re going a little too high for me and drawing a little too much. When that starts to happen, I start to drop the club under and compensate too much, so I’m getting them flattened slightly, and I’m going to test them on the range again, and hopefully have them in play on Thursday… “They go further, and they go higher ... that combination is kind of a no-brainer. If I can take a 5-iron from 204 rather than a 4-iron, it’s good on me. It’s going to help me out for sure, especially at a major with the pin locations. Having that height coming in, that descent angle is going to be huge.” With such new irons in the bag, after using the same irons for over a decade, surely you’d think there will be a bit of a learning curve. Block, however, is finding immediate comfort with the new "Proto" irons. “These actually look eerily similar to (my old ones),” Block said. “When I look down, the top line and the offset, which is pretty much all you can see. ... And it’s the exact same shaft, Project X Rifle 6.5. So outside of that, when it comes off, it just feels better than my other set did. I just think that other set was getting the crap beat out of it; I’ve never had them re-grooved, I never re-shafted them, I’ve barely put new grips on them. “It’s like a 40-year-old still driving around in the car they had in high school. That’s exactly what I was doing, and I think it’s time to trade it in.” As for Block’s old irons…where are they now? Did he sell them for $50K? Are they in a museum somewhere, or hanging up on his wall at home?

One of the most famous, and valuable, 7-irons in golf might be getting benched for the 2024 PGA Championship.

Why Michael Block is switching out of his famous irons at PGA Championship

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The wait is over. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will officially play the PGA Championship after his wife Meredith gave birth to the couple’s first child, a son, on May 8. The news was first reported by the Associated Press on Monday afternoon. Scheffler shared a baby photo on Instagram on Monday evening. Scheffler was in good spirits Monday at Valhalla Golf Club, freely sharing laughs during a practice session in advance of the season's second major. He "received congratulations at every turn, none related to any of his victories," reported the AP. Scheffler was listed in the PGA Championship field, but his status was uncertain until he arrived at the Louisville, Kentucky venue on Monday. He has won four of his previous five starts, and his wife was visibly pregnant while attending the first two of those wins, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS in March. She was home in Dallas because of the approaching due date when Scheffler won the Masters and RBC Heritage last month. Scheffler has not competed since winning the RBC Heritage on April 22, meaning he arrived at Valhalla after three weeks away from competitive golf. Scheffler’s return to competition marks the resumption of his dominant season. He is No. 1 by a wide margin in both the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking. No one else has won multiple PGA TOUR titles this season, and Scheffler’s four wins have all come in the biggest events thus far this year. In addition to his Masters victory, he successfully defended his PLAYERS title and won two Signature Events (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, RBC Heritage). In March, Scheffler became the first player to win back-to-back titles at TPC Sawgrass. Then he won his second Masters, joining Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win multiple Masters and PLAYERS. Scheffler also became the fourth-youngest player to win multiple Masters, trailing only Woods, Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros. Scheffler also won the Masters in 2022. His RBC Heritage win made him the first player since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to win at Harbour Town the week after winning the Masters. Scheffler said at Augusta National that plans were in place for him to leave immediately if Meredith went into labor. They were not needed, however, and Scheffler was able to play the following week in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

The wait is over. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will officially play the PGA Championship after his wife Meredith gave birth to the couple’s first child, a son, on May 8.

