pga tour championship a major

Is The PGA Championship A Major?

The PGA Championship has been with us for over a century, but is it an official Major? Here, we take a look

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When it comes to the men's tournament schedule, there are four events that players have a particular eye on, with Major championships often defining careers of the greats.

We have the Masters, US Open and Open Championship, with the final one being the PGA Championship . Established in 1916, it brings the world's elite together, as well as multiple PGA Professionals, with 72 holes deciding the fate of the winner.

Rodman Wanamaker put up $2,500 of his own money for the prize fund, and ordered a silver cup to be played for, hence the name Wanamaker Trophy

Originally, the tournament was a match play format but, in November 1957, a meeting occurred when it was decided that the tournament would change to the stroke play format that we see today - 72 holes from Thursday to Sunday. The changes were introduced in 1958.

Throughout its history, it has seen multiple changes in dates, with the event taking place in July, as well as August but, in 2019, it was switched to May, where it has remained ever since. Along with the different dates, like other Majors except the Masters, it takes place in different venues every year, with most recent being Valhalla in 2024.

There are a number of ways to qualify , with the various ways listed below.

• A former winner of the PGA Championship
• A winner of one of the last five US Opens
• A winner of one of the last five Masters
• A winner of one of the last five Open Championships
• A winner of one of the last three Players Championships
• The most recent Senior PGA Champion
• One of the players to finish in the top 15 at last year's tournament, including ties
• In the top 70 of the PGA Championship Points standings
• One of the the top 20 finishers in the PGA Professional Championship
• A winner of a PGA Tour-approved tournament since the last PGA Championship
• One of the 2020 United States and European Ryder Cup team players (must be ranked inside world's top 100)
• Additional players can also be invited, even if they don't qualify under the above exemptions

Koepka claimed the PGA Championship in 2023

Unlike the women's game, which has five , the men have just four Major championships, with the fifth Major often considered to be The Players Championship. 

As the PGA Tour's flagship event, it attracts many of the world's best male golfers to compete for a prize purse which has exceeded $20 million over the past few years and has been around since the mid '70s. However, although it has a bumper field, it is not considered an official Major championship, like the PGA Championship.

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Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.

Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.

Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°

Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°

Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

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These players made a major championship their only pga tour win, share this article.

Will Zalatoris is one of the many young talents on the PGA Tour. He’s one of the best iron players in the game, has some power off the tee, and understands when to be aggressive and when to lay off.

But, he’s still searching for his first PGA Tour win.

He’s played well in major championships so far in his brief career, including a runner-up finish to Hideki Matsuyama at the 2020 Masters and after a first-round 66, he’s in the hunt at the 2022 PGA Championship.

So, that got us thinking, who are the golfers whose only win came in a major championship?

To the answer to this question, see this list below, which covers the last 75 years.

PGA:   How to watch  |  ESPN+ streaming  |  Yardage book

Orville Moody, 1969 U.S. Open

Orville Moody holds the U.S. Open Championship trophy on June 16, 1969. (Photo: Associated Press)

Paul Lawrie, 1999 Open Championship

Paul Lawrie kisses the Claret Jug after winning the 128th British Open Championship in 1999, defeating Jean van de Velde and Justin Leonard in a playoff. (Photo: Patrick Hertzog/AFP via Getty Images)

Shaun Micheel, 2003 PGA Championship

Shaun Micheel holds the trophy after winning the 85th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club on August 17, 2003 in Rochester, New York. (Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Michael Campbell, 2005 U.S. Open

Michael Campbell walks up the 18th fairway during the final round of the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. (Photo: S. Badz/Getty Images)

Louis Oosthuizen, 2010 Open Championship

Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen poses with the Claret Jug after winning the 2010 Open Championship in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Danny Willett, 2016 Masters

Danny Willett celebrates in the green jacket after winning the 2016 The Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)

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Schauffele Captures First Major In Wire-To-Wire Victory At Valhalla

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Collin Morikawa wins the PGA Championship for first major title

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Collin Morikawa celebrates with caddie Jonathan Jakovac at TPC Harding Park.

