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Here's everything you need to know ahead of PGA Championship next week in St. Louis, Missouri. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Jordan Spieth takes his second crack at completing the career Grand Slam, which would make him the second-youngest to accomplish the feat behind Tiger Woods. And speaking of Woods, the four-time champion is back for the first time since 2015.
FIELD NOTES
All but two of the top 112 in the world rankings are slated to compete, missing only No. 87 Bernd Wiesberger (wrist) and No.90 Joost Luiten (wrist).
Back concerns accompany world No. 2 Justin Rose to Bellerive. He sat out this week’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational as a precaution.
Slots remain for winners of the WGC Bridgestone and Barracuda Championship, if not already qualified.
Chilean teen Joaquin Niemann, all but assured a PGA TOUR card next season via his results on sponsor exemptions, was given a special invite to Bellerive.
The lineup also includes the top 20 finishers from June’s PGA Professional National Championship.
Field
https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/pga-championship/field.html
FEDEXCUP
Winner receives 600 points.
STORYLINES
A Spieth victory would make him just the sixth to accomplish the career Grand Slam – and second to do it at Bellerive, after Gary Player won the 1965 U.S. Open. Spieth finished four shots behind Francesco Molinari at The Open Championship, after taking a share of the lead into the final day.
Johnson, whose RBC Canadian Open triumph was his third of 2018, finds himself down to his last chance to add a second major to his 2016 U.S. Open crown.
Woods comes to Bellerive off his first top-10 in a major since 2013, though his past two PGA Championship starts (2014-15) have led to early exits.
Bellerive’s champion will have a short reign, as the PGA Championship moves from last in the major lineup to second with next year’s new May date.
COURSE
Bellerive Country Club, 7,317 yards, par 70. A major championship host for just the third time, the suburban St. Louis layout will offer a new test to all but a handful of pros who played the 2008 BMW Championship.
The club dates back to 1897 as The Field Club, later renamed for Louis St. Ange de Bellerive, North America’s last French governor. A 1960 relocation brought the club to its current site, where Robert Trent Jones Sr. was hired to select the land and build the course. The U.S. Open arrived just five years later, where Player became just the third man to complete the career Grand Slam. Bellerive also hosted the 1992 PGA Championship, as Nick Price won the first of three major titles.
The WGC American Express Championship came to Bellerive in 2001 but never teed off, abruptly canceled following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
WHERE TO PLAY
Must-play courses in the area include Tapawingo National Golf Club (St. Louis), Missouri Bluffs Golf Club (St. Louis) and Aberdeen Golf Club (Eureka, Missouri). Click here to book your tee time on www.teeoff.com.
72-HOLE RECORD
265, David Toms (2001 at Atlanta AC).
18-HOLE RECORD
63, Bruce Crampton (2nd round, 1975 at Firestone CC), Raymond Floyd (1st round, 1982 at Southern Hills), Gary Player (2nd round, 1984 at Shoal Creek), Michael Bradley (1st round, 1993 at Inverness), Vijay Singh (2nd round, 1993 at Inverness), Brad Faxon (4th round, 1995 at Riviera CC), José María Olazábal (3rd round, 2000 at Valhalla), Mark O’Meara (2nd round, 2001 at Atlanta AC), Thomas Bjorn (3rd round, 2005 at Baltusrol), Tiger Woods (2nd round, 2007 at Southern Hills), Steve Stricker (1st round, 2011 at Atlanta AC), Jason Dufner (2nd round, 2013 at Oak Hill), Hiroshi Iwata (2nd round, 2015 at Whistling Straits), Robert Streb (2nd round, 2016 at Baltusrol).
LAST YEAR
Thomas broke free from a seven-man logjam with three birdies on Quail Hollow’s back nine, finishing two shots ahead of the pack for his first major title.
Thomas trailed Hideki Matsuyama by two as he made the turn, but saw his fortunes pick up with a birdie at No.10 that hung on the lip for perhaps 10 seconds before falling. Three holes later, the Kentucky native moved to the top with a chip-in at No.13, then birdied again at the par-3 17th to open enough cushion to absorb a closing bogey.
Thomas carded a 3-under-par 68, one off the day’s best round, to become the eighth first-time major winner in a run of nine Grand Slam events. Louis Oosthuizen (70), Patrick Reed (67) and Francesco Molinari (67) shared second.
HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. ET (TNT). Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (TNT), 2-7 p.m. (CBS).
PGA TOUR LIVE: None.
RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 12-8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 12-7 p.m. (SiriusXM).
Congratulations again to last weeks winner @Tom81
Overall leader-board stays the same after a low scoring week heading into the years last major.
good luck to everyone this week
