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PGA Championship: Phil Mickelson reaches an amazing milestone in addition to tying a tournament record

Kevin C. Cox

It wasn't easy, but Phil Mickelson made the cut on the number at the 2023 PGA Championship. And in the process, the six-time major champ added a couple more impressive accomplishments to his legendary resume.

RELATED: Phil Mickelson loses rules debate with official, avoids penalty

Mickelson shot a second-round 72 at Oak Hill to finish at five over through 36 holes to narrowly advance to the weekend. And he might not have made it if not for a PGA rules official keeping him from taking a bad drop on the sixth hole.

"He came and saved me a stroke," Mickelson told reporters after. "So I was very appreciative."

No matter how Mickelson made it to the weekend, the point is that he made it there. Again. Like he's done so many times. And with this result, Mickelson made it an even 100 times in which he's made the cut at a major championship in 119 starts.

For comparison, Tiger Woods has made 91 career starts in majors, making 77 cuts. So, yeah, hitting the century mark in this regard is a remarkable feat of both talent and longevity.

But that wasn't the only milestone Mickelson reached. With this being the 27th cut he's made at a PGA Championship, the 52-year-old tied the record held by Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd.

RELATED: Phil Mickelson, Collin Morikawa combine for golf's latest viral meme

Not surprisingly, Nicklaus holds the record for most major cuts made. And having done it a whopping 131 times, that record seems pretty safe. But Mickelson, who became the oldest major champ at the 2021 PGA and who finished runner-up at the Masters in April, has a great chance to pass Gary Player (102) for second place.

But despite entering the weekend at Oak Hill 10 shots behind leaders Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, and Corey Conners, the LIV Golf star is focused on something more immediate.

"It makes me optimistic that I still made the cut playing as poorly as I did," Mickelson said, "and I think if I can get it turned around, I can make a run."

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Phil Mickelson wins US PGA Championship in triumph for the ages

• Fifty-year-old becomes oldest major winner of all time
• Mickelson wins by two shots from Brooks Koepka

In front of howling, euphoric fans in this opulent corner of South Carolina, Phil Mickelson strode into the record books. At 50 years of age, Mickelson became the oldest major winner of all time. It was fitting that galleries, who pulled vehemently for Mickelson, were back in full force to witness the making of history. They mobbed the champion as he played his final hole.

Nothing in golf’s modern era will surpass Tiger Woods’s 2019 Masters triumph but Mickelson has now run his old nemesis close. A second success at the US PGA Championship means Mickelson, whose career has regularly looked to be dwindling towards obscurity, has six major titles to his name. That total is only one shy of Arnold Palmer and Bobby Jones. Seve Ballesteros “only” won five. That Mickelson claimed the Wanamaker Trophy, eight years after taking delivery of major number five at Muirfield, belied his advancing years.

This was glory for the ages, a sporting fairytale and a life lesson for 50-somethings everywhere. “I just believed that it was possible but yet everything was saying it wasn’t,” Mickelson said. “I hope that others find that inspiration. It might take a little extra work, a little bit harder effort to maintain physically or maintain the skills, but gosh, is it worth it in the end.

“I just love this game of golf. I love what I do and I love the challenge of competing against such great players.”

Mickelson was already known as one of the best ever to play this ridiculous game but the tenacity he showed at a brutally tough Kiawah Island is worthy of immense praise. Some scoffed when Mickelson was handed a special exemption into next month’s US Open. Who is laughing now?

Brooks Koepka, Mickelson’s Sunday playing partner, wilted badly en route to a 74. Mickelson’s margin of victory – as if detail seemed to matter – was two, at six under par, from Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen, after a 73.

Koepka’s putting was not convincing throughout the tournament but regressed further on day four. Oosthuizen will shiver when recalling the Ocean Course’s unlucky 13th hole. Twice in as many days, the South African found water there.

Mickelson’s previous top 20 result was last August in Memphis, with even that a glaring exception to a tale of competitive woe. It was understandable, then, that onlookers expected him to fold under youthful pressure. Instead, Mickelson’s ruthlessness forced his challengers into a series of errors.

A day of epic drama was characterised within two holes. Mickelson, having started with one-stroke lead, trailed Koepka after a bogey against birdie at the 1st. Koepka encountered a horrible lie by the green at the 2nd, which triggered a double bogey. As Mickelson birdied, he now led by two. At the 5th, Mickelson delivered the kind of short game sorcery as has typified his career. From a greenside bunker, a glorious shot found the bottom of the cup for a birdie two. Koepka lurked until costly bogeys at 10 and 11, the former affording Mickelson a four-shot advantage. Oosthuizen had emerged as the key threat but Mickelson was in territory of only being able to throw this championship away. Oosthuizen found alligator-ridden waters with his approach to the 13th. No wonder he looked skywards.

Mickelson had five shots to play with, meaning his ball trundling into water by virtue of a loose second to 13 needn’t be altogether fateful. Another bogey, at the 14th, where Mickelson missed the green, cut the lead to three. Oosthuizen had hope; Koepka, who was by now four back, just about likewise. Mickelson just had to tick off the holes; he parred the 15th, birdied the 16th, bogeyed the penultimate hole and eased to par at the last. Koepka, to his credit, finished strongly.

When Padraig Harrington chipped in for a birdie at the 14th, he was three under par and had an outside chance of an assault on the leaders. Europe’s Ryder Cup captain was to bogey the 15th, halting his charge, but a tie for fourth further emphasised a major for old(er) men. Harrington turns 50 in August. There is no prospect, though, of playing duties when the USA sit in opposition at Whistling Straits later this year.