Scottie Scheffler, wife Meredith welcome first child ahead of PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy won four majors in four years – 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship and PGA Championship. But there’s winning, and then there’s winning. He won the first two by eight shots apiece, and the second two in a span of three weeks. “This is Rory’s time,” The Guardian declared. “The dawning of a new era.” All of which begs the question of whether that era is dead or merely down for a long nap. Adding intrigue: On Sunday,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/05/12/rory-mcilroy-is-back-after-dominant-wells-fargo-championship-performance-quail-hollow">McIlroy shot a final-round 65, including a meaningless double-bogey on 18, to win the Wells Fargo Championship</a>&nbsp;by five over Xander Schauffele. McIlroy now heads into the PGA Championship at Valhalla with two victories in his last two starts – just as he did at the 2014 PGA at Valhalla, which is still his most recent major victory. “Just need to try to replicate whatever I did in 2014, just try to do that all over again,” he said after going 8-under in a span of eight holes (Nos. 8-15) to pull away at Quail Hollow on Sunday. “Yeah, I'm feeling really good with my game. “I need to stay in my own little world next week and not get too far ahead of myself,” he added, “but if you can step on to the first tee at Valhalla on Thursday and feel as good about my game as I did today, I think I'll have a good chance.” McIlroy has 20 major championship top 10s over the last decade (the most in golf, by three) but no wins. Where has he gone wrong? As he prepares for this week’s PGA Championship, the punditry will turn up the volume on that question, comparing him to his 2014 self. Back then, his 281-yard 3-wood to 7 feet and subsequent eagle at the 10th hole sparked a furious comeback. (He later said he started his second shot 15 yards left of his intended line and got lucky.) With a two-stroke lead and in fading light, McIlroy gave no high-fives on the way to the 18th tee, where he watched Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson in the group ahead tee off, then arranged for them to move off to the side once they were several paces down the fairway to allow McIlroy and Bernd Wiesberger to drive. As Nick Faldo noted on CBS, McIlroy was playing into the group ahead while also playing through the world of golf. It was McIlroy’s third win in as many starts – and his second straight major. (He had won The Open Championship three weeks earlier.) All of a sudden, he had joined Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win four majors before turning 26. Steeped in the game’s history, McIlroy marveled at that, as well as being tied with Ernie Els and Raymond Floyd at four majors, one behind Seve Ballesteros and two behind Europe’s all-time leader, Faldo. Confoundingly, that’s where McIlroy remains. <h3>Looking for his edge</h3> Rory McIlroy is too nice to win majors. If there’s a through line to the criticism of this generational talent, that would be it. Aggression, killer instinct, edge – McIlroy hasn’t always loved these terms. Asked last summer about his “ruthlessness” at Valhalla in 2014, he replied: “I find being that way pretty exhausting in life in general, to be that ruthless and that – it's not as if I can't get into that mode, but I don't feel like I need to be that way to be successful on the golf course.” And yet, by the time he sat down with PGATOUR.COM at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard earlier this season, McIlroy was rethinking that. “Especially Valhalla, there was like a killer instinct there,” he said, “that I've maybe, you know, if I've been lacking … that I've been trying to tap into over the past couple of years.” He seemed to be tapping it when asked last week about the pileup at the last at the 2014 PGA. “Yeah, I'd say I'm a pretty, you know, non-confrontational person,” McIlroy said at the Wells Fargo last week. “I'm not a huge fan of conflict, but when push comes to shove, I will (engage). That was one of those times when I needed to sort of assert my will on a situation.” Whether he was pushy or assertive, he was golf’s new&nbsp;IT&nbsp;player, and his scoring average in the majors from 2007 through 2014, 71.25, was second only to Woods (71.21). The story of McIlroy in the majors since then, however, has been cover-your-eyes stuff. He has tried playing less, playing more, stoicism, long hair, short hair, being on the PGA TOUR Policy Board, and not being on it. He has watched himself winning majors and visualized his name atop leaderboards, as at the 2022 Open Championship. “I'm only human,” he said after finishing third at that ’22 Open at St. Andrews, where he became the only player to hold the 54-hole lead at a major, hit every green in regulation in the final round, and not win. “I'm not a robot. Of course, you think about it, and you envision it, and you want to envision it.” McIlroy has