We’ve made it to the second of the four majors in professional golf. The 105th playing of the PGA Championship will take place this week. There are a lot of exciting story lines. There is the LIV Tour versus PGA Tour drama. There is the traditional qualifying and lifetime opportunity for PGA rank and file professionals to compete. The course itself has undergone significant renovations to be ready for this major championship. Here is what you need to know about the 2023 PGA Championship.
Where is the 2023 PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is being played at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Oak Hill is a private country club with a history dating back around 122 years to 1901. There are two 18-hole courses on site. There is the east and the west courses. The east course is always the host of major championships and is the host of the 2023 PGA Championship. Oak Hill was originally designed by Donald Ross but after over a hundred years had strayed from its original design. The course has undergone the most extensive renovation in its history with a goal of restoring it back to its original design by Donald Ross. The renovation was handled by golf course architect Andrew Green. The story of the renovation was amazing and a great video describing it is below.
Who is the defending champion
Justin Thomas won the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills GC beating Will Zalatoris in a 3-hole playoff. Justin Thomas was interviewed by the PGA already in preparation for the championship.
What Players Are in the Field
Alker, Steven – NEW ZEALAND
Ancer, Abraham – MEXICO
Arnaus, Adri – SPAIN
Beach, Alex – Stillwater, MN [CFPT]
Bezuidenhout, Christiaan – SOUTH AFRICA
Block, Michael – Mission Viejo, CA [CFPT]
Bradley, Keegan – Woodstock, VT
Buckley, Hayden – Tupelo, MS
Burmester, Dean – SOUTH AFRICA
Burns, Sam – Shreveport, LA
Cahill, Matt – Palm Beach Gardens, FL [CFPT]
Cantlay, Patrick – Jupiter, FL
Casey, Paul – ENGLAND
Clark, Wyndham – Denver, CO
Cole, Eric – Delray Beach, FL
Conners, Corey – CANADA
Cordes, Anthony – Johns Creek, GA [CFPT]
Dahmen, Joel – Scottsdale, AZ
Davis, Cam – AUSTRALIA
Day, Jason – AUSTRALIA
DeChambeau, Bryson – Dallas, TX
Detry, Thomas – BELGIUM
Donald, Luke – ENGLAND
Droemer, Jesse – Houston, TX [CFPT]
Echavarria, Nico – COLOMBIA
English, Harris – Sea Island, GA
Finau, Tony – Lehi, UT
Fitzpatrick, Matthew – ENGLAND
Fleetwood, Tommy – ENGLAND
Fowler, Rickie – Murrieta, CA
Fox, Ryan – NEW ZEALAND
French, Chris – Rockford, IL [CFPT]
Gooch, Talor – Edmond, OK
Griffin, Ben – Chapel Hill, NC
Grillo, Emiliano – ARGENTINA
Grove, Russell – Coeur d’Alene, ID [CFPT]
Hadwin, Adam – CANADA
Hardy, Nick – Northbrook, IL
Harman, Brian – St. Simons Island, GA
Harrington, Pádraig – IRELAND
Hatton, Tyrrell – ENGLAND
Henley, Russell – Columbus, GA
Herbert, Lucas – AUSTRALIA
Higa, Kazuki –JAPAN
Hodges, Lee – Athens, AL
Hoge, Tom – Fort Worth, TX
Højgaard, Nicolai – DENMARK
Højgaard, Rasmus – DENMARK
Holmes, Steve – Simi Valley, CA [CFPT]
Homa, Max – Valencia, CA
Horschel, Billy – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Hoshino, Rikuya – JAPAN
Hossler, Beau – Mission Viejo, CA
Hovland, Viktor – NORWAY
Hubbard, Mark – The Woodlands, TX
Hughes, Mackenzie – CANADA
Im, Sungjae – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Inglis, Colin – Creswell, OR [CFPT]
Jaeger, Stephan – GERMANY
Johnson, Dustin – Jupiter, FL
Johnson, Zach – Cedar Rapids, IA
Kaewkanjana, Sadom – THAILAND
Kaymer, Martin – GERMANY
Kern, Ben – Grove City, OH [CFPT]
Killeen, JJ – Lubbock, TX [CFPT]
Kim, Si Woo – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Kim, Sihwan – Las Vegas, NV
Kim, Tom – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Kirk, Chris – Athens, GA
