LOUISVILLE, Ky. A PGA Championship filled with several layers of intrigue began Thursday after a 10-minute delay due to fog, which quickly gave way to sunshine and a morning that should set the tone for Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth.
Weather has been an issue all week, with rain sometimes closing Valhalla Golf Club for brief periods during two practice days.
McIlroy returns to the site of his last major match 10 years ago, which was also marred by weather, when a two-hour rain delay on Sunday meant he played in the front group so he could finish before dark.
He started this course just two days after the news broke that he was divorcing his wife of seven years. McIlroy shortened his interview to 10 minutes with a request that all questions be golf-related only. Asked about his energy and how he was feeling, McIlroy said dryly: “I’m ready to play this week.”
Woods was also a champion at Valhalla 24 years ago, when he was younger and before back surgeries, knee surgeries and a car accident in 2021. He is playing for just the third time this year.
Spieth is playing alongside defending champion Brooks Koepka. At stake for Spieth once again is the chance to become the sixth player to win a career Grand Slam if he can hoist the Wanamaker Trophy later in the week.
Koepka is just two Grand Slam steps old, but his main tally is already at five.
“I’m looking forward to a major championship,” Koepka said. “It kind of adds to my excitement.”
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, is among the few stars playing in the afternoon on a soft course susceptible to low scores. Scheffler hasn’t competed in three weeks, staying home in Dallas for the imminent birth of her first child. A son named Bennett was born on May 8.
He still comes into Valhalla with a lot of momentum – four wins in his last five starts, one of them a second Masters green jacket, with the exception of a runner-up finish in Houston.
Being home gave him time to reflect and that was okay.
“I married my high school sweetheart and always wanted to play professional golf, and now I’m here,” Scheffler said. “I was sitting there with a newborn in my arms and the green jacket in the closet. It was a very special moment.
“The competitiveness in me doesn’t allow me to reflect much. And I was trying to do my best to prepare to play this week.”
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AP Golf:
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