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Collin Morikawa is no longer a future star. 

He is a star. Right now. 

Morikawa shot a six-under 64 on Sunday at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco to win the PGA Championship by two shots over Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson. It is the 23-year-old Morikawa’s first victory in a major championship, and third victory overall, since turning pro just over a year ago. He is the ninth player all-time to win the PGA Championship in his debut. 

Two shots won Morikawa the title. 

Tied for the lead at 10 under with seven other players while playing the par-4 14th hole, Morikawa had hit his approach shot short – then chipped in from about 54 feet to move to 11 under alone. 

Two holes later, Morikawa sealed it. On the 294-yard, par-4 16th, Morikawa drove the green, his ball taking five hops before nestling about 7 feet away. He would roll in the putt to move to 13 under and take a two-shot lead. 

From there, he would hang on. He parred the 17th. On 18, he hit his drive into the middle of the fairway and his approach just over the flag, then two-putted for par. 

Casey shot a four-under 66 to finish two shots back. Finishing three shots back were Scottie Scheffler, Matthew Wolff, Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau.

Two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka struggled. He made six bogeys, shot a 74 and finished 10 shots back.  

Three takeaways

Collin Morikawa has cemented himself as one of golf’s biggest stars. He’s 23. He’s just getting started. 

Bryson DeChambeau added weight in order to add distance – in order to add himself to the top of leaderboards in major championships. He did that this week. 

Brooks Koepka did not win. It ends his two-year reign. But he had struggled with both his play and his body all year. The fact that he contended all tournament long should not go unnoticed. 

“It’s amazing. It’s been a life goal, obviously as a little kid, kind of watching everyone grow up, all these professionals, and this is always what I’ve wanted to do. I felt very comfortable from the start. As an amateur, junior golfer, turning professional last year, but to finally close it off and come out here in San Francisco, pretty much my second home where I spent the last four years, is pretty special.” – Colin Morikawa

How it happened 

As the leader in a major with all the pressure, Collin Morikawa dials up this drive? Unreal. pic.twitter.com/dy7VUdCwAc — Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) August 10, 2020

– Entering the round, Dustin Johnson was at nine under and led by one shot over Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Champ, and by two shots over Collin Morikawa, Paul Casey and Brooks Koepka. 

— Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau, playing together, birdie their first two holes to move to eight under. 

– Scottie Scheffler birdies the 1st to move to nine under and tie Dustin Johnson. 

— Brooks Koepka, after his approach shot hit the top of a tree, bogeys the 2nd to fall to six under. 

– Dustin Johnson birdies the 1st on a 5-foot putt to move to 10 under. He leads by one shot over Scottie Scheffler; two shots over Cameron Champ, Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau; and three shots over Collin Morikawa, Paul Casey, Xander Schauffele, Jason Day and Daniel Berger.  

– Bryson DeChambeau birdies 4 to pull to nine under. 

– Dustin Johnson misses an 8-foot putt and bogeys the 3rd hole. Three players are tied for the lead at nine under – Johnson, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. Four players are one shot back at eight under – Tony Finau, Paul Casey, Cameron Champ and Collin Morikawa. Three players are two shots back at seven under – Daniel Berger, Jason Day and Justin Rose. 

– Cameron Champ birdies the 4th hole. Four players are tied for the lead at nine under – Champ, Dustin Johnson, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. Three players are one shot back at eight under – Tony Finau, Paul Casey and Collin Morikawa. Three players are two shots back at seven under – Daniel Berger, Jason Day and Justin Rose. 

– Paul Casey birdies the 5th hole. Five players are tied for the lead at nine under – Casey, Cameron Champ, Dustin Johnson, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. Two players are one shot back at eight under – Tony Finau and Collin Morikawa. Three players are two shots back at seven under – Daniel Berger, Jason Day and Justin Rose. 

