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Showtime In Georgia – The Masters

Published

16 years ago

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Face it, no matter how highly regarded any PGA Tour event prior to The Masters is, it is simply a preamble to one of the greatest weeks in golf. That is even more significant this year with the return of Tiger Woods to the game.

It really is hard to believe that Tiger will be making his 16th appearance at Augusta National and despite his recent off course owes his four wins since 1997 cannot be disregarded when all comes into account this week.

I waited to publish The Masters tournament preview this week, not to allow the initial Tiger Woods press conference to come and go, but simply to have a little greater assessment of where his game stands. Flagstick Golf Magazine Instruction Editor Kevin Haime, the 2000 Canadian PGA Teacher of Year, followed the Tiger and Fred Couples during their practice round on Monday at Augusta National and says he gives the ball striking edge to Couples. Even Couples said that Tiger was not as sharp as usual.

Of course, by the time Thursday rolls around Tiger will have played approximately eight practice rounds over the venerable ANGC layout but is that enough to have him ready to compete in a major championship after a 20 week layoff? It is hard to say but with his track record at this major it is hard to leave him out of the picture. Since his win in 2005 he has only been out of the top five once…a tie for 6th last year. When he is at Augusta National you better make room for his name on the upper half of the leaderboard. He still has to be favored to at least be in the mix when the final holes play out on Sunday. He will start at 1:42 on Thursday with Matt Kuchar and K.J. Choi, a congenial match-up that should favor Woods.

As always at Augusta you have to have a close look at the past champions and their ability to don another Green Jacket. After all, nobody but them has the knowledge of what it truly takes to win the coveted prize.

The slashing style of Angel Cabrera resulted in a win last year but I have hard time imagining him defending the title. Although he has made the cut in all his seven PGA Tour starts in 2010, he has but one top ten finish. A t-73rd at last week’s Shell Houston Open would not exactly measure up as a confidence boost for this week.

Mickelson has not lived up to the hype this year but wins of ’04 and ’06 are valuable memories he can draw on for inspiration.

Playing with Cabrera on Thursday will be Jim Furyk, not a past winner here, but a player who looks renewed and focussed for this season. Because of that, and his fine record of play at Augusta he is my dark horse pick – if that is possible in an elite field of 97 players, the largest field on 44 years. Without the ability to hit the ball exceptionally long, look for Furyk to surgically dissect the course much like Zach Johnson did during his 2007 victory. Furyk tied for 10th in 2009.

2003 winner Mike Weir might also be an unexpected factor this week. Like Woods, Weir will have to fight the physical stresses of allergies with the pollen count in Augusta at extreme levels.

Speaking with Weir last Tuesday he said his game is not as sharp as he would like, particularly with his driving. “My season, so far has been a bit of a mixed bag – there has been some good play in their just not the consistency I’m looking for. At the same time I feel confident with my game; I feel good. I am looking forward to Augusta.”

Weir says he will stick to the Scotty Cameron Napa blade putter he first put into play at the Accenture Match Play where he birdied 9 of his first 10 holes played with it. He expects to lean on that putter and his typically fine iron play this week, especially if his driving does not come into form.

Hard to be ignored in this mix is Ernie Els. The only 2-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, Els is not only hitting the ball exceptionally well, he is putting with renewed confidence thanks to a flat stick recently shortened by one and a half inches. That bravado, especially on the short putts, will be an effective tool at Augusta National if he can stay in form.

Other Hot Pairings

Group 7 / 8:56 – (International Flare) The early lead could come from this group on Thursday. Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald, and Geoff Ogilvy are strong prospects and don’t be surprised if they can post a strong number for others to chase.

Group 10 / 9:29 – (Power Play) I’m betting this trio will generate a few roars. Bombers Dustin Johnson and Alvaro Quiros will give Oliver Wilson a show he will have to try and stay out of. Hopefully DJ and AQ don’t get caught up in seeing who can reach the most par fives in two and remember there is a major championship taking place.

Group 13 /10:13 – (Hot Commodities) Ernie Els, Anthony Kim, and Ryo Ishikawa. Need I say more? Confidence and momentum are not lacking with the exception of Ishikawa who has yet to carry his Japanese success over to the United States. But certainly has the potential to do so.

Group 25 /12:36 (Two Studs & a Chaperone) – Will Kenny Perry shows Camilo Villegas and Rory McIlroy how to tackle AGNC with veteran poise or will the youngsters teach Perry what it is like to play golf without nerves again?

Group 29/ 1:29 (Three Corners) – Harrington, Schwartzel, and Cink may hail from different parts of the world but they share an affinity for winning. By week’s end Schwartzel might just join them as a major champion himself.
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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