“I’m well past that,” said Harrington with a smile. “I’m too long in the tooth at this stage. I’m very much dedicated to being the captain. I’m letting other people have their time. I had mine and you can’t do both. Nobody’s ever going to be a Ryder Cup captain and a player at the same time.”

Shane Lowry, who played with Harrington on Sunday, matched his compatriot’s aggregate, as did Harry Higgs and Paul Casey. Lowry was naturally full of praise for his partner. “He hasn’t lost it, has he?” Lowry said. “He’s still the ultra competitor. When he bombed a drive down 15, I was like, ‘Wow, if Paddy can make one or two on the way in, he’s got a good chance here.’ God help those guys on the Senior Tour.”

Mickelson has previously wrestled with dedicating his professional time to the very same, a more placid, domain. Watching what transpired here only rendered that dilemma utterly absurd. Phil has thrilled, three weeks before he turns 51. This marks his finest hour.

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Phil Mickelson, at 50, Wins P.G.A. Championship

Mickelson became the oldest winner of a major golf tournament after a tense final round on the treacherous Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.

By Bill Pennington

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Weathering a riveting, roller-coaster test of nerve over five hours, Phil Mickelson, who will turn 51 next month, won the P.G.A. Championship on Sunday to become the oldest golfer to win a major championship. The record was previously held by Julius Boros, who was 48 when he won the 1968 P.G.A. Championship.

Mickelson shot six under par for the tournament, finishing two strokes ahead of the runners-up, Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen .

Mickelson becomes the latest in a growing group of sports stars who have defied traditional retirement ages for athletes and proved that championships can still be won in careers that last into middle age. Mickelson has followed the lead of Tom Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl title three months ago at 43 . Serena Williams has remained consistently in the hunt for elite titles at 39, an age that historically has seen tennis players recede to a senior circuit. Tiger Woods, although seriously injured in a car crash in February, won his fifth Masters tournament two years ago at 43 .

“I hope that this inspires some to just put in that little extra work, because there’s no reason why you can’t accomplish your goals at an older age,” Mickelson said after his round. “It just takes a little more work.”

Mickelson has been among the most popular American golfers for three decades, and the final scene of his Sunday triumph made it obvious that his appeal had not waned.

At the final hole, Mickelson rocketed his tee shot into the gallery left of the fairway, but he lofted a 9-iron from the rough to within 16 feet of the hole as the crowd roared its approval. He walked toward the green shaking his left fist above his shoulder. As he did, he was enveloped by hundreds of fans, who surged past security guards and the police to celebrate alongside him.

Hugged, jostled and patted on the back, Mickelson needed several minutes to walk the final 50 yards to the 18th green. With spectators chanting his first name, he finally emerged to a green encircled by the crowd. Two putts sealed his victory.

Mickelson later called the experience “slightly unnerving but exceptionally awesome,” and said he would “cherish it for my entire life.”

Mickelson’s achievement, his sixth major title, could prove to be a bookend to three decades in golf’s spotlight. A four-time college all-American, he won his first professional tournament while an amateur and was unable to cash its hefty check. After turning pro, he racked up victories on the PGA Tour, but soon became better known for his failure to win his first major championship.

Mickelson has also had the misfortune of playing most of his career in the shadow of the superstar Woods, who won six major championships before he was 26. But Mickelson did not break through until he was 33, when he claimed the 2004 Masters during his 13th year on tour. Two other Masters championships followed, in 2006 and 2010, as well as a victory at the 2005 P.G.A. Championship, but there were also frequent, dispiriting setbacks, including six second-place finishes at the United States Open, American golf’s national championship. Before Sunday’s victory at the treacherous Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Mickelson had not won a major since the 2013 British Open .

Mickelson, however, has remained a fan favorite, in part because of a daring style of play and because of his Everyman physique, which stands in stark contrast to the fit, muscular bodies of the modern golfer best typified by Woods. Known as Lefty because he swings at a golf ball left-handed — even though he is naturally right-handed — Mickelson has spent decades comfortably engaging with golf galleries, often using a smile and a thumbs-up, a gesture he learned from Arnold Palmer.

Mickelson’s rush up the leaderboard at this P.G.A. Championship was not foreshadowed by his recent performances. Since missing the cut at last year’s U.S. Open, his best result on the PGA Tour had been a tie for 21st. He finished outside the top 50 nine times.

Playing in dark sunglasses and with an air of calm, Mickelson began Sunday’s round with a one-stroke lead over Koepka, who finished the event in a tie for second place with Oosthuizen at four under par.

But long before Mickelson’s triumphant outcome was certain, he was locked in a tense, topsy-turvy battle, first with Koepka and then in the closing holes with Oosthuizen.

While Mickelson appeared to have a comfortable four-shot lead over the field with six holes to play, his second shot at the 13th hole hooked into a water hazard, which led to an unsettling bogey. On the par-3 14th hole, Mickelson came up short and right of the green. He chipped to eight feet, but missed the par putt for another bogey.

Almost simultaneously, Oosthuizen made two steadying pars at the 14th and 15th holes to pull within three strokes of Mickelson, who was at six under par for the tournament. When Oosthuizen birdied the par-5 16th hole — his eagle putt narrowly missed — he had cut Mickelson’s lead to two strokes.