Collin Morikawa birdies the 4th hole. Six players are tied for the lead at nine under – Morikawa, Paul Casey, Cameron Champ, Dustin Johnson, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. One player is one shot back at eight under – Tony Finau. Three players are two shots back at seven under – Daniel Berger, Jason Day and Justin Rose.

– Dustin Johnson birdies the 4th off a putt from the fringe to move to 10 under. Five players are one stroke back at nine under – Morikawa, Paul Casey, Cameron Champ, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. One player is two shots back at seven under – Tony Finau. Six players are three shots back at seven under – Haotong Li, Xander Schauffele, Matthew Wolff, Daniel Berger, Jason Day and Justin Rose. 

– Matthew Wollf eagles the 10th to pull to nine under. He had birdied 7, 8 and 9.  

– Bryson DeChambeau birdies the 7th hole after a putt off the fringe to pull into a share of the lead with Dustin Johnson at 10 under. Five players are one stroke back at nine under – Collin, Morikawa, Paul Casey, Cameron Champ, Scottie Scheffler and Matthew Wolff. One player is two shots back at eight under – Tony Finau. Five players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Haotong Li, Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim, Jason Day and Justin Rose. Brooks Koepka is among those at six under. 

– Cameron Champ drops a 57-foot putt on the 6th to pull into a share of the lead at 10 under with Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson. Four players are one stroke back at nine under – Collin Morikawa, Paul Casey, Scottie Scheffler and Matthew Wolff. One player is two shots back at eight under – Tony Finau. Five players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Haotong Li, Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim, Jason Day and Justin Rose. Brooks Koepka is among those at six under. 

– Bryson DeChambeau, after hitting a chip to the green fat, bogies the 8th hole to fall out of the lead. He’s at nine under. 

– Bryson DeChambeau bogeys the 8th, his second straight bogey, to fall to eight under. 

– Cameron Champ drops a 20-foot putt for par on the 8th to stay tied for the lead. 

– Dustin Johnson rolls in a 10-footer for par on the 8th hole to stay tied for the lead. 

– Jason Day drops a 40-footer on 11 to move to nine under. 

– Tony Finau birdies the 10th hole to move to nine under. 

– Matthew Wolff bogeys the 14th hole after missing a 5-footer for par, and he is eight under. It is his third straight makeable putt that he missed. 

– Cameron Champ double-bogeys the 9th to fall out of the lead, and he is now eight under. Dustin Johnson leads at 10 under. Five players are one stroke back at nine under – Jason Day, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Paul Casey and Scottie Scheffler. Five players are two shots back at eight under – Champ, Bryson DeChambeau, Haotong Li, Matthew Wolff and Justin Rose. Four players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm, Joel Dahmen and Si Woo Kim. Brooks Koepka is 3-under after bogeying 7, 8 and 9. 

– Paul Casey birdies the 10th to pull into a share of the lead with Dustin Johnson. Four players are one stroke back at nine under – Jason Day, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler. Five players are two shots back at eight under – Champ, Bryson DeChambeau, Haotong Li, Matthew Wolff and Justin Rose. Four players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm, Joel Dahmen and Si Woo Kim. Brooks Koepka is three under after bogeying 7, 8 and 9. 

– Collin Morikawa birdies the 10th to move to 10 under with Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey. Three players are one stroke back at nine under – Jason Day, Tony Finau and Scottie Scheffler. Five players are two shots back at eight under – Champ, Bryson DeChambeau, Haotong Li, Matthew Wolff and Justin Rose. Four players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm, Joel Dahmen and Si Woo Kim. Brooks Koepka is three under after bogeying 7, 8 and 9. 

– Cameron Champ birdies the 10th to move to nine under. 

– Matthew Wolff birdies 16 to move to nine under. 

