Golf-Koepka gets morning start to PGA Championship title defence

Travel + Leisure

14/05/2024 19:14

May 14 (Reuters) - LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka will launch
his PGA Championship title defence on Thursday alongside Jordan
Spieth and Max Homa while tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler
is grouped with fellow major winners Wyndham Clark and Brian
Harman.
    Koepka, bidding to become the tournament's first repeat
winner since he retained the title in 2019, will go out in the
eighth group from the 10th tee at 8:37 a.m. ET (1237 GMT)
followed by a 2:02 p.m. ET start on Friday from the first tee.
    The five-times major winner arrives at Valhalla Golf Club in
Louisville, Kentucky, fresh off a LIV Golf event in Singapore
where he won his fourth title on the Saudi-backed circuit.
    Playing two groups ahead will be a trio consisting of world
number two Rory McIlroy, who on Sunday earned his 26th win on
the PGA Tour, Justin Rose and LIV Golf's Dustin Johnson.
    Tiger Woods, who has not played a PGA Championship since
2022 when he withdrew in pain after the third round, will be a
further group ahead, teeing off at 8:04 a.m ET alongside Keegan
Bradley and Australian Adam Scott.
    For Woods, this will mark his first event since the Masters
where the injury-ravaged golfer earned a tournament-record 24th
consecutive made cut at Augusta National and then finished last
among those who played the weekend.            
    World number one and new dad Scheffler will be bidding for a
fifth win over his last six starts when heads out from the first
hole at 2:13 p.m. ET on Thursday in the company of reigning U.S.
Open champion Clark and British Open champion Harman.
    Reigning Masters champion Scheffler, whose son Bennett was
born last Wednesday, will have had 24 days off since his last
round of competitive golf by the time he tees off on Thursday at
the 7,609-yard Valhalla layout.
    The first shot of the tournament will be struck at 7:15 a.m.
ET by Michael Block, the club professional who produced a
feel-good story at last year's PGA Championship where he
recorded a top-15 finish and was a fan favourite throughout the
week.
    According to the forecast, cloudy skies and a 20% chance of
rain are expected on Thursday before a low-pressure system
brings showers and thunderstorms to the region on Friday with
the potential for more heavy rainfall at times.

 (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
 ((frank.pingue@thomsonreuters.com; +1 (647) 480-7636;))