101st PGA Championship: TV, betting lines, what to know
Tiger Woods will attempt to make it 2-for-2 in 2019 majors and Brooks Koepka will compete for a repeat victory when the PGA begins Thursday at Bethpage Black.
Tiger Woods will try to make it two straight major wins for the first time since 2006 this weekend in Long Island.
Here’s what you need to know about the 101st PGA Championship, being held at Bethpage Black beginning Thursday.
What: The 101st PGA Championship, the second major of 2019
Where: Bethpage State Park, Black Course, Farmingdale, N.Y., 7,459 yards, par-70.
When: Thursday and Friday, 6:45 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. (approx.)-7 p.m.
TV: TNT, Thursday 1-7 p.m., Friday 1-7:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; CBS 3, Saturday-Sunday, 2-7 p.m.
Defending champion: Brooks Koepka shot a PGA Championship-record 264 for 72 holes at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, defeated Tiger Woods by two strokes and Adam Scott by three.
The field: The PGA says that every member of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings will compete. The field also includes 20 club professionals who qualified at the PGA Professional Championship earlier this month.
An earlier date: The tournament was moved from its usual August date, making it the last major of the season, to May because of the new earlier dates for the PGA Tour season-ending FedExCup playoffs.
Storylines
It’s all about Tiger – Woods won his 15th career major, and first since the 2008 U.S. Open, with a 1-stroke victory at the Masters, and is the favorite to win at a course where he won the Open 17 years ago.
The Koepka train – Koepka’s win at last year’s PGA was his third in his last six majors, and he almost made it four out of seven at the Masters before falling one stroke short of Woods.
Is it Fowler’s time? – Fowler has come close in the majors – eight of his 10 top-10 finishes have been fifth place or better – but he carries an 0-for-37 record into Bethpage. Could it be his turn?
A saturated course – Rain fell most of Sunday and Monday on the course and more is expected at some point on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Those conditions will favor long hitters like Koepka.
Any changes? – Could the wet conditions compel PGA of America officials to move the tees up, or ease up on hole locations? One thing to consider: Winning scores in six of the last seven PGAs have been double digits under par.
Ride, John, ride – John Daly, who won the 1991 PGA as the ninth alternate, has been granted permission to use a cart because of arthritis in his right knee that he said prevents him from walking more than six holes.
Thomas out - Justin Thomas, the 2017 PGA champion, withdrew Monday because of a wrist injury.
Betting lines
(source: CBSSports.com)
8-1 Tiger Woods
10-1 Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka
12-1 Rory McIlroy
16-1 Rickie Fowler
18-1 Jon Rahm, Justin Rose
20-1 Francesco Molinari
25-1 Jason Day, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Bryson DeChambeau
30-1 Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau
40-1 Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay
50-1 Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Paul Casey
60-1 Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson, Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Marc Leishman, Gary Woodland, Ian Poulter
Featured groupings
7:40 a.m. Thursday/1:05 p.m. Friday: Sergio Garcia-Adam Scott-Kelly Kraft
8:02 a.m. Thursday/1:27 p.m. Friday: Rickie Fowler-Bubba Watson-Justin Rose
8:24 a.m. Thursday/1:49 p.m. Friday: Brooks Koepka-Francesco Molinari-Tiger Woods
1:16 p.m. Thursday/7:51 a.m. Friday: Jon Rahm-Dustin Johnson-Jordan Spieth
1:38 p.m. Thursday/8:13 a.m. Friday: Rory McIlroy-Phil Mickelson-Jason Day