LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brooks Koepka is thinking about what could have been at the 2024 PGA Championship, if not for Saturday.
Koepka played three of his four rounds in 12 under. But a 3-over 74 Saturday, that was a lot uglier until he closed with two birdies, took him out of contention for his sixth major championship.
“(Saturday) I don’t think I did one thing good at all,” Koepka said after his round of six birdies and one bogey Sunday. “Usually when you play bad you got one thing you do OK. You might putt bad. You might drive it bad. Yesterday was a combination of everything.”
Which is why Koepka was not in a pleasant mood even after his 66. When asked to assess his week he said, “Not very good. That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”
And when asked the difference in his game from those struggles Saturday to his recovering Sunday, he said, “I don’t know, about eight shots.”
Brooks Koepka and his caddie walk the 17th fairway to his ball during the final round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Clare Grant/Louisville Courier Journal)
Maybe this will help:
In strokes gained: off the tee, Koepka went from 66th Saturday to fourth at the time he finished Sunday.
In strokes gained: putting, he finished 68th Saturday to ninth at the time he finished Sunday.
“I feel like I’m playing good,” Koepka said. “(Saturday) was just kind of unfortunate timing, I missed a bunch of putts Friday from inside 5 feet. Other than that I feel like I’d be pretty close to right there.”
Koepka spoke about his team assigning him “punishment workouts” after a poor showing at the Masters. He described them as a lot more running, very up-tempo, no rest.
“It sucks,” he said.
With the U.S. Open coming up in a month, Koepka expects his team will not be easy on him between now and the time he arrives at Pinehurst, despite moving up the scoreboard Sunday.
And Koepka, who said he will do whatever his team asks, is ready to go to work.
There have been 13 playoffs in PGA Championship history, with five of those using the three-hole aggregate format.
The 2024 PGA Championship had 15 players within five shots of the lead to start the final round.
That had all the makings of a potential playoff at Valhalla Golf Club.
The PGA Championship is unique in that it uses a three-hole aggregate playoff format.
The last time they needed extra holes to settle a PGA was in 2022 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
There have been 13 playoffs in PGA Championship history, with five of those using the current three-hole aggregate format. The first time that format was used was in 2000, the year of the epic Tiger Woods-Bob May playoff thriller.
The winner of the 2024 PGA will bank a tournament-record $3.3 million from a total prize pool of $18.5 million, also a tournament record.
Here’s what to know if there’s a tie after 72 holes of stroke play.
What is the PGA Championship playoff format?
If two or more players are tied after four rounds, there will be a three-hole aggregate playoff. Whoever has the lowest combined score over the three holes is the champion.
What if it’s still tied after the three holes?
There would then be a sudden-death, hole-by-hole playoff starting on No. 18, then continuing as needed to No. 13, No. 17 and No. 18 repeated.
Which holes are used?
According to the PGA of America, the three-hole aggregate playoff in 2024 will be contested on Nos. 13, 17 and 18. No. 13 is called “The Limestone Hole,” a 349-yard par 4, the shortest par 4 at Valhalla but one that features an island green. No. 17 is called “Straight Up” and is a 477-yard par 4. The 18th hole, dubbed “Photo Finish,” is a par 5 that measures 573 yards. Those yardages are the official Sunday numbers according to the PGA of America.
The playoff participants will draw numbers to determine who tees off first.
PGA Championship playoff history
The have been 13 times in all since the PGA switched to a stroke-play tournament in 1958 that a playoff was needed:
2022: Justin Thomas over Will Zalatoris
2011: Keegan Bradley over Jason Dufner
2010: Martin Kaymer over Bubba Watson
2004: Vijay Singh over Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard
2000: Tiger Woods over Bob May
1996: Mark Brooks over Kenny Perry
1993: Paul Azinger over Greg Norman
1987: Larry Nelson over Lanny Wadkins
1979: David Graham over Ben Crenshaw
1978: John Mahaffey over Jerry Pate and Tom Watson
1977: Lanny Wadkins over Gene Littler
1967: Don January over Don Massengale
1961: Jerry Barber or Don January
PGA Championship aggregate playoff history
The current three-hole aggregate format has been deployed five times:
2022: Justin Thomas over Will Zalatoris
2011: Keegan Bradley over Jason Dufner
2010: Martin Kaymer over Bubba Watson
2004: Vijay Singh over Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard
2000: Tiger Woods over Bob May
Do the other golf majors have the same playoff format?
