ST. LOUIS, MO. — Golf’s epicenter moves to the Gateway City as the 100th edition of the PGA Championship begins Thursday at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.
This could be the last time the PGA is held in August, as the revamped schedule calls for the championship to move to May beginning next year.
Bellerive, which last hosted a major in 1992 when Nick Price won the PGA Championship by three shots, presents a strong challenge for the best golfers in the world. The course is long, the rough is up and the layout is a tad on the soft side. Another challenge will be Mother Nature — it will be hot and humid.
Here are some top storylines heading into the final major of 2018.
Which Tiger shows up?
Tiger Woods has had a remarkable year in his latest comeback, with six top-12 finishes in 13 starts. He was ranked 1,199th at the Hero World Challenge in December after being away for nearly two years and is now 51st. But in his search for his 15th major and first since winning the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods turned in a flat performance at the Masters (tied for 32nd) and missed the cut in the U.S. Open.
Then he was at his 2018 best in the British Open, where he took the outright lead on the back nine in the final round before finishing in a tie for sixth. By every measure, he looked ready to win for the first time since 2013. But he was out of sorts in last week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club, putting terribly and admitting he had little control of his ball as he tied for 31st. Following Sunday’s final round, Tiger said he had three days to fix the flaws. We’ll see.
Will Spieth complete his quest?
Rory McIlroy didn’t complete his career Grand Slam in the Masters. Phil Mickelson didn’t complete his career Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. Now it’s Jordan Spieth’s turn. The winner of the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open and the 2017 British Open hasn’t been doing many Jordan Spieth things this year. Since finishing third in the Masters, Spieth has more missed cuts (2) than top-10 finishes (1) in 8 starts. A final-round 76 crushed his Claret Jug hopes after he held the lead after 54 holes. He tied for 60th in the Bridgestone Invitational. Can Spieth turn the switch?
How will top guns fare?
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and No. 2 Justin Thomas roll into St. Louis with huge momentum and are clearly the favorites. Both are 3-time winners this season. Johnson closed with a 64 in the Bridgestone to finish in a tie for third. His missed cut in the British Open still stings. And Thomas won his first WGC at Firestone by four shots against a loaded field on a tough track and is in perfect form to defend his title this week.
What's the story on the greens?
Players who took recent reconnaissance trips to Bellerive said the course is in fantastic shape from tee to green. But the putting surfaces could present challenges this week. A brutal, cold and wet winter followed by the hottest May on record in St. Louis history was a 1-2 punch to the gut of the greens. How will they receive shots and roll this week?
What's the latest on the Ryder Cup watch?
The PGA Championship is the last tournament for players to earn one of the 8 automatic spots for the 12-man team that will head to France for the biennial match play tussle with Europe in October. Four players have locked up spots — Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka.
Three others are virtual locks — Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler. The eighth spot is currently occupied by Webb Simpson, but he’s just 49 points ahead of Bryson DeChambeau. A victory or a top finish by the likes of DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Matt Kuchar, Kyle Stanley and Brian Harmon could earn the eighth spot. Those players and others will also be auditioning this week for one of Jim Furyk’s four captain’s picks. Furyk names three of them after the Dell Technologies Championship, the second FedExCup playoff event, and names the fourth one after the BMW Championship the following week.