– Scottie Scheffler birdies the 10th to move into a share of the lead with Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Paul Casey. Three players are one stroke back at nine under – Matthew Wolff, Jason Day and Cameron Champ. Five players are two shots back at eight under – Bryson DeChambeau, Haotong Li, Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim and Tony Finau. Three players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm and Joel Dahmen. 

– Tony Finau birdies the 13th to move to nine under. 

– Jason Day birdies the 14th to move to 10 under and a share of the lead with Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Paul Casey. Two players are one stroke back at nine under – Matthew Wolff and Cameron Champ. Five players are two shots back at eight under – Bryson DeChambeau, Haotong Li, Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim and Tony Finau. Three players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm and Joel Dahmen. 

– Paul Casey falls out of the lead after a bogey on 13th. Four players are now tied for the lead at 10 under. 

– Matthew Wolff birdies the 18th to move to 10 under and a share of the lead. Five players are tied for the lead – Wolff, Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Jason Day. Two players are one stroke back at nine under – Paul Casey and Tony Finau. Five players are two shots back at eight under – Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Champ. Four players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm Joel Dahmen and Daniel Berger.

– Tony Finau birdies the 14th hole to move to 10 under and a share of the lead. Six players are tied for the lead – Finau, Matthew Wolff, Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Jason Day. One player is one stroke back at nine under – Paul Casey. Five players are two shots back at eight under – Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Champ. Four players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm Joel Dahmen and Daniel Berger.  

– Bryson DeChambeau birdies the 14th to move to nine under. 

– Paul Casey birdies the 14th to move to 10 under and a share of the lead. Seven players are tied for the lead – Casey, Tony Finau, Matthew Wolff, Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Jason Day. One player is one stroke back at nine under – Bryson DeChambeau. Three players are two shots back at eight under – Xander Schauffele, Cameron Champ and Joel Dahmen. Four players are three shots back at seven under – Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm, Si Woo Kim, Daniel Berger and Justin Rose.  

– Collin Morikawa chips in from off the green on the 14th hole to move to 11 under alone. Six players are one shot back – Paul Casey, Tony Finau, Matthew Wolff, Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day. One player is two strokes back at nine under – Bryson DeChambeau. Four players are three shots back at eight under – Xander Schauffele, Cameron Champ, Joel Dahmen and Justin Rose. 

– Scott Scheffler bogeys the 13th. 

– Bryson DeChambeau birdies the 16th to move to 10 under. 

– Dustin Johnson bogeys the 14th to fall to nine under. 

– Paul Casey birdies the 16th to move to 11 under and a share of the lead with Collin Morikawa. Five players are one shot back – Matthew Wolff, Jason Day, Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau. Three players are two strokes back at eight under – Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose. Three players are three shots back at eight under – Xander Schauffele and Joel Dahmen. 

– Collin Morikawa drives the green on the par-4 16th hole. It takes five hopes and rolls to about 7 feet away.  

– Collin Morikawa eagles the 16th to move to 13 under and grab a two-shot lead. One player is two shots back – Paul Casey. Five players are three shots back – Matthew Wolff, Jason Day, Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau. Three players are four strokes back at nine under – Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose. 

– Collin Morikawa pars the 17th. 

– Dustin Johnson chips in on the 16th to move to 10 under. 

– On the 18th, Collin Morikawa hits his drive into the fairway, hit his approach just over the flag and two-putted for par.

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Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at [email protected].

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2021 PGA Championship live updates: Round 1 leaderboard, tee times, scores, TV coverage, news from Kiawah Island

The second major of the 2021 PGA Tour season is here, with play starting at 7 a.m. Thursday.

All the game's heavyweights are at Kiawah Island, from world No. 1 Dustin Johnson to Justin Thomas to Jordan Spieth to Rory McIlroy, who won the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah.

The big story is the course so far, and our Brendan Quinn has an interesting story after walking 18 holes Tuesday during the practice round about how this place will test the world's best golfers.

Want some champion predictions? We have that.

Need last-minute gambling/picks advice? Yep, we have that too.

We also have tee times and featured group listings.

We'll be here all day with updates and analysis from our team of golf experts.

Wrapping up day 1 of the PGA Championship

• The PGA Championship is famous for first-time major winners that come out of nowhere, and the leaderboard is not without those names. Corey Conners, whose 67 was two shots better than anyone in the field, for sure. Aaron Wise and Sam Horsfield are among those in a tie for second (Keegan Bradley qualifies as out of nowhere, but he does have a previous PGA title). Cameron Tringale, Cam Davis and Martin Laird are also on the first page of the leaderboard. Something to watch.
• Phil Mickelson’s round didn’t get going until late — a terrific approach shot on 15 gave him 6 feet for birdie to get to 1 under, and he doubled that on 16 with a 137-yard third shot to within 5 feet, 6 inches. It’s a really strong sign for Mickelson that he was good late — he had admittedly struggled to maintain focus over 18 holes recently. Now — can he do it again for another 18 and make the weekend? For the moment, he’s T8.
• Bryson DeChambeau came out with an even-par 72, which is fine. But it was wild getting there — he had two birdies on his first three holes, bogeyed the next four and finished with five of each on the day. All over the place.
• Conners is now the betting favorite at +750, per BetMGM, followed by Victor Hovland (+800) and Brooks Koepka (+1100).
• Notable names that are in real danger of missing the cut: Tommy Fleetwood and Kevin Kisner (4 over); Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar (5 over); Adam Scott and Max Homa (6 over); Kevin Na and Daniel Berger (7 over).

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At the PGA Championship, Rickie Fowler’s reality is far more interesting than what gets sold

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — The idea of Rickie Fowler needing an invitation anywhere in golf is still bizarre. For a stretch of years, he was among the faces of the game. He was maybe even the most marketable player in the sport, billed as this hip, free-flowing bundle of talent. The future! Advertising campaigns still perpetuate that image. It works, even if it’s not quite the truth. It sells. Otherwise they wouldn’t keep hawking it.

But let’s talk about what’s real.

(Click the below link to read more from Fowler's round today at the PGA Championship)

Corey Conners has taken the lead

Emerging from a very tight leaderboard that has had six or seven guys with T1 next to their names since lunchtime is Corey Conners, at least for the moment.

The 29-year-old Canadian birdied No. 15 to get to 4 under, one shot ahead of the pack. As he enters the finishing stretch there is certainly no guarantee that lead holds — as you may have heard/read one or 100 times this week, the Ocean Course packs a punch in the final few holes. But he's there after shooting a 34 on the front nine and then birdies on 11 and 15.

Conners' best-ever finish at a PGA Championship is a T64 in 2019, but he did have a top-10 at the Masters last month.

Sam Burns withdraws from PGA Championship

One of the hottest players in the world, Sam Burns, has withdrawn from the tournament due to a back injury. Burns is coming off three straight top-five finishes on the PGA Tour including a win at the Valspar Championship. He shot a 41 on the front nine with a double bogey on 2, a triple on 5, and bogeys on 6 and 8.

Deep odds may pay off

Two players to keep an eye on for first-round leader:

• Branden Grace is 3 under through eight and was a whopping 100-1 to hold the first-round lead.
• Corey Conners is 2 under through nine and was 66-1 to lead after the first round.

Patrick Cantlay with a contender for shot of the day

No. 2 on the Ocean Course is the third-hardest hole by handicap, a par-five playing at 559 yards today.

Patrick Cantlay did not make it look all that hard on Thursday, with an eagle from 141 yards out. Check out the video here.

Cantlay hit his tee shot 289 yards into the right rough, then effectively layed-up with a 155-yard second shot that kept him just short of the cross hazard. His third shot landed just feet from the pin, and bounced right in. That's how it is done.

This was not 2012 for Rory McIlroy

Rough day for Rory McIlroy. After dusting the field by eight strokes in 2012, his return to Kiawah begins with an opening 3-over 75 with bogeys on three of the course’s four par-5s. He currently sits in a tie for 100th.