Mickelson responded with a par on the 15th hole, then hit a towering 337-yard drive to the middle of the 16th fairway. His second shot bounced on the green but skipped off the back. A dicey chip nestled next to the hole for an easy birdie, and Mickelson headed to the hardest hole on the longest golf course in major championship history with his three-shot lead restored.

Mickelson’s 6-iron from the 17th tee took a big bounce just to the left of the hole and trundled into knee-high grass behind the green 60 feet from the flagstick. After several minutes of deliberation, he wedged his ball safely on the putting surface, where he two-putted for a bogey that still kept him two strokes in the lead.

Hours earlier, in the middle of a sunny, humid day along the South Carolina coastline, Mickelson had taken a gut punch to his chances when Koepka wrested the lead from him on the opening hole. In a matter of minutes, a three-putt bogey by Mickelson and a Koepka birdie had reversed the names atop the leaderboard. But Koepka gave away the advantage with a double bogey on the second hole, even as Mickelson continued to struggle with his accuracy.

His brother and caddie, Tim, pulled Phil Mickelson aside after the sixth hole and gave him a mild scolding.

“Tim said, ‘If you’re going to win this thing, you’re going to have to make committed golf swings,’” Mickelson said, adding that he had been too passive. “It hit me in the head — I have to swing committed. The first one I made was the drive on 7.”

Mickelson birded the seventh hole, which Koepka bogeyed. By the turn, Mickelson had pushed ahead by two strokes.

When Mickelson’s final putt dropped into the cup on the 18th green, the brothers embraced for several seconds.

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The Stats Behind Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship Win

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Arccos has plotted each of Phil Mickelson ’s 283 shots at last week's PGA Championship to provide a series of fascinating stats around his historic victory

Phil Mickelson entered the record books on Sunday with his age-defying victory at the PGA Championship.

Despite being a month away from his 51st birthday, Mickelson unleashed a series of “bombs” off the tee while displaying his usual deft touch around the greens to pick up the Wanamaker trophy for the second time.

But where do the stats say he outperformed a typical tour pro that week?

Well, according to the Arccos team, who have plotted every shot during his four rounds of 70-69-71-73 at Kiawah Island's treacherous Ocean Course, a big part of his success was his driving.

Mickelson, whom Arccos has given a +7.1 handicap, put a new driver in the bag at the start of the week with just 5.25° of loft and a 47.9 inch shaft.

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Versus a tour pro average, he gained 1.2 shots with his driving over the four days, including a full two shots in round two. Where a tour pro averages 280 yards, he averaged a whopping 299 yards from the 56 tee shots he hit on par fours and fives.

RELATED: Phil Mickelson What's In The Bag?

This is despite only hitting 26 per cent of fairways, where a tour pro would be finding 54 per cent on average.

Mickelson also gained 0.9 shots on his approach play, being particularly effective on long approach shots from 200+ yards.

RELATED: Arccos Caddie Link Review

It was his short chips, as you might expect, where Mickelson really hammered home his advantage. On shots from inside 25 yards, he averaged 6ft from the hole versus the 10ft average of a tour pro, while he got up and down 71 per cent of the time.

His bunker prowess was also a big earner for Lefty, average just 5 feet away from the hole on bunker shots inside 25 yards - helped by his spectacular hole out from the bunker on the par-three fifth hole for birdie.

He got up and down 83 per cent of the time from the bunker, which is significantly better than the 54 per cent average of a tour pro.

It's worth pointing out that technically there were no bunkers at Kiawah Island, only sandy areas from which players were able to make practice swings and ground their club, which will have contributed to the uplift in results.

To get up and down, you need to hole putts and while Mickelson marginally lost shots overall on the greens, he had a higher number of one putts and fewer three putts than tour average.

He also putted much better at the start of the round and then tailed off on the back nine, as his putting momentum chart (above left) clearly shows.

Mickelson is known for his age-defying distance and quirky ways in which he can hit the ball further and this approach clearly worked at Kiawah, along with his razor-sharp wedge game which we come to expect.

Joel has worked in the golf industry for over 12 years covering both instruction and more recently equipment. He now oversees all product content here at Golf Monthly, managing a team of talented and passionate writers and presenters in delivering the most thorough and accurate reviews, buying advice, comparisons and deals to help the reader find exactly what they are looking for. So whether it's the latest driver, irons, putter or laser rangefinder, Joel has his finger on the pulse keeping up to date with the latest releases in golf. He is also responsible for all content on irons and golf tech, including distance measuring devices and launch monitors.

One of his career highlights came when covering the 2012 Masters he got to play the sacred Augusta National course on the Monday after the tournament concluded, shooting a respectable 86 with just one par and four birdies. To date, his best ever round of golf is a 5-under 67 back in 2011. He currently plays his golf at Burghley Park Golf Club in Stamford, Lincs, with a handicap index of 3.2.

Joel's current What's In The Bag?  

Driver: Titleist TSR3 , 9° 

Fairway wood: Titleist TSR3 , 15° 

Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 , 18° 

Irons: Ping i230  4-UW

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 , 54°. Titleist Vokey SM9 60° lob wedge, K Grind

Putter: Evnroll ER2V  

Ball: 2023 Titleist Pro V1x

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Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson’s status for 2024 PGA Championship

T he PGA Championship is the second major of the golf season, and it is an event that attracts all of the sport’s top players. This year’s tournament will be held at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, and it will present an opportunity for Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Brooks Koepka to assert themselves and their position in the golf world. While Scheffler is undoubtedly the game’s best player at this point and Koepka is still a great clutch player even though he defected to the LIV Tour, golf fans still have an overwhelming interest in Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

At this point in their respective careers, Woods and Mickelson are both capable of the occasional strong round. However, few believe they are capable of contending in the major golf tournaments — let alone winning them.

