PGA Championship: Expert Picks

Tournament Information:
PGA Championship
Date: May 20th - 23rd
Course: Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Purse: $11MM ($2MM to winner)
2020 Winner: Collin Morikawa (-13)

Course

Kiawah Island Golf Resort. The Ocean Course (where the tournament will be played) was established in 1976 and designed by Pete Dye. At 7,876 yards it is a long course, it’s a par 72 with a course rating of 79.1 and a slope rating of 155. It runs along the Atlantic Ocean for most of the holes and golfers will have to be wary of the wind. It’s course rating is among the highest in golf and much like a US Open, this will see a lot of golfers finishing above par.

Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

My Starting 4

Collin Morikawa (third selection this year) — Currently 6th in OWGR, Colin really stands out during majors. He was the winner of the PGA Championship last year, and he was also 14th at the Masters recently.

Dustin Johnson (fourth selection this year) — Power is needed with the distance and winds but so is a gentle placement and Dustin is among the best at having that combination on tour.

Bryson DeChambeau (third selection this year) — No one on tour has the sheer power that he has, and because of that he has a leg up. I’m hoping he can keep his composure on the difficult aspects of the course.

Webb Simpson (fourth selection this year) – Webb is a tactician in his game and really excels at the right moments. That will help him succeed on this tough layout. He’s finished in the top 15 in three of his last four tournaments.

My Bench 2

Louis Oosthuizen (second selection this year) — He has a solid drive but the putting could set him apart from others and give him a leg up. He comes here fresh off back-to-back top 10s at Valspar and Zurich Classic.

Sam Burns (third selection this year) – He’s playing as well as anyone on tour right now, but if I'm being honest, a somewhat limited sample size in majors recently has me concerned. In 2019 he finished 29th at the PGA Championship but there isn’t a ton else to look into.

Fun Fact: Among the five courses at Kiawah, designers include Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye and Tom Fazio

2020-2021 Stats

(1st percent would be the top golfer picked every week)

Starting 4: avg finish 40th (31st percent)
Bench 2: avg finish 44th (34th percent)