Opinion & Analysis

Surprises Who Could Win The PGA Championship

Published

13 years ago

Aug 5, 2013

The final major of 2013 — the PGA Championship — is just days away, giving one last chance for players to claim major glory. Deservedly so, Tiger Woods is commanding most of the attention after his runaway seven-shot win in last weekend’s Bridgestone Invitational.

Despite Woods’ impressive victory, the PGA Championship has a habit of throwing up surprise winners and the 2013 tournament could do just that. Last year, we saw the then-rising stature of Rory Mcilroy dominate a strong field of contenders winning by a massive eight shots. The three previous winners were outsiders at the time in Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer and Y.E. Yang.

Adding to the case for a long shot to win is 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus who had this to say:

“The player has to suit his game to the golf course and the guys that can adapt to it are the guys that always have been the good players,” Nicklaus said. “I mean, (Phil) Mickelson will adapt well to it. Tiger will adapt well to it. I think there’s a lot of guys that will adapt well to it.

“You have so many good players today that I think will like Oak Hill, will enjoy playing the golf course and could have an opportunity to win. To try to pick one of them out of there is pretty difficult right now.”

Here are seven players I think could surprise Tiger and company and adapt their game for the win.

Bill Haas — 56/1

The world No. 24 is having another strong year and recorded his fifth Tour victory in June’s AT&T National. He has had three top 10’s in his last four starts maintaining his good form including a T7 at last week’s Bridgestone Invitational. He’s first in T10 finishes this year with nine and leads the GIR category from 150 to 175 yards.

If he can find his share of fairways, his strong iron play could enable him make a serious threat come Sunday.

Jason Day — 36/1

The Australian and world No. 20 is destined to win a major after a string of impressive performance in major tournaments. Day again went agonizingly close at the both the Masters and U.S. Open this year where he lead the tournament at various stages on the back nine on Sunday.

He’s yet to miss a cut in 2013 showing his amazing consistency. At just 25 years of age, he’s already recorded five top 10’s in majors in his career.

A strong short game and long off the tee, if things can fall his way he’s a great chance.

Matt Kuchar — 36/1

The popular smiling American is having his best season to date recording two victories including seven top 10’s and 18 for 18 cuts made.

Kuchar finished T8, T28 and T15 at the first three majors of the year and continues to churn out solid performances.

An impressive scoring average of 69.59 highlights his consistency as does his scrambling ability (currently 8th) which means he knows how to get up to down.

A win here for his first major victory would not surprise.

Ian Poulter — 56/1

The colorful Englishmen is having a decent season despite his limited appearances on the PGA Tour.

Poulter missed the cut at April’s Masters but bounced back to finish T21 at the U.S. Open and an impressive T3 at the British Open after finishing with a sterling 67. He’s recorded four top 10’s in majors the last two years (including T3 here last year) showing Poulter is capable of measuring up to the best in the world.

With England enjoying a golden run in major sporting events in 2013, Poulter could add to the tally with his first major victory.

Richard Sterne — 111/1

The South African and world No. 34 is a bit of an unknown to many but has proved he can play well on the big stage. He won his country’s Joburg Open this year with a score of 27-under par winning by a massive 7 strokes from former Masters winner and countryman Charles Schwartzel.

After struggling with back injuries through much of 2010 and 2011, he seems to have regained his form and fitness.

Leading up to the PGA Championship he finished a very credible T9 with rounds of 70, 68, 70 and 68 at the difficult Bridgestone Invitational last week in a major strength field.

Martin Kaymer — 56/1

The former world No. 1 has disappeared off the world stage since his win at the PGA in 2010. The current world No. 35 is slowly finding form again which saw him reach golfs pinnacle.

He’s made the cut in all three majors this year and finished strongly at the last lead up tournament at the Bridgestone Invitational finishing off with rounds of 67, 69 and 66 in difficult conditions.

Perhaps a second major is coming for the German.

Bill Horschel — 111/1

Horschel is one of the hottest young players on the PGA Tour in 2013 with a string of good performances highlighted by his win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. His red-hot form through March and April saw him record an amazing four consecutive top-10 finishes culminating in his maiden victory.

Proving he can match it on the big stage he finished an impressive T4 at the U.S. Open in June.

His strength is his ability to make birdies which sees him first in birdies made in 2013.

Opinion & Analysis

5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

May 15, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.

Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

First, meet Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.

Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter

The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.

Third, meet Martin Kaymer

Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.

Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler

Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.

Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger

Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!

Club Junkie

Club Junkie’s Titleist GTS driver fitting results!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.

I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.

To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.

Follow Club Junkie everywhere:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clubjunkiepod/
X: https://x.com/ClubJunkiePod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clubjunkiepod
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@clubjunkiepod

Club Junkie

Club Junkie WITB, week 16: New Titleist GTS woods!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s

5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag