PGA Championship 2024: Updated Predictions for Top Prize Money
Day one of the 2024 PGA Championship saw history made, a somewhat unexpected golfer climbing to the leaderboard's top, and the foundation laid for a wild weekend at Valhalla Golf Club.
Xander Schauffele made history with a course-record 9-under 62 to grab an early lead. The 30-year-old tops a field that includes Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and the world's best entering the weekend.
Before Saturday and Sunday's play, find out why those three are the favorites to take home the coveted championship and their share of the $17.5 million purse after the event.
Rory McIlroy
1 of 3
Rory McIlroy has not won a major championship since 2014, a ten-year drought for one of the more recognizable, popular, and accomplished golfers in the world.
The last course he won at?
Valhalla.
McIlroy shot a five-under 66 Thursday to stay in the mix. He bogeyed on hole 17, his only real error of the day, but the second-ranked golfer remains in contention to put an end to a decade-long streak.
Whether he can put together a run that silences doubters and extinguishes 10 years of frustration by netting him the championship that has eluded him remains to be seen, but he is trending in that direction, despite all of the off-course distractions that he faced entering this week's play.
Prediction: Third place finish
Xander Schauffele
2 of 3
Schauffele did not bogey in the first round of competition and as a result, tied the lowest round in major championship history.
And that is not the first time he has accomplished that particular feat.
Add to that the 30-year-old golfer finished second at the Wells Fargo Championship and has netted eight top-10 finishes this season and you have an athlete with momentum on his side.
Since 2019, Schauffele has appeared in the top 20 of every major he has played in except two, making his five-year run more impressive.
He may not have the name appeal of McIlroy or Scheffler but Schauffele has built this momentum for himself with steady, consistent play, culminating in what we witnessed from Valhalla on Thursday.
It will be difficult to replicate that all weekend long but there is something to be said for getting hot, staying that way, and taking home a victory and the San Diego native has to be considered one of the favorites to do just that by weekend's end.
Prediction: Second place finish
Scottie Scheffler
3 of 3
If there is one player who stands the best chance of putting pressure on Schauffele and potentially usurping him at the top of the leaderboard, it is Scheffler.
An eagle on the first hole of the course cut into Schauffele's nine-stroke leading, knocking it to a more manageable seven.
Scheffler has been on a roll of a lifetime of late, picking up victories in four of the last five tournaments he has played in.
The fifth?
He finished second and had the stuff to win that one, too.
The world's No. 1 has earned that ranking with his play and once again showed why he is considered the best in his field right now.
There is always the question of weather and how it may affect this weekend's play with rain in the forecast, but barring any catastrophic slip-ups, do not be surprised if Scheffler's name is called as the winner of the PGA Championship, making it five out of six and further strengthening his claim to "best in the world" status.
Prediction: First place finish, winner
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