tried minimizing the stakes, reminding that it’s just golf. Conversely, he has allowed himself to vent, as he did after finishing T7 at last year’s PGA. There, in the locker room at Oak Hill, he said he lacked the firepower to pull away from fields and was considering an overhaul, all of it captured in the Netflix docuseries “Full Swing.” When Brooks Koepka won, a frustrated McIlroy no longer had the most majors among his peers. Meanwhile, he has won everything else&nbsp;but&nbsp;a major. The only three-time FedExCup champion, he’s a 26-time TOUR winner, a five-time Race to Dubai winner (DP World Tour No. 1) and a 17-time winner on the DP World Tour. He has won THE PLAYERS Championship, the Ryder Cup and been world No. 1. (He’s now No. 2, well back of Scottie Scheffler.) Last month, McIlroy returned to a simpler and more joyful time as he and Shane Lowry played the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where they ate grilled oysters on the course, sampled the NOLA restaurant scene, won the tournament, wore beads, drank beer and sang karaoke. “I think it freed me up a little bit,” McIlroy said before the Wells Fargo began. He proved as much in Charlotte, North Carolina, especially with his 65 on Sunday. It was the best round of the day, even with the double at the last, and he won for a record fourth time at Quail Hollow. If he lacks any firepower, you could have fooled the runner-up. “I mean, he played unbelievable,” Schauffele said of McIlroy. “Looked up at the board and I'm like dang, he's 6 under through six on the back nine.” <h3>Small margins</h3> McIlroy took just 25 putts in the final round at the Wells Fargo, so it would be easy to forget the role putting has played throughout his major drought. In his toughest losses, McIlroy has struggled on the greens. At the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews, where he visualized his name atop the big, yellow leaderboard across from his hotel room, he took a staggering 36 putts in the final round, shot 70, and went from first to third. “I hit a good putt on 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,” McIlroy said. “I was hitting good putts.” (A contrarian might argue that a good putt is one that goes in.) History repeated itself at last summer’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, where McIlroy took 34 putts, shot a final-round 70, and finished second to Wyndham Clark by one. As he walked off the course, McIlroy called it a carbon copy of the ’22 Open. “When I do finally win this next major, it's going to be really, really sweet,” he said. “I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship.” Statistically, his average putts per round show improvement in three of the four majors over his last 35 starts (since 2015) compared to his first 25 starts. But he has not putted well&nbsp;at the right time. In his major championship career, McIlroy has recorded 34 or more putts in four final rounds – once during his first 25 starts through 2014, and three times since September of 2020. His short irons and wedges have come under heavier scrutiny, and his ghastliest miss at L.A.C.C. came with a wedge from the middle of the fairway at the 612-yard, par-5 14th hole, where he dumped his third shot into the rough short of the green. Although he got embedded-ball relief, McIlroy couldn’t get up and down, missing a 9-foot par putt. He said he had misjudged the wind, but it was a terrible mistake, and not entirely atypical of him. McIlroy can look befuddled with his short irons, most notably on approaches from 75-100 yards, where he was 163rd on TOUR last season, 95th in 2022, 141st in ’21. As for his driving, always the strength of his game, since his first 25 starts in the majors he has averaged one fewer fairway hit per round in the majors from 2015 to today. Does it matter? When trying to shave what amounts to a half a stroke per round, everything matters. What’s more, McIlroy averaged 70.2 in his opening rounds over his first 25 major championship starts (through 2014) but has dipped to 71.5 over his last 35 starts, more than a stroke off his previous pace. Again, everything matters; it’s hard to win majors from behind. Barely 35, McIlroy is still young. And dry spells between majors are not unprecedented; Woods broke an 11-year drought at the 2019 Masters. But one of these weeks when everything looks ripe for McIlroy to break the streak – like this week – he’s going to have to break it. Career-defining moments come infrequently, and he will need to reassert himself when they do. He’ll need to find his killer instinct, play with joy, and inhabit that which he crooned in NOLA – "Don’t Stop Believin’"&nbsp;– if he wants to party like it’s 2014 at Valhalla this Sunday. “I mean, I've been sort of banging this drum for the last few years, but I'm a way better player now than I was back then,” he said Sunday night. “I haven't had the major record to back that up, but I've had the wins, I've done everything else there is to do in the game since 2014.