Tiger has won 82 tournaments in his career, and that’s tied with Sam Snead for the most in the history of the professional golf. He has also won 15 major titles, including 5 Masters titles, 4 PGA championships, 3 U.s. Opens and 3 Open Championships.

Tiger Woods was able to compete in the Masters

Woods participated in the Masters last month, and it was something of a longshot that he would make the cut in the legendary tournament. Woods came through with a superb performance on the second day when he finished the weather-delayed first round with a score of one over par 73  and then shot an even par 72 in the second round.

His one-over two-round total easily made the cut. However, Woods lost his consistency on moving day and in the final round. He finished with scores of 82 and 77 in those two rounds and lost any chance to have a strong competitive finish.

However, Woods’ ability to play the final rounds was earned after he made the cut at the Masters for the 24th time, setting a new record in the process.

Prior to the start of the golf season, Woods said he he was hoping to play in one tournament a month, with a concentration on the four major championships.

He only played in one tournament prior to the Masters  and he was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Open due to illness. However, the PGA Championship , U.S. Open and The Open Championship (British) all remain in play for Woods.

At this point in his career, the 48-year-old Woods has emeritus status. He has battled back from so many injuries — back, knee and ankle — that it’s clear he no longer has the physical capability to be at his best for four consecutive rounds. Nevertheless, Woods is always treated like a visiting hero and fans want to see him play at the highest level he can muster.

Mickelson’s presence represents a much different perspective

Phil Mickelson was Woods’ biggest rival in professional golf for years. He gained his status as one of the game’s superstars because of his remarkable shot-making ability and his gambling style on the PGA Tour.

When it came to the most difficult shots, Mickelson was known for his courage that would allow him to plan out and execute golf swings that no other player would attempt. While he was successful on many of them, he also failed at certain moments. That kept him from winning tournaments that a more conservative approach might have led to success.

Mickelson gained many fans because of his style, but he was also ridiculed from time-to-time because he refused to change his approach when tournaments were on the line.

Lefty’s legacy changed dramatically when he left the PGA Tour and became the most prominent name to join the LIV Tour. That move labeled him as an “enemy” of the golf establishment, but he has not backed down from his choice or his support of LIV.

The 54-year-old Mickelson has six major championships to his credit, and that includes three Masters titles, two PGA Championships and one Open Championship.

His previous major titles has earned him an invitation to the PGA Championship.

Woods and Mickelson are longshots behind Scheffler and Rory McIlroy

Scheffler is the favorite to win the Masters at odds of +350 . Rory McIlroy is the second choice at +1250, while LIV defector Jon Rahm checks in at +1400 and is the third choice. Xander Schauffele and Koepka both have odds of +1600. Koepka is also a member of the LIV tour.

As far as Woods and Mickelson are concerned, both are extreme longshots to win at 125-1, and that’s the equivalent of +12500.

Neither Woods nor Mickelson should be expected to be in contention on Sunday, but both may be capable of putting together an exciting round together at one point in the tournament or another.

The post Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson’s status for 2024 PGA Championship appeared first on ClutchPoints .

Who will win the 2024 PGA Championship? Five players who should contend at Valhalla

The best golfers in the world have converged on Louisville, all with the same goal in mind: to walk away from Valhalla Golf Club with the Wanamaker Trophy . But not every player's chances of winning the PGA Championship are equal. There are 20 PGA club professionals in the 156-player field ; no teaching pro has won the event.

Then there's the fact the top two players in the Official World Golf Ranking enter this week firing on all cylinders. That's not to say either of them, or any of the other favorites installed by oddsmakers , will end at the top of the leaderboard come Sunday evening. The PGA Championship has its share of underdog victors, from Y.E. Yang and Shaun Micheel to Rich Beem and John Daly — the ninth alternate the year he conquered Crooked Stick .

Keeping those facts in mind, here are five players expected to be in contention Sunday (and five more, for good measure):

The favorites

Scottie scheffler.

The only thing that has slowed down Scottie Scheffler recently is his own family. He didn't play in the Wells Fargo Championship last week because he was awaiting the birth of his first child. Now, he'll tee it up as a father for the first time. He and his wife, Meredith, welcomed their son, Bennett, into the world last week.

Scheffler will try to remain in splendid form after a torrid recent stretch.

He's won four of his last five events; the only one he didn't win ( the Houston Open ), he tied for second. In 10 events this season , Scheffler has finished outside the top 10 only once, as he tied for 17th at The American Express in January.

Reciting how many categories in which he ranks No. 1 on the PGA Tour this season would take all day.

For the sake of brevity, check out the tweet below from golf stats guru Justin Ray , which also includes Scheffler's numbers in major championships the past three years. (No surprise: They're also stellar.)

Needless to say, he's the odds-on favorite to bag his second major in as many events this year after winning the Masters by four strokes last month.

Rory McIlroy

After holding off Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson to win the 2014 PGA Championship , Rory McIlroy had four major titles at just 25 years old. (Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Bobby Jones are the only other golfers who can make that claim.) But since that victory at Valhalla, McIlroy hasn't added to his major tally.

Even though he's achieved everything else within reach.

