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Matching Up For A World Championship

Published

16 years ago

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Defending Champion Geoff Ogilvy (Photo: Chris Carlson/AP)It has been nearly a decade since Steve Stricker came out of the back of the pack to win the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play. Nobody gave him much thought as the 55th seed but certainly there will be a lot more attention focused on him this year as the man on top of the brackets

Of course, this is match play, and just about anything can, and will, happen. That is not to say that we can expect Ross McGowan to run through the field from the 64th position but it is plausible to believe that he or anyone else in this elite field could capture the championship and the $1.4 million first prize.

That means that even the best players can falter in this tournament. You need not look any further than the number 2 and 3 seeds. In nine starts Lee Westwood has never advanced beyond the second round and steady-as-you-go player Jim Furyk, a seemingly certain contender, has struggled mightily to get beyond the third round of matches

The potential match ups could make for some riveting television and the promise of seeing the bulk the of world golf talent in one location for the first time this year has a lot of people paying attention.

 

 

You can print out your Tournament Brackets here for starters. If you can possibly pick out each and every winner you will have earned my utmost admiration.

One comforting thing for the players in the field this week in Arizona should be the fact that they will be able to dry out from the West Coast swing. Rain was a constant companion throughout the California events but the forecast centered on the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain looks to be perfect with plenty of sunshine and reasonable temperatures.

With that in place there should be nothing that affects the outcome except for how the players tackle the layout, and more importantly, their competitors.

Bobby Jones Bracket

In the Bobby Jones bracket a few matches jump out. The #1 seed, Stricker, could have his hands full with #64 Ross McGowan. The Englishman can make scores of birdies as proven by his record of shooting 60 and 61 in various European Tour events. Stricker will have to win some holes play playing steady to take advantage of any faltering by McGowan.

Match #30 will see young guns Ryo Ishikawa and Michael Sim face off for what could potentially be a pairing we see in major championships for years to come.

Ben Hogan Bracket

A couple matches to watch will include the tangle between #1 bracket seed Martin Kaymer and #16 Chad Campbell. Although he has not played this event since 2007 Campbell has made it to the top 16 in all four appearances. Kaymer has the confidence of a recent win in Abu Dhabi but it can always be tough to tangle with those gritty Texans.

Keep a close eye on Luke Donald. Now healthy after battling the wrist issue that put him out of this tournament last year, he has been playing well on the west coast and that should carry over in Arizona. His relatively mistake-free game translates well to match play. He has plenty of experience in this format as both an amateur and Ryder Cup player.

Gary Player

At the top of the Gary Player bracket eyes will be peeled to a clash of Englishmen. Lee Westwood is strong but emerging star Chris Wood could give him a test.

Also compelling is the Ernie Els and Ryan Moore match. Both have shown a lot of revival in their games of late so this could be a tight one.

Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy, already a winner this year on the PGA Tour, should get past Alex Noren in round one but he will face the winner of match #40. That will be a dust-up between Camilo Villegas and Dustin Johnson, a match sure to have a big following from both the crowd at hand and the television cameras.

Sam Snead

Jim Furyk is the #1 seed here but as mentioned he has struggled to get to the final stages of this tournament in the past.

Marquee match-ups include Mahan versus Schwartzel which could be anyone’s call while the most polar game will be between rock-steady former Masters Champion Mike Weir and the firepower-blessed Alvaro Quiros. Quiros was “one and done” in his only tournament appearance last year.

There could also be a great fight of the flatsticks as Kenny Perry; the oldest player is the field at 50, finds himself up against another great putter in Brian Gay.

The Course

Although the opponent is much more critical in match play the Ritz-Carlton Course is a bruiser that can play to over 7,800 yards if the tour wants it to. At the expected playing length of just under 7,500 yards the Jack Nicklaus crafted layout will still present a great test.

Every green, with the exception of the one of the 6th hole, has been renovated since last year to provide for better hole location options, more receptive contours, and potentially higher green speeds than what could be used in the past. They are expected to be 10.5 to 11 on the Stimpmeter this week.

No hole will be more critical than the 343-yard 15th. The par four hole plays as short as 300 yards depending on the tees, and matches often arrive at the hole during a pivotal moment in competition. With a drivable par 4 at such a crucial position of the course, players are faced with the decision of going for the green or laying up, bringing everything from eagle to double bogey into play.

Notes:

– 43 of the field of 64 players come from outside the United States. They represent 18 countries.