PGA Championship returns to Valhalla, where he last won a major in 2014

For Rory McIlroy, it's been a decade of glory and anguish

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship will see a showdown between two of the top five players in the world. It’s the sort of scenario that the Signature Events were made for. But the two players who have pulled away from the pack also will be seeking much-needed wins. Xander Schauffele, who will start Sunday with a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, is seeking his first PGA TOUR victory in nearly two years. His closest pursuer also hasn’t won an individual title on U.S. soil since 2022. There’s a good chance they won’t have to worry about anyone else. McIlroy is the only player within three shots of Schauffele. The two will play in the final group for the second consecutive day. Sungjae Im is in third place, four shots behind Schauffele, and Sepp Straka is another stroke back. Both Schauffele and McIlroy are seeing the benefits of recent swing changes as they pursue another PGA TOUR title. Schauffele changed coaches to Chris Como at the end of 2023 and has been the third-best player on TOUR this year, trailing only Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark in Strokes Gained: Total. Schauffele has seven top-10 finishes in 11 starts this season. Unlike the other two, though, Schauffele is still seeking his first win of 2024. He was winless in 2023 after winning a career-high three times the year prior. To win Sunday, Schauffele will need to beat the player who has become synonymous with this place. McIlroy has won three times at Quail Hollow and twice set the course record here. "I'm going to have to earn it tomorrow,” Schauffele said. “I've got Rory breathing down my neck.” McIlroy has been victorious twice this year. He teamed with Shane Lowry&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2024/04/28/rory-mcilroy-shane-lowry--win-zurich-classic-new-orleans-chad-ramey-martin-trainer-playoff-tpc-louisiana-stanley">to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans two weeks ago</a>, a victory that rejuvenated both players and helped McIlroy find the freedom that leads to his best golf. McIlroy also won his fourth Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour in January. That was his fourth win in that event, and now he is trying to win the Wells Fargo for a fourth time. McIlroy struggled between those wins, though. He had five consecutive PGA TOUR finishes outside the top 20, a stretch that preceded McIlroy’s pilgrimage to see Butch Harmon in Las Vegas. McIlroy finished third at the Valero Texas Open but again was outside the top 20 at both the Masters (T22) and RBC Heritage (T33). The lesson with Harmon focused on McIlroy’s iron play. McIlroy said he found a key to his driving during his win in New Orleans, and it has carried over this week. His familiarity with Quail Hollow also helps him swing freely. “Every time I hit a good tee shot, the more confidence I get,” McIlroy said, “and then the more I want to just keep hitting it.” He leads the field in SG: Off-the-Tee (+5.39) and Driving Distance. His average driving distance on all tee shots this week is 325 yards, 10 yards longer than the No. 2 player in that stat. He hit 10 tee shots over 320 yards Saturday, including five tee shots over 340 yards. McIlroy also has excelled with his iron play this week, ranking third in SG: Approach-the-Green. He has been bogey-free over the past 36 holes. “I've holed out pretty well for the most part inside 6 feet, and then I think because I know this golf course so well, I've missed it in the right spots when I have missed the green,” McIlroy said. “To play two rounds in a row on this golf course in these conditions bogey-free is a bit of a feather in my cap, I'm pretty proud of that.” A victory Sunday would be McIlroy’s first individual PGA TOUR title since the Genesis Scottish Open last July. His previous PGA TOUR victory before that was THE CJ CUP in South Carolina in the fall of 2022. Schauffele preceded McIlroy with a win at the Scottish Open; his victory at Renaissance Club in 2022 is his most recent PGA TOUR win. This will be the second consecutive year that Schauffele will play in the Wells Fargo’s final group. He entered last year’s final round two shots behind Clark, shooting 70 to finish four back. Quail Hollow’s greens were resurfaced after last year’s tournament, and the new putting surfaces are still firm despite rains earlier in the week. On Saturday, players averaged nearly two strokes over par (72.8) on the par-71 course. Like McIlroy, Schauffele has separated himself from the field with his ball-striking. He is third in SG: Off-the-Tee and second in SG: Approach-the-Green. Schauffele also has hit the most greens this week despite hitting just 10 on Saturday. He only made one bogey in the third round, however. Schauffele has gained clubhead speed since he started working with Como but admitted earlier this week that he needs to resist the temptation to swing too hard because it messes up his transition. That can be difficult to do when playing with McIlroy, however. He hit several tee shots 50 yards past Schauffele on Saturday. “I think I just like walking ahead of guys in general,” said McIlroy, “like them to be looking at my back.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship will see a showdown between two of the top five players in the world. It’s the sort of scenario that the Signature Events were made for.

Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele set for Sunday showdown at Wells Fargo Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Xander Schauffele has been a mainstay near the top of the leaderboard most of the year. Now he’s hoping to close the door. Schauffele shot a 4-under 67 on Friday after opening with a 64, leaving him at 11-under 131 and four shots ahead of Rory McIlroy and Jason Day heading into the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship. Taylor Moore and Sungjae Im were five strokes back at 6-under. The 30-year-old Schauffele has seven top-10 finishes this season, but no wins. He’s looking to snap a winless streak that dates to July 2022 at the Genesis Scottish Open. “I’ve had a few knocks on the door and I just tell myself to keep knocking,” Schauffele said. Schauffele said the drought is something he’s always thinking about, but added that the toughest part is just to stay in the present. “You just have to recognize the situation you are in, and realize that you are playing some good golf and just get out of your own way at times,” Schauffele said. Schauffele’s was locked in most of the day. He hit 15 greens and his only hiccup came when he made bogey on the 18th hole while he was trying to rush to finish his round and beat a storm that would suspend play for about an hour. Play eventually did resume, but Schauffele feared he would have to get up early to play a shot or two and then wait several hours to play his third round on Saturday. “It’s stupid to say, but I’d rather take the five at this point after hitting such a bad chip versus waking up super early and having to reset your day,” Schauffele said. “It’s all good.” McIlroy entered the day three shots behind Schauffele, but managed to lose ground despite not making a bogey. McIlroy finished with a 68. He had several opportunities to put the pressure on Schauffele but missed a few makeable putts. Still, the star from Northern Ireland walked away feeling good about his play. “Felt like I probably could have squeezed a couple more out of the round, but anytime you can go around this golf course bogey free it’s always going to be a decent day,” said McIlroy, who teamed with Shane Lowry to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans two weeks ago. The world’s No. 2-ranked player has had some spectacular weekend performances before at Quail Hollow Club, including a club-record 61 in 2015. He closed with a 62 in 2010 to win his first PGA TOUR title. He said he will lean on those as he sets his sights on catching Schauffele. “Anytime you’re playing a golf course where you’ve shot some really low scores, you know that it’s out there,” McIlroy said. “The golf course is playing a lot differently this week than it played in 2010 and 2015, but I know if I get it going around here I can make some birdies and chase him down.” McIlroy is the only three-time winner of the event, and said the course simply suits his game well because it allows him to take advantage of his distance off the tee. “I’ve had so many good memories here, I just feel positive vibes,” McIlroy said. “I feel good about myself when I’m walking around here.” Day also had a 67. The Australian has struggled of late, with only one top-25 finish in his last six events. “I’ve had a run over the last month and a half, two months where it’s just been kind of poor play, poor hitting,” Day said. “I’ve been losing a ton of strokes to the field approach to green, not necessarily on the driver. It’s weird, it’s kind of strange to drive it decently well and to hit it poor coming into the greens.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Xander Schauffele has been a mainstay near the top of the leaderboard most of the year. Now he’s hoping to close the door.