Three FedEx Cups (the most all time), three Race to Dubai championships (the only player with more than one in that span) and three Tour Championships (the only player with multiple victories in the season-ending event). A Players Championship in 2019 .

And he's won his last two starts, teaming with Shane Lowry to capture the Zurich Classic and then powering past Xander Schauffele in the final round of the Wells Fargo last week.

It's not as if he's struggled in major championships since his PGA triumph: His 20 top 10s since then are the most of any player.

For a variety of reasons — slow starts, costly errors and questionable course management, and at times, others simply playing better — McIlroy has been stuck on four majors.

On the course, his game is in tip-top shape; aside from his consecutive wins, he also has a top three a month ago (at the Texas Open ) and hasn't missed a cut in 10 events this season .

Off the course, there have been developments in McIlroy's private life: He filed for divorce from his wife of seven years, Erica McIlroy, on May 13.

How he navigates what's going on off the course with a goal of snapping his dry spell in major championships may be the determining factor in McIlroy's result this week.

Next in line

Brooks koepka.

It's Brooks Koepka . At a major . Need we say more?

(We will. But not too much.)

Koepka is simply a colossus when it comes to major championships.

Since the beginning of 2015, he has 17 top 10s in majors, trailing only McIlroy. The biggest difference between the two: Koepka has five wins in majors, while McIlroy has none. Koepka became only the 20th in history to reach the five-major mark thanks to his victory at last year's PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club . He's won three of the past six PGAs, going back-to-back in 2018 (at Bellerive ) and 2019 (at Bethpage Black ).

A triumph this week would put him in rarefied air: Only Walter Hagen (five, all in match-play era), Nicklaus (five) and Woods (four) have at least four Wanamakers.

Perhaps even more worrisome for the field this week: He's fresh off a victory in his most recent outing, winning the LIV Golf tour's Singapore event earlier this month, beating Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman by two shots.

The 29-year-old Spaniard already is halfway to the career Grand Slam, winning the U.S. Open in 2021 and the Masters last year.

No player, on the PGA or LIV tours, has been more consistent recently than Jon Rahm when it comes to reaching the weekend at majors: He's made 18 consecutive cuts in golf's four biggest events, the longest active streak of its kind. (His last missed cut: the 2019 PGA at Bethpage). During his cuts-made streak, Rahm's scoring average is 70.40, which trails only Scheffler (69.95) and McIlroy (70.38) among players with at least 40 rounds in major championships in that span.

In seven LIV events this year, Rahm has yet to finish outside the top 15 , though he's still in search of his first victory on that tour.

The PGA Championship is the only major in which Rahm doesn't have multiple top fives; he tied for fourth in 2018, five strokes behind Koepka. He has three top fives in the Masters and two apiece in the U.S. Open and Open Championship.

Another one to watch

Xander schauffele.

Aside from Koepka, no player has been more of a fixture on the first page of major championship leaderboards the past five years, as Schauffele has nine top 10s.

But putting himself in contention never has been in question.

Actually winning has been the problem.

He's still seeking his maiden major victory. And those struggles closing extend beyond the majors into the rank-and-file PGA Tour events. Schauffele led McIlroy by one stroke heading into last week's final round; the Californian went on to lose by five shots. And that final-round flameout came after Schauffele held a four-shot lead at the conclusion of 36 holes.

Since his last victory — the 2022 Scottish Open — he has 21 top 10s and 13 top fives.

Is this the week he ends his 39-tournament winless drought and finally breaks through in a major?

Five more who might contend

Ludvig Åberg: The young, immensely talented Swede would rank higher on this list if not for his health. Åberg withdrew from the Wells Fargo, citing lingering knee soreness. When his body hasn't bothered him, he's been a force. Already No. 6 in the OWGR, Åberg has a victory, three runners-up, five top fives and nine top 10s in just 26 starts on the PGA Tour . And only Scheffler bested him in his major-championship debut last month at Augusta National Golf Club . If his knee isn't an issue, he'll be a factor this week.

Patrick Cantlay: While he's started to turn around his performance in major championships — he has five top 15s in his last seven appearances after having only four in his first 21 — it's still not what is expected for a player of his caliber, who hasn't been outside the top 10 in the OWGR since June 2021. Cantlay is 11 for 11 in made cuts on the PGA Tour this season but hasn't won an event since the 2022 BMW Championship .

Collin Morikawa: The 2020 PGA champion , whose level of play dropped off after his 2021 Open Championship triumph , has bounced back in the past 10 months. Since a missed cut at the 2023 Open, he ended his winless drought (thanks to a victory at the Zozo Championship ) and has seven top 25s in 11 tournaments this season. He finished third at the Masters.

Jordan Spieth: A PGA Championship win is all that separates Spieth from the career Grand Slam and golf immortality, joining a group consisting of just five players: Nicklaus, Woods, Ben Hogan , Gary Player and Gene Sarazen . But he'll have to overcome lackluster results in recent years: He hasn't finished better than 29th in the last four PGA Championships and has just two victories since his 2017 Open Championship win . Spieth also has twice as many missed cuts (seven) as top 10s (three) in 12 events in 2024 .

Justin Thomas: The local favorite, and two-time PGA champion, undoubtedly will have the crowd behind him. But can he rediscover consistent form in majors? In his first 28 major championships, he missed just five cuts. Since the beginning of 2023, however, he's failed to make the weekend four times in five majors; the lone made cut was last year's PGA, where he tied for 65th.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

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2024 PGA Championship tee times, pairings: Complete schedule on TV, groups in Round 1 on Thursday at Valhalla

A number of star-studded groups will be featured throughout the first round of the 106th pga championship in louisville.