Koepka gets the better of Rory, JT

One of the featured groups of the morning wave was a group that claims five PGA Championships among them. Brooks Koepka got the better of his playing partners, rallying from a double-bogey at his first hole of the day, the par-4 10th, to grab a share of the early lead with a 3-under 69. The four-time major champion (and two-time PGA champ) made six birdies against just a single bogey the rest of the way. Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, meanwhile, will have work to get back into contention. Both shot 75. McIlroy bogeyed three of the four par-5s. Thomas was undone by a double at the par-4 18th, his ninth hole of the day.

Beware of 18

To give you a sense of how difficult the finishing holes are today, the 505-yard par 4 18th hole is playing as the most difficult hole with an average score of 4.57. The 466-yard par 4 15th is the second most difficult with an average score of 4.51. If the wind flips as expected on Sunday, these two holes could lose a little bite on the final day.

Afternoon featured group watchability rankings

The afternoon wave is about to get started here, so let's talk about these second featured groups. I'm just ranking them by the order in which I would pay attention to them, keeping in mind that the coverage has started on ESPN proper and they're going to show a lot of several of these guys.

• 1:58 p.m. Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson, Will Zalatoris

Spieth comes in as hot as anyone on the PGA Tour, and featured groups is particularly great for him because you'll get to hear much of his interchanges with caddy Michael Greller. They've been together forever, and their push and pull debates on club selections are usually really interesting/entertaining. Plus you get Zalatoris, an emerging standout who was just sensational at the Masters.

2. 1:25 p.m. Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed

Three guys who could all be in contention on Sunday, particularly Rahm (Brendan Quinn's pick to win it, in fact). Plus a little extra spice in a Ryder Cup year as "Captain America" Reed shares a pairing with two guys that no doubt have long memories about 2018's Euro success.

3. 2:09 p.m. Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Sergio Garcia

Johnson is still the No. 1 golfer in the world per OWGR, but he's been pretty ordinary since he put on the green jacket in November. Sergio is a total wild card. A wait-and-see situation where you can flip to them on the back nine if one is hot.

4. 1:14 p.m. Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Padraig Harrington

This is fine. Nothing wrong with it. But it'd be a really huge surprise if any of these guys pushed for contention.

Solid start for Morikawa

Defending champion Collin Morikawa is picking up where he left off at TPC Harding Park. He has four birdies through 12 holes and is T4 at 2 under. Ball-striking has been discussed as being paramount on this course, and Morikawa is arguably the best iron player in the game.

Major coverage for a major

Agree with Hugh on the ESPN+ coverage. Borderline too much to keep up with. And love the live mic on the players. The dialogue between Viktor Hovland and his caddie as Hovland plotted his shot from a tricky lie at the par-4 4th was outstanding. "I kinda want to try it," Hovland said at the end of a long discussion. And then he scrambled to save par. More, please.

Watch out for the back nine

So far today:

Front 9 is playing +.085 over par

Back 9 is playing +1.72 over par

An update on Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler was going along beautifully out here until just making a terrible decision on the 4th. After putting his drive in a fairway bunker he seemed caught between playing a safe shot out to set up a long third or hitting to the forward fairway for a wedge in. He ended up hitting into a waste area between the two fairways and made his first bogey, dropping to 1 under for the day. Couple of unforced errors on an otherwise solid morning for Fowler, who’s playing on an exemption.

Keegan Bradley continues to play good golf

Keegan Bradley, the 2011 PGA champion, is 3 under after his opening nine holes at the Ocean Course. Bradley has a history of performing well on paspalum greens and is doing so once again. The 34-year-old has made eight straight cuts on the PGA Tour highlighted by a solo second at the Valspar and four straight top-25 finishes coming into this week. He's officially someone to watch and I have him on my card at 70-1.

A note on the television coverage

My gosh it is spectacular so far.

ESPN+ is the home for the morning coverage, and they're hitting all the right notes with so much golf.