Xander Schauffele shoots 67, leads by four over Rory McIlroy, Jason Day at Wells Fargo Championship

After backing up a strong start with an equally solid performance, it’s now Xander Schauffele vs. the field at the Wells Fargo Championship. An opening 64 gave Schauffele a three-shot lead, and he kept his foot on the gas in the second round at the Quail Hollow Club. Through 36 holes, Schauffele has only made two bogeys (No. 18 both days), and at 11-under, he sits four shots clear of former Wells Fargo winners Rory McIlroy and Jason Day. After opening at +1000 at BetMGM Sportsbook, Schauffele is now listed at less than even money to take home the title that narrowly got away from him in the Queen City last year. Updated odds to win Wells Fargo Championship (via BetMGM Sportsbook): <ul><li>-135:&nbsp;Xander Schauffele (11-under)</li>,<li>+400:&nbsp;Rory McIlroy (7-under)</li>,<li>+1400:&nbsp;Jason Day (7-under)</li>,<li>+2000:&nbsp;Sungjae Im (6-under)</li>,<li>+2200:&nbsp;Collin Morikawa (5-under)</li>,<li>+2500:&nbsp;Byeong-Hun An (4-under)</li>,<li>+3000:&nbsp;Taylor Moore (6-under)</li>,<li>+4000:&nbsp;Sahith Theegala (4-under)</li></ul> Schauffele is undeniably in the driver’s seat, but this is a course where big shifts in the leaderboard are never far away. Here’s a look at how I’m viewing the standings at the halfway point in search of line value: <h3>Draws</h3> Jason Day (+1400) No, this article is not written by Ben Everill. But I’m bullish on the Aussie at this point, considering his affinity for the course and position on the leaderboard – combined with this price. Yes, Schauffele stands a great chance to win. But should he falter, I love the prospect of getting Day at more than triple the price of McIlroy when they both head into the weekend at 7-under and T2. Day won here back in 2018 and also contended at the 2017 PGA Championship during the height of his powers, and when his game is firing on all cylinders it’s the sort of place where he should have great success. Day leads the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and sits fourth in SG: Tee-to-Green. He’ll need to keep the driver in line, as he lost strokes off the tee during Friday’s 3-under 68. But he certainly won’t blink at an opportunity to add another trophy to his collection should Schauffele open the door. Taylor Moore (+3000) On a board filled with household names, perhaps Moore is being offered at a discount despite his 36-hole position. Already a winner on TOUR at last year’s Valspar Championship, Moore has put up some solid results in the year-plus since that include a runner-up finish at the Texas Children's Houston Open. Moore has been solid in nearly every aspect at the halfway point, highlighted by a field-best, 12-of-15 scrambling performance. He’s also fifth this week in SG: Putting while hitting it long enough to handle the burly par 4s at Quail Hollow. Moore was trading in the +9000 range before the tournament began, but this is still an attractive price given his leaderboard position and the fact that there are only three players above him in the standings. <h3>Fades</h3> Xander Schauffele (-135) Can’t back the price, even if Schauffele is in the driver’s seat. This one got away over the weekend a year ago, as he played with eventual champion Wyndham Clark in each of the final two rounds. So there’s definitely a revenge factor in play, on top of the fact that Schauffele has now gone nearly two full years since his most recent victory. But it’s hard to close on TOUR, with Ben Kohles’ collapse last week in Dallas just the latest example. There are also two trends going against Schauffele at this stage: He’s just 1-for-5 in converting 36-hole leads in his career, with the lone victory coming at the 2022 Travelers Championship. He’s also now the fourth player to lead by at least four shots at the halfway point this season, but only one (Akshay Bhatia at the Valero Texas Open) turned that into a victory: Patrick Cantlay coughed up a five-shot lead at Riviera, while Wyndham Clark couldn’t close out THE PLAYERS despite leading by four at this stage. It's all to say that if you’re sitting on a Schauffele +1000 ticket from before the tournament began, you have reason to feel good. He’ll win a good percentage of permutations from here. But there are too many variables in play, and too many top-tier names trying to chase him down, to consider laying a price like -135 with two rounds to play. Sungjae Im (+2000)

After backing up a strong start with an equally solid performance, it’s now Xander Schauffele vs. the field at the Wells Fargo Championship.

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