LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Wednesday, August 6, 2014) – It gives me great pleasure to announce that I have acquired a media pass for the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, KY. This will be the very first non-horse racing event that I will cover and needless to say I am pretty pumped. This also will be the first golf tournament I have ever attended so I have a lot to learn. I would consider myself a golf fan but only get out to play maybe three-to-five times per year, usually in scrambles.
Fresh off of his second consecutive tournament victory at the Bridgestone Invitational last weekend, Rory McIlroy has been made the 5-1 favorite to win the PGA Championship according to GolfOdds.com.
Notable odds to win the 2014 PGA Championship:
- Rory McIlroy (5-1)
- Adam Scott (12-1)
- Sergio Garcia (15-1)
- Justin Rose (15-1)
- Rickie Fowler (20-1)
- Matt Kuchar (20-1)
- Phil Mickleson (20-1)
- Keegan Bradley (25-1)
- Henrik Stenson (25-1)
- Jim Furyk (30-1)
- Graeme McDowell (30-1)
- Charl Schwarzel (30-1)
- Jordan Speith (30-1)
- Bubba Watson (30-1)
- Henrik Stenson (40-1)
- Tiger Woods (40-1)
Another notable story-line entering Thursday’s opening round is the status of Tiger Woods, who withdrew from the Bridgestone Invitational after nine holes last Sunday due to a back injury.
Woods, who won the last PGA Championship staged at Valhalla in 2000, has until his 8:35 a.m. tee-time Thursday morning to make a decision. He has been paired with Phil Mickleson and Padraig Harrington, which would certainly attract the biggest fan-draw of any threesome should Woods remain in the tournament.
Here is the full list of pairings and the tee sheet for Thursday’s opening round, from SBNation.com:
Morning wave off No. 1:
| Tee Time | Players | ||
| 7:30 AM | Roberto Castro | Russell Knox | Brian Norman |
| 7:40 AM | Charles Howell III | Aaron Krueger | Joost Luiten |
| 7:50 AM | Jamie Broce | George Coetzee | Billy Horschel |
| 8:00 AM | Pablo Larrazabal | Brian Stuard | Brendon Todd |
| 8:10 AM | Fredrik Jacobson | Nick Watney | Brendon de Jonge |
| 8:20 AM | Kevin Chappell | Matt Every | Ross Fisher |
| 8:30 AM | Rich Beem | Mark Brooks | John Daly |
| 8:40 AM | K.J. Choi | Brian Harman | Thongchai Jaidee |
| 8:50 AM | Thomas Bjorn | Harris English | Kevin Stadler |
| 9:00 AM | Stewart Cink | Jamie Donaldson | Hyung-Sung Kim |
| 9:10 AM | Rafael Cabrera-Bello | Stephen Gallacher | Jason Kokrak |
| 9:20 AM | Ryan Helminen | Edoardo Molinari | Kevin Streelman |
| 9:30 AM | Rob Corcoran | Pat Perez | Brendan Steele |
Morning wave off No. 10:
| Tee Time | Players | ||
| 7:35 AM | Frank Esposito | Robert Karlsson | Koumei Oda |
| 7:45 AM | Angel Cabrera | Hideki Matsuyama | Patrick Reed |
| 7:55 AM | Michael Block | Shaun Micheel | Colin Montgomerie |
| 8:05 AM | Victor Dubuisson | Ernie Els | Rickie Fowler |
| 8:15 AM | Adam Scott | Jordan Spieth | Lee Westwood |
| 8:25 AM | Jason Day | Ian Poulter | Jimmy Walker |
| 8:35 AM | Padraig Harrington | Phil Mickelson | Tiger Woods |
| 8:45 AM | Brooks Koepka | Graeme McDowell | Brandt Snedeker |
| 8:55 AM | Jim Furyk | Miguel Angel Jimenez | Charl Schwartzel |
| 9:05 AM | Matt Kuchar | Louis Oosthuizen | Justin Rose |
| 9:15 AM | Marc Leishman | Boo Weekley | Bernd Wiesberger |
| 9:25 AM | Russell Henley | David McNabb | Marc Warren |
| 9:35 AM | Mikko Ilonen | George McNeill | Jerry Smith |
Afternoon wave off No. 1:
| Tee Time | Players | ||
| 12:45 PM | Ryo Ishikawa | Matt Pesta | Rory Sabbatini |
| 12:55 PM | Matteo Manassero | Scott Stallings | Eric Williamson |
| 1:05 PM | Jonas Blixt | Erik Compton | Webb Simpson |
| 1:15 PM | Graham DeLaet | Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano | Gary Woodland |
| 1:25 PM | Sergio Garcia | Steve Stricker | Tom Watson |
| 1:35 PM | Ryan Moore | Kenny Perry | Henrik Stenson |
| 1:45 PM | Martin Kaymer | Rory McIlroy | Bubba Watson |
| 1:55 PM | Keegan Bradley | Jason Dufner | Y.E. Yang |
| 2:05 PM | Luke Donald | J.B. Holmes | Francesco Molinari |
| 2:15 PM | Darren Clarke | Zach Johnson | Richard Sterne |
| 2:25 PM | Paul Casey | Tim Clark | Kevin Na |
| 2:35 PM | Steven Bowditch | Ben Crane | Rod Perry |
| 2:45 PM | Jason Bohn | David Hronek | Chris Stroud |
Afternoon wave off No. 10:
| Tee Time | Players | ||
| 12:40 PM | Shane Lowry | Ryan Palmer | Bob Sowards |
| 12:50 PM | Scott Brown | Charley Hoffman | Dustin Volk |
| 1:00 PM | Stuart Deane | David Hearn | Alexander Levy |
| 1:10 PM | Dave Tentis | Danny Willett | Fabrizio Zanotti |
| 1:20 PM | Bill Haas | Anirban Lahiri | John Senden |
| 1:30 PM | Davis Love III | Vijay Singh | David Toms |
| 1:40 PM | Kiradech Aphibarnrat | Scott Piercy | Cameron Tringale |
| 1:50 PM | Branden Grace | Hunter Mahan | Thorbjorn Olesen |
| 2:00 PM | Matt Jones | Chris Kirk | Seung-yul Noh |
| 2:10 PM | Tommy Fleetwood | Jerry Kelly | Hideto Tanihara |
| 2:20 PM | Chesson Hadley | Will MacKenzie | Steve Schneiter |
| 2:30 PM | Johan Kok | Ben Martin | Chris Wood |
| 2:40 PM | Jim McGovern | Geoff Ogilvy | Daniel Summerhays |
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