Kisner, Kevin – Aiken, SC
Kitayama, Kurt – Las Vegas, NV
Koch, Greg – Orlando, FL [CFPT]
Koepka, Brooks – West Palm Beach, FL
Kuchar, Matt – Jupiter, FL
Lahiri, Anirban – INDIA
Larrazábal, Pablo – SPAIN
Lawrence, Thriston – SOUTH AFRICA
Lee, K.H. – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Lee, Min Woo – AUSTRALIA
Lingmerth, David – SWEDEN
Lowry, Shane – IRELAND
MacIntyre, Robert – SCOTLAND
Matsuyama, Hideki – JAPAN
McCarthy, Denny – Jupiter, FL
McIlroy, Rory – NORTHERN IRELAND
McNealy, Maverick – Las Vegas, NV
Meronk, Adrian – POLAND
Micheel, Shaun – Collierville, TN
Micheluzzi, David – AUSTRALIA
Mickelson, Phil – Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Mitchell, Keith – St. Simons Island, GA
Molinari, Francesco – ITALY
Montgomery, Taylor – Las Vegas, NV
Moore, Taylor – Edmond, OK
Morikawa, Collin – La Cañada, CA
Mullinax, Trey – Birmingham, AL
NeSmith, Matthew – Aiken, SC
Niemann, Joaquín – CHILE
Norén, Alex – SWEDEN
Olesen, Thorbjørn – DENMARK
Otaegui, Adrián – SPAIN
Paul, Yannik – GERMANY
Pendrith, Taylor – CANADA
Pereira, Mito – CHILE
Perez, Victor – FRANCE
Pieters, Thomas – BELGIUM
Pigman, Kenny – Norco, CA [CFPT]
Poston, J.T. – Sea Island, GA
Power, Séamus – IRELAND
Putnam, Andrew – University Place, WA
Rahm, Jon – SPAIN
Reavie, Chez – Scottsdale, AZ
Reed, Patrick – The Woodlands, TX
Reynolds, Gabe – Dallas, TX [CFPT]
Riley, Davis – Hattiesburg, MS
Rodgers, Patrick – Jupiter, FL
Rose, Justin – ENGLAND
Ryder, Sam – Longwood, FL
Sanger, Chris – Red Hook, NY [CFPT]
Schauffele, Xander – San Diego, CA
Scheffler, Scottie – Dallas, TX
Schenk, Adam – Vincennes, IN
Scott, Adam – AUSTRALIA
Shattuck, Braden – Aston, PA [CFPT]
Shinkwin, Callum – ENGLAND
Simpson, Webb – Charlotte, NC
Smalley, Alex — Greensboro, NC
Smith, Cameron – AUSTRALIA
Smith, Jordan – ENGLAND
Somers, John – Brooksville, FL [CFPT]
Spaun, J.J. – Scottsdale, AZ
Speight, Josh – Locust Hill, VA [CFPT]
Spieth, Jordan – Dallas, TX
Stallings, Scott – Oak Ridge, TN
Steele, Brendan – Idyllwild, CA
Straka, Sepp – AUSTRIA
Strydom, Ockie – SOUTH AFRICA
Suh, Justin – San Jose, CA
Svensson, Adam – CANADA
Tarren, Callum – ENGLAND
Taylor, Ben – ENGLAND
Taylor, Nick – CANADA
Theegala, Sahith – Houston, TX
Thomas, Justin – Louisville, KY
Thompson, Davis – St. Simons Island, GA
Todd, Brendon – Watkinsville, GA
Varner III, Harold – Gastonia, NC
Walker, Jimmy – San Antonio, TX
Wallace, Matt – ENGLAND
Wells, Jeremy – Estero, FL [CFPT]
Willett, Danny – ENGLAND
Wise, Aaron – Ellerbe, NC
Woodland, Gary – Topeka, KS
Worthington II, Wyatt – Reynoldsburg, OH [CFPT]
Wu, Brandon – Scarsdale, NY
Yang, Y.E. – REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Young, Cameron – Scarborough, NY
Who Are The Favorites
Jon Rahm
Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy
Patrick Cantlay
Brooks Koepka
Justin Thomas
Dustin Johnson
Jason Day
Xander Schauffele
Collin Morikawa
Tony Finau
Cameron Young
Viktor Hovland
Jordan Spieth
Other Things To Know
The PGA Championship was last played at Oak Hill CC in 2013 with Jason Dufner winning the championship. Oak Hill has hosted three PGA Championships and three US Opens. Jack Nicklaus won five PGA Championships and finished second four times. Nicklaus won one of his PGA Championships at Oak Hill CC back in 1980. The winner receives the Wanamaker Trophy. The trophy is named after a business person who called together a group of people eventually forming the PGA of America. One more piece of information on the trophy. Some time between 1924 and 1927, multi-year champion Walter Hagen lost the original trophy. A replica had to be made. Amazingly, the original trophy was found several years later and is now on display at the PGA of America in Texas. It’s the replica that is awarded today.