No. The British Open has a four-hole aggregate playoff. The Masters’ structure is a stroke-play sudden death alternating between the No. 18 and No. 10 holes. The U.S. Open has had a two-hole aggregate playoff since 2018.
One of the PGA Tour’s next great characters put on quite the show on Sunday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Alejandro Tosti, let me, as the kids say, drop some knowledge on you.
The 27-year-old from Rosario, Argentina – the same town as soccer legend and current Inter Miami star Leo Messi – is in his first full season on the PGA Tour and is already making a name for himself as one of the next great characters on the tour due to his antics and personality.
During Sunday’s final round of the 2024 PGA Championship, his skill and confidence were on full display on Valhalla Golf Club’s par-4 13th hole. Known as The Limestone Hole, the 13th plays to 351 yards (the shortest par-4 on the course) and features an island green that’s built up at a 20-foot elevation and lined by, you guessed it, limestone boulders.
Most players lay up with an iron off the tee and then flip in a wedge onto the putting surface to set up a birdie chance. Tosti, however, was feeling on the back nine, pulled his driver from the bag and hit a near-perfect shot to 7 feet to set up one of the most impressive eagles of the week.
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 19, 2024
Tosti was in position to contend for a potential top 10 finish at the second men’s major championship of the season after opening rounds of 68-69 to reach 5 under for the tournament. On Saturday, however, he struggled to the tune of a 8-over 79 that featured four double bogeys.
The winner on Sunday will take home $3.33 million.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club will feature a record purse and first-place prize money payout this year.
On Saturday the PGA of America announced the 106th playing of its flagship event will offer an $18.5 million purse, with $3.33 million going to the winner. Second place will earn $1,998,000 while third will bank $1,258,000.
The PGA of America has been steadily increasing the PGA Championship purse over the years, the last several in particular. The 2023 PGA Championship featured a $17.5 million purse, up from $15 million in 2022, $12 million in 2021 and $11 million in 2020. The last time the PGA Championship was at Valhalla in 2014, the purse was $9,913,000.
Players who missed the cut and turned in a 36-hole score will earn $4,000 each. Any player who made the cut but failed to submit a 72-hole score will also be paid $4,000.
Out of a field of 156 players, 78 have made the weekend cut at Valhalla Golf Club in the 106th playing of the PGA of America’s flagship event. The second round was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes after a fatal accident occurred near the club’s entrance early on Friday morning, which pushed the completion of the second round to Saturday morning.
A dense fog delayed the resumption of play on Saturday morning, which has now impacted the third-round tee times on Saturday. Players are once again going off in threesomes off Nos. 1 and 10 in order to fit the TV window.
A trio of California kids and the top three players on the leaderboard – Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala – will tee off at 1:40 p.m. ET, but there are a few other must-watch groups on the tee sheet.
Check out the tee times and groupings for the third round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla below.
The television and streaming viewing experience starts early in the week.
The 2024 PGA Championship tournament rounds are May 16-19 but the television and the streaming viewing experience started Tuesday from Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
The 106th rendition is the fourth time the PGA has been staged there. Valhalla has also hosted the 2008 Ryder Cup and the 2004 and 2011 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championships.
It’s not a major without the multi-screen experience and CBS and ESPN are teaming up to spread coverage across their multiple TV and streaming platforms. CBS is airing the championship for the 34th consecutive year and 41st time overall. CBS is leading the overall production and will have in position 125 cameras and close to 150 microphones around the golf course including drones, bunker cams, flycams and more.
All times listed are ET.
Saturday, May 18
Updates of the conclusion of second round on SportsCenter, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., ESPN
Featured groups and featured holes (Nos. 13, 14, 18), 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., ESPN+
Third round, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., ESPN+ (alternate telecast)
Woods is eight shots off the cut line and 19 behind the leader.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tiger Woods is heading home early.
The 15-time major champion will miss the weekend cut at the 2024 PGA Championship after a lackluster 6-over 77 on Friday in the second round at Valhalla Golf Club that was doomed from the start. Woods walked off the course at 7 over for the tournament, eight shots off the cut.
“The week, it was a great week being here, being here at Valhalla, and unfortunately my scores did not indicate how the people treated me and how great a week I had,” Woods said after his round. “Unfortunately, I hit too many shots.”