The 2024 PGA Championship has arrived, and so have the tee times for the first day of competition at Valhalla Golf Club. With the second major of the season forthcoming, you not only need to know when your favorites will take the course but how to follow them live throughout the first round. CBS Sports has you covered with a full slate of tee times, though the afternoon session was pushed back to minutes each due to weather. Follow PGA Championship live leaderboard coverage all day Thursday for score updates, weather notices, highlights and much more.

The action heats up right off the bat in Louisville as last year's Cinderella story, Michael Block, is featured in the opening group out to the course alongside Luke Donald and Shaun Micheel at 7:15 a.m. ET. From there, the stars begin to trickle onto the golf course with many big names beginning their first rounds on the 10th tee. Louisville native Justin Thomas gets the home crowd rocking early and often alongside Masters runner-up Ludvig Åberg and Xander Schauffele at 7:53 a.m. This trio precedes a group of major champions that includes 15-time major winner Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley at 8:04 a.m.

Immediately following Tiger's grouping is Rory McIlroy. The last two winners of the PGA Championship at Valhalla will be separated by only 11 minutes across the first two days as the 2014 champion gets going at 8:15 a.m. next to Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose.

History will be on the line just a couple groups later as five-time major winner and reigning champion Brooks Koepka begins his quest for a fourth Wanamaker Trophy alongside Max Homa and the man who still needs one to complete his grand slam aspirations, Jordan Spieth. They begin their journey Thursday at 8:37 a.m.

The star-studded groups are not exclusive to the morning hours as the last three major champions will be paired together in the afternoon. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler draws reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and reigning Open champion Brian Harman at 2:13 p.m. off the first tee.

Other notable afternoon groups include the two right ahead of Scheffler. Collin Morikawa, Phil Mickelson and Matt Fitzpatrick get their championships underway at 1:51 p.m., while Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm and Cameron Young follow closely behind at 2:02 p.m.

Take a look at the full slate of Round 1 tee times, and check out CBS Sports' detailed PGA Championship TV schedule and coverage guide so you do not miss a second of live action over the next four days. You can also use Kyle Porter's breakdown of the nine golfers most likely to win the Wanamaker Trophy as a refresher of sorts as play kicks into gear Thursday.

All times Eastern

2024 PGA Championship tee times, Thursday pairings

• 7:15 a.m. — Michael Block, Luke Donald, Shaun Micheel
• 7:26 a.m. — Jeff Kellen, Alex Smalley, Ben Kohles
• 7:37 a.m. — Ryan Fox, Josh Speight, Matt Wallace
• 7:48 a.m. — Zac Oakley, Adam Svensson, Ryo Hisatsune
• 7:59 a.m. — Adam Hadwin, Martin Kaymer, Taylor Pendrith
• 8:10 a.m. — Byeong Hun An, Alexander Bjork, Eric Cole
• 8:21 a.m. — Adam Schenk, Corey Conners, Nick Dunlap
• 8:32 a.m. — John Daly, Lee Hodges, Robert MacIntyre
• 8:43 a.m. — Peter Malnati, Kurt Kitayama, Victor Perez
• 8:54 a.m. — Benn Polland, Zac Blair, Ryan van Valezen
• 9:05 a.m. — Jeremy Wells, Sami Valimaki, K.H. Lee
• 9:16 a.m. — Jared Jones, Taylor Moore, Patrick Rodgers
• 9:27 a.m. — Kyle Mendoza, Andy Ogletree, Erik van Rooyen
• 12:55 p.m. — David Puig, Thirston Lawrence, Matt Dobyns
• 1:06 p.m. — Tracy Phillips, Denny McCarthy, Keita Nakajima
• 1:17 p.m. — Talor Gooch, Cameron Davis, Harris English
• 1:28 p.m. — Jason Day, Shane Lowry, Nicolai Hojgaard
• 1:39 p.m. — Min Woo Lee, Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel
• 1:50 p.m. — Gary Woodland, Tom Kim, Joaquin Niemann
• 2:01 p.m. — Collin Morikawa, Phil Mickelson, Matthew Fitzpatrick
• 2:12 p.m. — Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Cameron Young
• 2:23 p.m. — Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Scottie Scheffler
• 2:34 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Camilo Villegas, Will Zalatoris
• 2:45 p.m. — Patrick Reed, Sam Burns, Padraig Harrington
• 2:56 p.m. — Brad Marek, Mark Hubbard, Maverick McNealy
• 3:07 p.m. — Braden Shattuck, S.H. Kim, C.T. Pan
• 7:20 a.m. — Doug Ghim, Tyler Collet, Adrian Meronk
• 7:31 a.m. — Larkin Gross, Lucas Herbert, Grayson Murray
• 7:42 a.m. — Lucas Glover, Stephan Jaeger, Russell Henley
• 7:53 a.m. — Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas
• 8:04 a.m. — Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley
• 8:15 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose
• 8:26 a.m. — Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland
• 8:37 a.m. — Brooks Koepka, Max Homa, Jordan Spieth
• 8:48 a.m. — Tony Finau, Tyrrell Hatton, Sahith Theegala
• 8:59 a.m. — Akshay Bhatia, Tommy Fleetwood, Bryson DeChambeau
• 9:10 a.m. — Sepp Straka, Takumi Kanaya, Nick Taylor
• 9:21 a.m. — Andy Svoboda, Ben Griffin, Dean Burmester
• 9:32 a.m. — Preston Cole, Tim Widing, Adrian Otaegui
• 12:50 p.m. — Rich Beem, Sebastian Soderberg, Kazuma Kobori
• 1:01 p.m. — Josh Bevell, Aaron Rai, Jordan Smith
• 1:12 p.m. — Andrew Putnam, Jesse Mueller, Charley Hoffman
• 1:23 p.m. — Si Woo Kim, Tom Hoge, Alex Noren
• 1:34 p.m. — Y.E. Yang, Matthieu Pavon, J.T. Poston
• 1:45 p.m. — Jake Knapp, Jason Dufner, Francesco Molinari
• 1:56 p.m. — Thomas Detry, Jimmy Walker, Rasmus Hojgaard
• 2:07 p.m. — Austin Eckroat, Luke List, Mackenzie Hughes
• 2:18 p.m. — Sungjae Im, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Beau Hossler
• 2:29 p.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell
• 2:40 p.m. — John Somers, Brice Garnett, Jesper Svensson
• 2:51 p.m. — Emiliano Grillo, Evan Bowser, Alejandro Tosti
• 3:02 p.m. — Vincent Norrman, Wyatt Worthington II, Chris Gotterup

