US PGA Championship 2023: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler among players at Oak Hill

The second men’s major of the season gets under way on Thursday with the 105th US PGA Championship taking place at the iconic Oak Hill Country Club in upstate New York.

Shaun Micheel, the 2003 champion at Oak Hill, is in the opening group, which will get the championship started at 12:00 BST – with a field of 156 players aiming to lift the Wanamaker Trophy, come Sunday.

American Justin Thomas is the defending champion but the world’s top two players, current Masters champion Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler come into the championship with the best form.

There will be no Tiger Woods as he continues to recover from an ankle injury,

Here are some of the main storylines going into the 105th edition of PGA Championship.

Battle of the big two?

Rahm’s victory at Augusta National saw him leapfrog Scheffler at the top of the world rankings.

The Spaniard’s four victories in 11 events and a second-placed finish in his most recent start, in the Mexico Open, suggest that he is in the perfect form to move a step closer to winning a career Grand Slam, after his breakthrough victory at the US Open in 2021.

However, five of the past six Masters champions went on to miss the cut in that year’s US PGA Championship.

The other standout star this term, has undoubtedly been Scheffler, the player who placed the Green Jacket on Rahm’s shoulders for the first time in April.

The American has repeatedly underlined his credentials at the top of the game, finishing in the top 12 in each of his past 13 events, including victories at the prestigious Players Championship and WM Phoenix Open.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is also highly fancied, on a course where he is an honorary member, albeit he arrives in New York looking to turn his form around.

The world number three won twice early in the season but missed the cut at both The Players and the Masters and recently finished joint 47th at the Wells Fargo Championship, some 19 strokes behind American winner Wyndham Clark, in an event he has previously won three times.

McIlroy has competed in 30 majors since he won the last of his four – the 2014 US PGA – although he did end up in the top 10 at all four of the biggest championships in 2022.

Jordan Spieth is making his seventh attempt at a career Grand Slam after recovering from a wrist injury, while fellow Americans Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Max Homa, are all chasing their first major after consistently impressing so far this term.

Of those on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour, two-time US PGA Championship winners Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka, finished in a tie for second at the Masters, while Patrick Reed ended joint fourth to show that those playing 54-hole tournaments can still cut it over the longer format.

Same course, new look

Having previously hosted the US Open three times and the 1995 Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship returns to Oak Hill for a fourth time, a decade since Jason Dufner triumphed in 2013.

However, it will be almost unrecognisable in places, with course architect Andrew Green’s restoration – which was completed in 2019 – aiming to bring Donald Ross’ classic creation from almost a century ago back to life.

Along with extensive work to all of the greens – which have been rebuilt to modern specifications – hundreds of trees have been removed and some 231 yards added to the course.

Striking changes on the front nine see the mammoth 615-yard par-five fourth lengthened by 45 yards and the former par-three sixth replaced by a shorter hole that slots in as the fifth – effectively one of three new holes.

The sixth, now some 503 yards, has a slight dogleg to the right with fairway bunkers to the left and Allen’s Creek running down the right, cutting across the fairway and then down the left.

Fans who remember the closing stretch will also notice the pond on the par-three 15th hole has been filled in.

The removal of some tree-lined fairways offers the big hitters off the tee plenty of encouragement but alterations ought to also make the bunkers more penal and the different shaped greens will allow for some daunting pin positions.

Best of the Brits

Reigning US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who is in a marquee group containing Rahm and Open champion Cameron Smith for the first two rounds, made a slow start to the season after suffering with a neck injury but appeared back to his best when he won the RBC Heritage last month.

In a field brimming with quality, Tommy Fleetwood will be hoping to finally land an elusive first major and in the process become the first English winner since Jim Barnes in 1919.

Tyrell Hatton’s undoubted putting ability could also carry him into contention, with the Englishman having placed in the top five in three of his past six events.

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is likely to use Oak Hill as a gauge for prospective members of his squad after several mainstays like Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia resigned their membership of the DP World Tour.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre will be one of those hoping to pick up one of those berths with a strong showing after overcoming recent back problems, while Justin Rose, who has a best of joint third in 2012 and three consecutive top-15 finishes in the past three US PGA Championships, could also fare well on what promises to be a tough test. – bbc.com