This week’s major championship is being held in Kentucky but Woods took a brief visit to Los Angeles on his scorecard with his 7-4-7 stretch of triple-bogey-triple that derailed his round from the jump on Nos. 2-4.
“Well, I got off to bad start and the rough grabbed me at 2. No sand in the bunker as well. Just made a mistake there. I compounded the problem there at 4,” Woods explained after his round. “Just kept making mistakes and things you can’t do, not just in tournaments but in majors especially. And I just kept making them. I hung around for most of the day but unfortunately the damage was done early.”
He did well to fight back and earn some honor with a pair of birdies on Nos. 7 and 8, but gave those right back with consecutive squares thanks to bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12. Woods hopped on board the par train on Nos. 13-17 and made a consolation birdie at the last to seal the deal for his trunk-slam finish at 7 over par, eight shots off the cut and a whopping 19 off the lead.
The score is frustrating, but what will really irk Woods will be the fact that it wasn’t his body that gave up on him today. It was his game. He wasn’t limping. He wasn’t grimacing and constantly stretching throughout the round. He just wasn’t dialed with his approaches or short game. Simple as that.
Despite the poor showing, the 48-year-old Woods is still confident his game will continue to improve. In due course, that is.
“I just got to — I need to play more. Unfortunately, I just haven’t played a whole lot of tournaments, and not a whole lot of tournaments on my schedule either,” he said. “Hopefully everything will somehow come together in my practice sessions at home and be ready for Pinehurst.”
The next time we should expect to see Woods will be at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, June 13-16. The warm summer temperature in the Sandhills of North Carolina should be like an incubator for Woods’ surgically repaired body that’s held together by pins and screws, and the course should give Tiger an advantage due to his ability to get creative with various shots. That said, his lack of tournament reps and performances so far this year shouldn’t give fans too high of expectations.
But after being handcuffed, fingerprinted and having his mug shot taken, he was released on his own recognizance and went out and made six birdies to shoot 5-under 66 at Valhalla Golf Club.
Scheffler was so locked in during his second round of the 2024 PGA Championship you never would have known he was locked up just hours before his tee time.
Scheffler was booked on suspicion at 7:28 a.m. ET, released at 8:40 a.m. ET and finally made it to the course less than an hour before his tee time. He walked off the course at 9 under, T-3 on the leaderboard, and trailing only leader Collin Morikawa among those in the clubhouse. Scheffler conceded it wasn’t easy but after a couple of holes he was able to get into his bubble.
“Coming out here and trying to play today was definitely a challenge, but I did my best to control my mind, control my breathing,” he said. “As far as best rounds of my career, I would say it was pretty good.”
Scottie Scheffler putts on the 11th green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Clare Grant/Louisville Courier Journal)
That may be the understatement of the year. When Scheffler arrived at the 10th tee, his first hole of the day, the crowd erupted in a chant of Scott-Tee! Scott-Tee! There were shouts of “Free Scottie” as well as cracks of how well he was playing with an ankle bracelet, whether golf was his work-release program and some supporters with a little extra time on their hands made mug shot T-shirts before heading to the course. Overall, the reigning Masters champion was treated to a new level of love that was reminiscent of a home Ryder Cup.
“I didn’t really know what the reception would be like,” he said. “I felt like they were cheering extra loud for me today. I really do. I know sometimes you can’t really see it on my face, but I really do enjoy playing in front of the fans.”
Despite all the distractions and a limited warm-up, Scheffler birdied two of his first three holes (with his lone bogey in between) and was in control of his round from start to finish. He added circles to his scorecard on Nos. 18, 2, 4 and 7, and is once again in contention in a major coming off his 2024 Masters victory.
Scheffler was shaken to his core by the experience of being handcuffed and booked on suspicion at a police station. He said he shook uncontrollably for more than an hour and even after the round noted, “I feel like my head is still spinning. I can’t really explain what happened this morning.”
After being led away in handcuffs from his tournament-issued courtesy vehicle, Scheffler chatted with an officer in a police car on the way to the station, and said that helped settle his nerves. While he was waiting to be booked, he approached that same officer and asked him, “Hey, excuse me, can you just come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down.”
Scheffler said he was never angry. He was just in shock.
“It was definitely a new feeling for me,” he said.
Fans watch golfer Scottie Scheffler on the the 17th green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal)
Scheffler commended the officers at the police station and said that they made several jokes with him while he waited.