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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- The last time Rory McIlroy walked the 18th fairway of Valhalla Golf Club, it was a race against time in the final round of the 2014 PGA Championship.

After rallying from a 3-stroke deficit at the turn to chase down Rickie Fowler , Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson , McIlroy hit a 9-iron out of a fairway bunker to 10 feet on the 17th hole and made birdie to take a 2-stroke lead.

With darkness closing in fast following a nearly two-hour torrential rain delay, Mickelson and Fowler agreed to allow McIlroy and his playing partner, Austria's Bernd Wiesberger , to tee off before they reached their tee shots in the fairway, essentially playing the final hole as a foursome.

McIlroy nearly hit his tee shot on No. 18 into water down the right side of the fairway. Fowler and Mickelson stood to the side again, as McIlroy hit his approach shot into a greenside bunker and two-putted from 35 feet for par.

With a closing round of 3-under 68, McIlroy's 72-hole scoring total of 16-under 268 was one better than Mickelson, who made a birdie on the last hole.

"I'd say I'm a pretty, you know, nonconfrontational person," McIlroy said last week. "I'm not a huge fan of conflict, but when push comes to shove, I will. That was one of those times when I needed to sort of assert my will on a situation.

"I think if I wasn't as pushy as I was, I would have had to sleep on that lead and on that tee shot overnight. I just didn't want to do that. I think the guys up ahead were pretty unhappy with how it all unfolded. I got the result that I was looking for in the end and that's all that matters."

It was McIlroy's third consecutive victory that season -- and his second straight in a major championship after he was a wire-to-wire winner at The Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England, three weeks earlier.

Having also captured the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA Championship, McIlroy became the fourth-youngest golfer to win four majors at 25 years, 98 days. Only Young Tom Morris (21 years, 146 days), Tiger Woods (24 years, 206 days) and Jack Nicklaus (25 years, 81 days) were younger.

"I thought winning the Open a few weeks ago had sort of put me on a higher level in this game, but then to win a fourth major here, to be one behind Phil, one behind Seve [Ballesteros], level with Ernie [Els], level with Raymond Floyd, I mean, I never thought I'd get this far at 25 years of age," McIlroy said at the time.

"It's something that I'm just going to have to come to terms with in a way. I was happy being a two-time major champion coming into this year and all of a sudden I'm a four-time major champion."

STUNNINGLY, AS MCILROY returns to Valhalla Golf Club this week for another PGA Championship, he's still a four-time major championship winner. And in many ways, McIlroy is still racing against time -- both on and off the course.

McIlroy will be playing in his 36th major championship this week since last winning at Valhalla Golf Club on Aug. 10, 2014. If McIlroy lifts a third Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday, it will have been 3,570 days since his last major victory, which would be the eighth-longest span between wins in major championship history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Now 35 years old, McIlroy insists time isn't running out in his career.

"I look at my record in the majors over the last couple of years, and I've definitely started to perform much more consistently in them," McIlroy said earlier this year. "Look, I'm under no illusion that the clock is ticking and it has been 10 years since I've won one of them. I've had chances and those just haven't [gone] my way. I just need to keep putting myself in those positions and sooner or later it's going to happen."

It's not like McIlroy hasn't been contending in majors over the past nine-plus seasons. Since last winning at Valhalla, he has finished in the top 10 of a major 20 times, the most of any player during that span. Defending PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka is next, followed by Dustin Johnson (16) and Jordan Spieth (13).

Before tying for 22nd at the Masters in April, which was the 10th time he came up short in his quest to become the sixth player in the Masters era to complete the career Grand Slam by winning a green jacket, McIlroy had finished in the top 10 in seven of the past eight majors.

Since finishing first in the 2014 PGA Championship, McIlroy is a three-time FedEx Cup champion and has won 22 times on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, the most of any player.

He'll once again head into a major in great form, having won in each of his past two starts. McIlroy and his good friend Shane Lowry captured the Zurich Classic team event in New Orleans on April 28, then McIlroy won the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club for a record fourth time with a dominant 5-stroke victory Sunday.

