PGA Championship 2024: Predictions for Top Prize Money Before Opening Round
Five weeks ago, Scottie Scheffler was victorious at the first major golf tournament of the year, claiming his second career victory at the Masters Tournament. Now, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world has his sights set on the next major tourney: this week's PGA Championship.
The 2024 edition of the PGA Tournament is set to begin Thursday at Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky. It marks the fourth time the course has hosted the event, and the first since 2014, when Rory McIlroy was victorious.
McIlroy will likely be among the front-runners again this year. But so should Scheffler, who has never won the PGA Championship but finished second to Brooks Koepka when the tournament was held at Oak Hill Country Club in 2023.
The purse for this year's event has not yet been announced. Last year, it was set at $17.5 million, with the winner receiving $3.15 million of that amount.
With the PGA Championship about to get underway, here are predictions for which golfers will come away with the most prize money on Sunday.
3. Wyndham Clark
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Over the past few months, Wyndham Clark's play has been quite inconsistent. He had strong showings at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship in March, finishing second at both of those tournaments, but then he missed the cut at the Masters in April.
After tying for 47th at the Wells Fargo Championship last week, Clark is due to heat back up. The 30-year-old could do that at Valhalla, where he'll be playing for the first time.
Although Clark has never competed at this course, he should bode well, considering he has power that should play well there. He also has more major experience at this point in his career, which includes a win at the 2023 U.S. Open.
Clark won't win his first PGA Championship. But he will record his best career finish at the event by placing in the top three.
2. Rory McIlroy
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It seems highly likely that McIlroy is going to have a strong showing and be at or near the top of the leaderboard throughout the weekend. That was the case in 2014, when he shot between a 66 and a 68 in all four rounds at Valhalla en route to his second (and most recent) victory at the PGA Championship.
McIlroy has four wins in major tournaments, but none of those came after 2014. The 35-year-old has a legitimate chance at ending his drought this week, though, especially because he's riding a good bit of momentum into the event.
Last week, McIlroy was victorious at the Wells Fargo Championship, securing his first win of 2024. He also had a decent showing at the Masters last month, tying for 22nd.
Expect McIlroy to contend for the win up through Sunday's final round. The prediction here is that he falls just short and has to settle for a runner-up finish.
1. Scottie Scheffler
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Why pick against Scheffler at this point? The 27-year-old is playing well everywhere he goes, and he's on an unreal run of stringing together incredible rounds.
Over Scheffler's past five tournaments, he has four wins (Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship, Masters Tournament and RBC Heritage Open) and a second-place finish (Houston Open). He hasn't finished outside of the top 10 at an event since January.
It's almost a certainty that Scheffler fares well in his first appearance at Valhalla. He's playing the best golf of his career, and he doesn't seem likely to slow down anytime in the near future.
Because of that, Scheffler will continue his red-hot run by capturing his first PGA Championship title. He'll hold off McIlroy and the rest of the field to secure his third career victory at a major tournament.
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