-The largest contingent from outside the U.S. comes from England who has 9 players in the field.

– There are 23 players under the age of 30, the most in tournament history.

U.S. TV Coverage (EST)
2/17, 2:00-6:00 p.m. GOLF
2/18,2:00-6:00 p.m. GOLF
2/19, 2:00-6:00 p.m. GOLF
2/20, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. GOLF
2:00-6:00 p.m. CBS
2/21, 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. GOLF
2:00-6:00 p.m. CBS

–

This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

on

May 12, 2026

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Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

  • Jon Rahm +1300 
  • Cameron Young +1500
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1700
  • Xander Schauffele +1850
  • Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
  • Ludvig Aberg +2000
  • Tommy Fleetwood +2600
  • Collin Morikawa +3500
  • Brooks Koepka +3900
  • Justin Rose +4300
  • Russell Henley +4600
  • Si Woo Kim +4700
  • Justin Thomas +4800
  • Robert MacIntyre +5300
  • Patrick Cantlay +5300
  • Viktor Hovland +5400
  • Tyrrell Hatton +5500
  • Jordan Spieth +5900
  • Sam Burns +6000
  • Hideki Matsuyama +6200
  • Adam Scott +6400
  • Rickie Fowler +7000
  • Chris Gotterup +7400
  • Patrick Reed +7400
  • Min Woo Lee +7800
  • Ben Griffin +8000
  • Sepp Straka +8400
  • Shane Lowry +9000
  • Akshay Bhatia +9200
  • Maverick McNealy +9200
  • Joaquin Niemann +9200
  • Jake Knapp +9200
  • Jason Day +9600
  • Kurt Kitayama +10000
  • J.J. Spaun +10000
  • Harris English +10500
  • Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
  • Gary Woodland +11000
  • David Puig +11000
  • Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
  • Jacob Bridgeman +12000
  • Keegan Bradley +12500
  • Corey Conners +14000
  • Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
  • Sungjae Im +15500
  • Sahith Theegala +15500
  • Harry Hall +15500
  • Alex Noren +16000
  • Thomas Detry +16500
  • Marco Penge +16500
  • Kristoffer Reitan +17000
  • Alex Smalley +17000
  • Wyndham Clark +17500
  • Sam Stevens +17500
  • Keith Mitchell +17500
  • Daniel Berger +18500
  • Ryan Gerard +20000
  • Nick Taylor +20000
  • Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
  • Dustin Johnson +21000
  • Pierceson Coody +23000
  • Aaron Rai +24000
  • Jordan Smith +24000
  • Angel Ayora +24000
  • Bud Cauley +25000
  • Matt McCarty +26000
  • Jayden Schaper +26000
  • Brian Harman +27000
  • Taylor Pendrith +27000
  • Ryan Fox +27000
  • J.T. Poston +27000
  • Cameron Smith +29000
  • Ryo Hisatsune +29000
  • Michael Kim +29000
  • Max Homa +29000
  • Denny McCarthy +29000
  • Tom McKibbin +30000
  • Rico Hoey +32000
  • Matt Wallace +32500
  • Ricky Castillo +33000
  • Haotong Li +33000
  • Michael Brennan +34000
  • Max Greyserman +36000
  • Stephan Jaeger +37500
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
  • Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
  • Aldrich Potgieter +40000
  • Andrew Novak +42000
  • Patrick Rodgers +42500
  • Daniel Hillier +42500
  • Max McGreevy +46000
  • Billy Horschel +48000
  • Chris Kirk +48000
  • Ian Holt +49000
  • Casey Jarvis +49000
  • William Mouw +50000
  • Steven Fisk +50000
  • John Parry +50000
  • Nico Echavarria +52500
  • Garrick Higgo +52500
  • John Keefer+55000
  • Matthias Schmid +57500
  • Austin Smotherman +57500
  • Sami Valimaki +60000
  • Andrew Putnam +60000
  • Lucas Glover +62500
  • Daniel Brown +62500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +75000
  • Emiliano Grillo +80000
  • Mikael Lindberg +85000
  • Adrien Saddier +100000
  • Bernd Wiesberger +100000
  • Elvis Smylie +110000
  • Stewart Cink +130000
  • Kota Kaneko +130000
  • David Lipsky +150000
  • Chandler Blanchet +150000
  • Andy Sullivan +150000
  • Joe Highsmith +180000
  • Adam Schenk +200000
  • Travis Smyth +200000
  • Davis Riley +225000
  • Martin Kaymer +400000
  • Brian Campbell +400000
  • Padraig Harrington +450000
  • Kazuki Higa +450000
  • Jordan Gumberg +450000
  • Ryan Vermeer +500000
  • Austin Hurt +500000
  • Tyler Collet +500000
  • Timothy Wiseman +500000
  • Shaun Micheel +500000
  • Y.E. Yang +500000
  • Michael Block+500000
  • Mark Geddes+500000
  • Luke Donald+500000
  • Bryce Fisher+500000
  • Jimmy Walker +500000
  • Jason Dufner +500000
  • Jesse Droemer +500000
  • Jared Jones +500000
  • Garrett Sapp +500000
  • Francisco Bide +500000
  • Zach Haynes +500000
  • Paul McClure+500000
  • Derek Berg +500000
  • Chris Gabriele +500000
  • Braden Shattuck +500000
  • Ben Polland +500000
  • Ben Kern +50000