"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," McIlroy said. "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. The only thing I need to do is get another major. You know, a win like this going into the PGA Championship next week is a good way to prep for that."

It's the second straight time McIlroy will head to a PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on a heater. In 2014, he was victorious in The Open and World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational before arriving in Louisville.

McIlroy said last week that he hadn't played at Valhalla, not even in a practice round, since last winning there.

"I really got some confidence," McIlroy said. "My golf swing feels a lot more comfortable than it has. So, going to a venue next week where I've won, it feels like the stars are lining [up] a little bit. But I've got a lot of golf to play and a lot of great players to try to beat next week. Going into the next major of the year feeling really good about myself."

MCILROY'S RECENT SUCCESS has come at a time when he has once again been engulfed by headlines off the course.

On Nov. 14, McIlroy unexpectedly resigned from the PGA Tour's policy board to focus on his golf game and interests off the course. His resignation came at a time when the PGA Tour was negotiating a potential deal with Strategic Sports Group (SSG) and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is financing the rival LIV Golf League.

Instead of quieting down, the noise surrounding McIlroy only seemed to get louder in recent weeks.

"Yeah, there is, but at the same time I think getting inside the ropes for that four or five hours or whatever it is a day, it's a nice escape from everything else that's going on in the world of golf," McIlroy said. "I don't mind it. I've always been able to compartmentalize pretty well. I seem to, for whatever reason, play very good golf whenever I have a lot of stuff going on."

McIlroy's life off the course is also undergoing big changes. On Monday, McIlroy filed for divorce from his wife, Erica, according to court records in family court in Palm Beach County, Florida. They have one daughter. The petition was filed confidentially, according to records.

In January, the PGA Tour secured a $1.5 billion investment from SSG, a consortium of American sports team owners and celebrities. But, as a framework agreement with the PIF expired and continued talks between the sides stalled, McIlroy wanted to become more involved in the negotiations. PGA Tour policy board player director Webb Simpson offered to step down -- as long as McIlroy replaced him.

McIlroy said last week that other player directors balked at him returning to the policy board. The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that McIlroy will be involved in negotiations with the Saudis as a nonvoting member of a newly formed transaction committee.

"Look, we tried to get to a compromise where, you know, I stuck my hand up and said, 'Look, I can be helpful if this is what Webb wants to do,'" McIlroy said. "It was really tricky to do that, so I'm involved in the transaction committee and that's basically to try to get this deal done with PIF. I feel like I've got good relationships on both sides there, and hopefully I can bring something to the table and try to provide some insight and value and see if we can get this thing done."

Woods, Spieth, Adam Scott , Patrick Cantlay and Peter Malnati are the other player directors on the policy board.

Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour's chief competitions officer, said McIlroy's voice still matters -- even if he's not voting on the policy board.

"I would say that Rory's always been an incredible thought leader and his perspective is highly valued among everyone at the PGA Tour, and what you're seeing there is every player's thinking about, 'What is the best version of the PGA Tour?'" Dennis said. "Rory's thoughts are, I know, going to be highly valued by everybody."

MCILROY WAS ONE of the PGA Tour's most vocal supporters -- and one of LIV Golf's biggest critics -- during the first couple of years of its battle for the top golfers in the world. But McIlroy's position on LIV Golf members being allowed to return to the PGA Tour without punishment, and whether they should be permitted to compete in the Ryder Cup, has softened dramatically.

McIlroy's views on the sport's future ecosystem -- he foresees a time when the top players compete in tournaments around the world -- differs from other player directors and some of the tour's top stars.

"I think the PGA Tour has always been the best place to play and that's where all the eyes are," world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler told ESPN. "We tried a little bit of the world tour stuff with tournaments in China, Korea and stuff like that, and they hadn't really worked out.

"It's just what you're used to, and I think that's where we always go back to -- just being comfortable. Eight to 10 times [outside the U.S.] would be a lot just based on traveling and our bodies. I think that's a big ask, especially with people having families. The guys that come over from Europe and they play over here, they usually come over in stretches."

McIlroy referred to "old wounds and scar tissue" from the past when he was asked why others were uncomfortable with him returning to the policy board.

"If you're just thinking big picture and what's good for the game of golf and what's good for the Tom Kims of the world in 10 or 15 years' time and they're still playing professional golf, you want to set it up in a way where those younger guys have all the same opportunities -- if not more than the opportunities -- that we had at that time," McIlroy said. "So it's not really about the here and now. It is a little bit, but it's also about, 'How does this thing look 10, 15, 20 years down the line?'"

Last month, the PGA Tour issued $930 million in initial player equity grants to 192 of its members. McIlroy will reportedly receive $50 million, but the equity grants are based on a $12 billion evaluation of PGA Tour Enterprises, the for-profit entity that was created with SSG.

For the PGA Tour to increase its revenues that dramatically, it's going to have to make significant changes. McIlroy says he's willing to help, even if he's no longer on the policy board.

"I would say that golf and the PGA Tour [have] been so good to me over the years," McIlroy said, "I just feel like it's my obligation or duty to try to give back and try to set the next generation of players up like we were set up by the previous generation.

"So, Jack [Nicklaus], Arnie [Palmer], the guys that really helped build the PGA Tour and helped it thrive, and Tiger obviously, to get it to where it is today, I think there's a responsibility with every generation to try to leave the Tour, leave the place that you're playing in a bit of a better spot than it was before. That's what it's about."