PGA Championship Big Board: How Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and everyone else stacks up

Scheffler is far and away the favorite at Valhalla. As evidenced by his four-shot victory at Augusta National earlier this spring, Scheffler is the best player in the world by a significant margin. Scheffler will come into the PGA having not played since the RBC Heritage, which he won by five shots the week after the Masters. The Texan did not enter the field at the Wells Fargo Championship, last week’s signature event, as his wife Meredith was due to give birth to their first child. At Valhalla, Scheffler looks to go 2-of-2 in majors this season. Only six players have pulled off the feat: Craig Wood, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. There is one perplexing hurdle in Scheffler’s way: He has never won a tournament outside of February-April. All 10 of Scheffler’s PGA Tour wins have occurred during those three months. — Gabby Herzig

There’s no easy way to discuss Schauffele right now. On paper, he’s playing the second best overall golf on any tour. In 12 starts this season he’s finished outside of the top-10 just four times. Oh, and only once outside the top-25. The problem? He isn’t winning. It’s one thing to just fall short or not grab it. That’s always been Schauffele’s bugaboo. But this season between a final group fading at Riviera, a disappointing final group back nine at The Players and a McIlroy dismantling him Sunday at Quail Hollow, the storyline of Schauffele’s finishing struggles have reached a new level. — Miller

Wyndham Clark’s reputation is that he’s not exactly a finesse golfer — he will hit driver and get the ball out as far as he can, then hack it out of the lie with a wedge up to the green. If he must simply find the fairway, he’ll take less than driver to do it. It’s an effective game though — the 2023 U.S. Open winner won at Pebble Beach earlier this year and twice finished runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in March. But it may come down to course setup to determine whether or not Clark can claim his second career major. — Kellenberger

As a past PGA champion and a contender at last month’s Masters, Morikawa is entering the week at Valhalla with some revived momentum. Despite faltering at the finish line at Augusta, the two-time major winner seems content with his form. Since winning the 2021 Open Championship, Morikawa has captured just one additional title on tour (the 2023 Zozo Championship). Swing issues have been the central culprit for his inconsistency. But the week following his T3 finish at the Masters, Morikawa again showed signs of progress, posting a solo ninth place at the RBC Heritage. According to reports, Morikawa also recently reconnected with his lifelong swing and mental coach, Rick Sessinghaus, a familiar face who could help the Southern Californian continue his upward trend. — Herzig

Max Homa had been the top-15 golfer who couldn’t even get in the mix at a major. He finally put some of that narrative to rest with a T3 at last month’s Masters. On the other hand, Homa’s game is still trying to catch up to last year’s level. His driving stats have taken a step back, and his putting has been volatile. But the best thing for Homa is he’s playing better on bigger stages. Between a T8 at the Arnold Palmer, a T8 last week at Quail Hollow and his great Masters week, he’s playing great golf in the signature events. We’ll see if the great ball striker can keep it up. — Miller

For seven years running, Cantlay was arguably the most steady, consistent player on tour. His strokes gained statistics in each category remained eerily similar each season. He racked up top-10 finishes. You could always count him among the best 5-8 golfers in the world. Suddenly, though, we’re seeing a less reliable Cantlay in 2024. He has just two top-10s. He’s uncharacteristically finished outside the top 20 in seven of 11 starts. And when he entered the weekend at the Genesis Invitational with a five-shot lead, he shot 70 and 72 for a disappointing fourth-place finish. Cantlay hasn’t finished top 5 in a major since 2019, so he knows as well as anyone he needs to find that form. — Miller

The breakout is coming, we think. The first PGA Tour win came in the fall and Theegala has had other chances since, including The Sentry, WM Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage. The knock on Theegala was a driver that could get off the planet, but the 26-year-old has made progress. He’s 78th on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy this season, but that’s a considerable step-up from the No. 172 he was last year. And that’s not necessarily a deal breaker — plenty of recognizable names are below Theegala in that particular stat. — Kellenberger

Zalatoris has been trending for a big week since his comeback from his back surgery in April 2023. A flare-up took him out of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, but otherwise, Zalatoris has not missed a beat this season. He posted top 5s at the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer, in addition to a T9 finish at the Masters. Zalatoris has benefited from his switch to the increasingly popular broomstick putting method, but the best part of his game this season has been his approach play. Zalatoris is ranked eighth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach to the green, a strength that is particularly beneficial for tricky major championship pin locations. — Herzig