“This one older officer looked at me as I was doing my fingerprints or whatever, and he looks at me and he goes, ‘So do you want the full experience today?’ I kind of looked at him, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how to answer that.’ He’s like, ‘Come on, man, you want a sandwich?’ I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll take a sandwich.’ I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I mean, they were really kind,” he said.
Waiting in his cell, Scheffler could see himself being discussed on ESPN and could make out the time and that the start of the second round had been delayed, moving his tee time to 10:08 a.m. ET.
“I was like, well, maybe I could be able to get out,” he said. “I started going through my routine (including stretching) and I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could.”
“My sympathies go out to the family of Mr. Mills,” Scheffler said at the start of his press conference. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through this morning. One day he’s heading to the golf course to watch a tournament. A few moments later he’s trying to cross the street, and now he’s no longer with us. I can’t imagine what they’re going through. My heart – I feel for them. I’m sorry.”
Scheffler is facing the following four charges: Assault in the second degree of a police officer, criminal mischief in the third degree, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic. He has retained local attorneys for the case and has an arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, May 21.
“My situation will get handled,” he said. “It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding.”
During a steady rain, Scheffler recorded his 43 consecutive round of par or better dating to the Tour Championship in August. One week after the birth of his first child, the world No. 1 is seeking his fifth win in his last six starts and to become the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win the first two legs of the career Grand Slam. The last reigning Masters champion to win the PGA Championship was Jack Nicklaus, in 1975 at Firestone Country Club. Scheffler is well-positioned heading into the weekend at the PGA and it seems as if even the surreal circumstances of getting arrested hours before his tee time can’t stop Scheffler from breaking par.
“It was a very confusing and chaotic situation, but I did my best to just follow instructions and do as I was told as I was sitting there handcuffed,” Scheffler said. “I’m glad to be out here competing, doing what I love.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The second round of the 106th PGA Championship has been delayed at least one hour and 20 minutes due to a pedestrian fatality near Valhalla Golf Club.
According to a police report, a man, who has been identified by police as John Mills, was crossing Shelbyville Road Friday morning near the golf course when he was struck by a shuttle bus traveling eastbound in the center lane dedicated for buses. Mills, who was reporting to work, was pronounced dead on the scene. Officers received a call to the 15500 block of Shelbyville Road around 5 a.m. regarding a vehicle collision between a bus and a person.
The PGA announced that the second round will begin at 8:35 am. ET. The first grouping was expected to tee off at 7:15 a.m. ET.
The PGA of America released the following statement: “This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club. This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”
It later sent an update: “Our primary concern today remains with the family of John Mills, who lost his life in a tragic accident early this morning while reporting to work. As it relates to the incident involving Scottie Scheffler, we are fully cooperating as local authorities review what took place. While the legal process plays out, questions should to be directed to Scheffler’s attorney or local authorities.”
UPDATE
Round 2 of the 2024 PGA Championship is delayed due to an accident near the course.
Scheffler is facing the following four charges: Assault in the second degree of a police officer, criminal mischief in the third degree, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.
He has retained local attorneys for the case and has an arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, May 21.
Scheffler was released from custody at 8:40 a.m. ET and arrived at the golf course at 9:15 a.m. ET. According to a PGA of America source on site, Scheffler was personally escorted to the club by an owner of Valhalla and made his 10:08 a.m. ET tee time.
Jeff Darlington reported early Friday morning that Scheffler attempted to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club and that officer attempted to “attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla.” The officer reportedly began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car, and when the 27-year-old exited the car, he was shoved against the vehicle and placed in handcuffs. He was then detained in the back of a police car.
“They told him to stop,” Darlington said in an appearance on ESPN. “When he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle. Scheffler then traveled another 10 yards before stopping the car. The police officer then grabbed at his arm attempting to pull him out of the car before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs.”
In a statement provided to ESPN.com, Scheffler called it a “very chaotic situation” and said there was a “big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions.”
After a brief hiatus for the birth of his child, Scheffler returned to competition this week with a 4-under 67 on Thursday and sat T-12 on the leaderboard after the first round. So far this season Scheffler has four wins at the Masters, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship and RBC Heritage. In 10 starts this season, he has nine top 10s, with a worst finish of T-17.
This story will be updated. Golfweek’s David Dusek contributed to the report.