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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News

How much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

Kristoffer Reitan held his nerve at Quail Hollow on Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour victory and the $3.6 million winner’s check that came with it. The Norwegian fended off a packed leaderboard on a dramatic final day, with Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Højgaard both taking home $1.76 million for their runner-up finishes.

With a total prize purse of $20 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship.

1: Kristoffer Reitan, $3,600,000

T2: Rickie Fowler, $1,760,000

T2: Nicolai Hojgaard, -$1,760,000

4: Alex Fitzpatrick, $960,000

T5: Tommy Fleetwood, $730,000

T5: Sungjae Im, $730,000

T5: J.J. Spaun, $730,000

T8: Ludvig Aberg, $600,000

T8: Harry Hall, $600,000

T10: Patrick Cantlay, $500,000

T10: Matt McCarty, $500,000

T10: Cameron Young, $500,000

13: Justin Thomas, $420,000

T14: Min Woo Lee, $360,000

T14: Chris Gotterup, $360,000

T14: Nick Taylor, $360,000

T17: Alex Smalley, $310,000

T17: Gary Woodland, $310,000

T19: Austin Smotherman, $242,100

T19: Rory McIlroy, $242,100

T19: Keegan Bradley, $242,100

T19: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, $242,100

T19: Kurt Kitayama, $242,100

T24: Patrick Rodgers, $156,643

T24: Pierceson Coody, $156,643

T24: Adam Scott, $156,643

T24: Andrew Novak, $156,643

T24: Harris English, $156,643

T24: J.T. Poston, $156,643

T24: David Lipsky, $156,643

T31: Brian Harman, $114,416.67

T31: Viktor Hovland, $114,416.67

T31: Alex Noren, $114,416.67

T31: Tony Finau, $114,416.67

T31: Nico Echavarria, $114,416.67

T31: Corey Conners, $114,416.67

T37: Sam Burns, $82,187.50

T37: Maverick McNealy, $82,187.50

T37: Akshay Bhatia, $82,187.50

T37: Taylor Pendrith, $82,187.50

T37: Matt Wallace, $82,187.50

T37: Andrew Putnam, $82,187.50

T37: Bud Cauley, $82,187.50

T37: Lucas Glover, $82,187.50

T45: Justin Rose, $60,000

T45: Daniel Berger, $60,000

T45: Ryo Hisatsune, $60,000

T48: Denny McCarthy, $50,000

T48: Aldrich Potgieter, $50,000

T48: Webb Simpson, $50,000

T48: Michael Kim, $50,000

T52: Mackenzie Hughes, $45,187.50

T52: Max Homa, $45,187.50

T52: Brian Campbell, $45,187.50

T52: Jhonattan Vegas, $45,187.50

T52: Matt Fitzpatrick, $45,187.50

T52: Chandler Blanchet, $45,187.50

T52: Jordan Spieth, $45,187.50

T52: Jacob Bridgeman, $45,187.50

T60: Xander Schauffele, $42,500

T60: Robert MacIntyre, $42,500

T60: Ricky Castillo, $42,500

T63: Ben Griffin, $41,250

T63: Sepp Straka, $41,250

T65: Ryan Gerard, $40,250

T65: Si Woo Kim, $40,250

67: Ryan Fox, $39,500

68: Jason Day, $39,000

69: Sahith Theegala, $38,000

70: Sam Stevens, $37,500

71: Hideki Matsuyama, $37,000

72: Tom Hoge, $36,000

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