Golf is strange. Harman ran away with the 2023 Open Championship by six shots, showed real fight at the Ryder Cup and ended the year strong. By the time he finished T2 at The Players in March, it was legitimate to ask if Harman was one of the 10-20 best golfers in the world. Now, you take a step back and see that T2 was Harman’s only top-10 finish in his last 12 starts. His approach game has taken a big dip, and he missed the cut at the Masters. If Harman has proven anything, it’s that he’s an elite competitor. But we’re reaching the point he either has it or he doesn’t on any given week. — Miller

Four top-10 finishes, including a T9 at the Masters and a solo runner-up placing at the Valspar Championship, highlight Cameron Young’s 2024, but he remains in search of his first PGA Tour win. He’s now 27, certainly not an old man but also not quite a young one, making us wonder if and when it will come. We’ve certainly seen enough from him in major championships, with five top 10s in nine starts since 2022, to not discount it entirely. But can he close? Letting Peter Malnati chase him down at Valspar was not a great look. — Kellenberger

Justin Thomas’s 2024 season has been a roller coaster ride, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll put together a hopeful performance or another disappointing one at Valhalla. On the one hand, Thomas is a two-time PGA champion and has proven to be successful on similar course set-ups, so it’s possible he could break out of his major championship slump (he missed the cut in four of the last five majors). Plus, Thomas grew up in Lousiville and will have some strong hometown support. On the other hand, the 31-year-old didn’t show much positive momentum at the Masters. He imploded on the back nine on Friday to once again miss the weekend. He also missed the cut at the Genesis and the Players. Could Louisville be the end of his struggles? — Herzig

At an age when most of his peers are preparing for NCAA championships or fighting their way up to the PGA Tour through Korn Ferry, Akshay Bhatia is a two-time PGA Tour winner making his second major start of the year. It’s difficult to not marvel at Bhatia, with his long but powerful swing attached to a rail-thin physique. But the 22-year-old clearly has learned a thing or two about how to compete on the tour since turning professional after high school. It’s a good bet that he’ll claim a major at some point, maybe soon. — Kellenberger

There have been flashes of hope and brief moments of stability, but for the most part, Jordan Spieth’s 2024 season has been nothing short of organized chaos. Since the WM Phoenix Open, Spieth has not managed to string together more than one consecutive made cut. He shot himself out of the Masters early, with a quadruple bogey on Day 1. He was also sent packing early at the Players, the Valspar and the CJ Cup. Lingering issues with his wrist have probably been a culprit. Spieth’s putting and driving have saved him occasionally — he’s ranked in the top 30 in both categories on tour right now. But his approach game is suffering. Spieth is currently ranked 110th in strokes gained approach to the green. — Herzig

One of the most overlooked players on tour, Henley only has one win in the last seven years yet ranks No. 10 in the world on DataGolf. It hasn’t gotten much attention, but Henley became a dark horse Ryder Cup candidate with 14 top-20 finishes last year. In 2024 it’s only gotten better, finishing fourth at the Sony Open, the Arnold Palmer and the Texas Open. He’s an elite ball striker and a great putter. The strange thing is he’s specifically struggled at PGA Championships, not finishing better than T37 since 2016. — Miller

Fueling Sam Burns at this week’s PGA Championship will be a healthy dose of perspective, gained by the birth of his first child just last month (we also presume a handful of restful nights will help matters). There’s a long list of guys who found another level to their game after they became a father, and Burns does seem like that type. His 2024 has been uneven but the statistical performance is a smidge better than his actual results have been. — Kellenberger

Bradley will always have fond memories at the PGA. The Vermont native won in his maiden major start at the 2011 championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. The star of Netflix’s Full Swing Season 2 has struggled to contend in majors since then, however, and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to get his game back to a place where major victories are possible. In January Bradley was close to re-entering the winner’s circle but he lost in a playoff to Grayson Murray at the Sony Open. He last won on tour at the 2023 Travelers Championship in Connecticut. — Herzig