I have the main feed with Scott Van Pelt and David Duval on the 55-inch TV in the home office, with the Bryson DeChambeau/Collin Morikawa/Hideki Matsuyama on the secondary TV that I haul in for March Madness/golf majors. On the Kindle I have the ESPN app open to the Rory McIlroy/Brooks Koepka/Justin Thomas group. And this doesn't feel like enough!

It's not just the quantity of coverage, but the quality. They broke out the steady iso cam as guys were coming out of the clubhouse this morning, which gives the whole thing this really cool theatrical look. They're showing plenty of golf shots, and the main feed is keeping things moving. Van Pelt and Duval are good together. And, and this is a thing I notice is often lacking on other networks, there's not a significant delay between what is happening live with the featured groups and it being shown on the main feed. Sometimes it's literally seconds, well within the streaming buffer. That's clutch for those having to stick to one screen.

The Cameron Tringale watch

The PGA Championship has been known to produce out-of-nowhere winners, so perhaps it's appropriate that the early leader is Cameron Tringale, who is 4 under through 11 holes. Tringale, 33, has the dubious distinction of having won the most money on the PGA Tour — more than $13 million — without having won. He is making his 301st start.

A featured group to watch

After stumbling out of the gates and having to save bogey on the his first hole the 10th, tournament favorite Rory McIlroy responded with back-to-back birdies to get into red figures. Playing alongside Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka, this star-studded featured group is a fun watch and the guys seem to be quite chatty early on this Thursday morning as pace of play might already be an issue.

The obligatory John Daly post

John Daly just birdied No. 1.

The 55-year-old former PGA Championship winner is John Daly, so he attracts attention despite doing ... well if you're reading this live blog, you probably know all about John Daly's more recent exploits. But yeah he birdied No. 1. Good for Daly, who has not made the cut at the PGA Championship in nine years.

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Doug Barron wins first PGA Tour Champions major at 2024 Regions Tradition

Just before the start of the final round of the 2024 Regions Tradition, the first of five majors in 2024 on the PGA Tour Champions schedule, Steve Stricker withdrew from next week’s PGA Championship, the second major of the PGA Tour campaign. Stricker was in that field by virtue of his win in the 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

He’s also the two-time defending champion of the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama, but a final-round 69 left him short of an eighth Champions tour major.

Sunday started with Doug Barron and Ernie Els, both chasing their first PGA Tour Champins major title, tied for the lead.

While Els could only spin his wheels, shooting a 1-under 71 to finish 14-under, Barron, who said he woke up at four in the morning but sounded like he didn’t mean to, took control of the event. He followed his third-round 66 – the best round of the day by three shots – with a bogey-free, final-round 68 to finish 17 under and win his first senior major by two shots.

“Today was just a dream come true, beating all these great players,” Barron told Golf Channel on the 18th green minutes after his victory. He was in the final group alongside Els and Padraig Harrington.

Barron, 54, earned $390,000 for the win. The total purse for the tournament was $2.6 million. He now has three victories on the senior circuit.

He praised his putting coach for his success on the greens all week.

“I got one of the best putting lessons from my coach back home last week, and I really got my putter going. I felt like I could make an 8-footer again,” he said. “It was huge because I didn’t hit any fairways. I hardly missed a fairway coming into today.”

Steven Alker was solo second after firing a 9-under 63 on Sunday, the best score of the week by two shots.

Stewart Cink finished tied for third with Stricker and Els. Charlie Wi and K.J. Choi tied for sixth. Bernhard Langer, in his second event back after recovering from Achilles surgery, tied for eighth with Kenny Perry. Padraig Harrington, Brian Gay and Stuart Appleby tied for 10th at 9 under. Harrington was in the final group but posted a final-round 74.

Story originally appeared on GolfWeek

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American Family Insurance Championship

University Ridge GC

Madison, Wisconsin • USA

Jun 7 - 9, 2024