Majors Value Meter: PGA Championship Rankings

Majors Value Meter: PGA Championship Rankings

This article is part of our Major Power Rankings series.

Below are RotoWire's rankings for the 103rd PGA Championship.

This list is an asset for any format, from office pools to sportsbooks to fantasy golf and all offshoots.

The PGA Championship returns to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa for a record fifth time. No other course has hosted more than three. 

Southern Hills is a 1936 Perry Maxwell design renovated by Gil Hanse in 2019. The course has been the site of seven previous majors: the PGA in 1970, 1982, 1994 and 2007, and the U.S. Open in 1958, 1977 and 2001. The Senior PGA Championship was contested there just last year at 6,968 yards/par-70. It was won by Alex Cejka, who thus earned a berth in this tournament.

The course is still a par-70, but now the distance has increased to an enormous 7,556 yards -- far longer than past PGA Tour majors there.

The 2007 PGA was won by a 31-year-old Tiger Woods, who with that victory picked up his second consecutive PGA Championship victory, fourth overall and 13th major title. In shooting an 8-under-par 272, Woods defeated Woody Austin by two strokes. Only five golfers finished under par. The cut line on the par-70, 7,131-yard track was 5-over.

The 2001 U.S. Open was won by Retief Goosen in a playoff over Mark Brooks after they both finished at 4-under. Only four golfers wound up under par. The cut line at the par-70, 6,973-yard course was 6-over.

One other tournament of note contested at Southern

Below are RotoWire's rankings for the 103rd PGA Championship.

This list is an asset for any format, from office pools to sportsbooks to fantasy golf and all offshoots.

The PGA Championship returns to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa for a record fifth time. No other course has hosted more than three. 

Southern Hills is a 1936 Perry Maxwell design renovated by Gil Hanse in 2019. The course has been the site of seven previous majors: the PGA in 1970, 1982, 1994 and 2007, and the U.S. Open in 1958, 1977 and 2001. The Senior PGA Championship was contested there just last year at 6,968 yards/par-70. It was won by Alex Cejka, who thus earned a berth in this tournament.

The course is still a par-70, but now the distance has increased to an enormous 7,556 yards -- far longer than past PGA Tour majors there.

The 2007 PGA was won by a 31-year-old Tiger Woods, who with that victory picked up his second consecutive PGA Championship victory, fourth overall and 13th major title. In shooting an 8-under-par 272, Woods defeated Woody Austin by two strokes. Only five golfers finished under par. The cut line on the par-70, 7,131-yard track was 5-over.

The 2001 U.S. Open was won by Retief Goosen in a playoff over Mark Brooks after they both finished at 4-under. Only four golfers wound up under par. The cut line at the par-70, 6,973-yard course was 6-over.

One other tournament of note contested at Southern Hills was the 2015 Big 12 Championship. Why mention that, you ask? It was won by none other than world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who says that Southern Hills is his favorite golf course.

The track is obviously very long, with both par-5s checking in above 630 yards. With the Hanse renovation, the fairways were widened. This tournament likely will be decided from the fairway on in, especially on and around the small, heavily bunkered bentgrass greens with tiny landing areas. Miss them, and the ball will roll off maybe 30 yards are so.

The field will be a maxed-out 156 and include 96 of the top 100 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking. One berth remains for the winner of this week's AT&T Byron Nelson if he is not already exempt. The usual complement of 20 club pros is on hand. One or two could make the cut, and last year a couple did. There are also 14 former PGA champions in the field, not including 2021 winner Phil Mickelson, who withdrew Friday and has not played since February amid the backlash from his controversial comments about the burgeoning Saudi Arabian golf tour. 

Unlike regular PGA Tour events, the top 70 and ties will make the cut.

These rankings were formulated before the completion of the AT&T Byron Nelson, and the list is broken down into six categories:

  • Favorites
  • Contenders
  • Making the Cut
  • Borderline
  • Long Shots
  • Club Pros

Field changes and news updates will be noted in the comments at the bottom.

💡 Video Viewing Tip: Click the Youtube logo on the bottom right of the video to watch on the RotoWire Youtube channel. In the video notes, you can chapter skip. 

FAVORITES

1) Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler was hovering near the top of major leaderboards long before winning the Masters last month and long before winning his first tournament back in February. He had four prior top-10s in majors, including T4 at the 2020 PGA Championship and T8 at the 2021 edition. And as mentioned above, his favorite course is Southern Hills. Good luck to everyone else.

2) Justin Thomas
Thomas has played great throughout 2022 in every way but one: He hasn't won a tournament. Something always seems to be off. The same can be said of Thomas in majors. Of course, he won the 2017 PGA Championship, and it appeared that would be the first of at least a few. But in the 15 subsequent majors, he has only four top-10s, none of which was a podium finish. Things were supposed to be different with Bones Mackay coming on board to form a super player-caddie pairing. One of those four top-10s just happened at the Masters last month, so maybe?

3) Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is now 33 and hasn't won a major since he was 25. He hasn't even been good at the PGA Championship since winning that last major there in 2014, with just one top-10 in eight subsequent tries. So why is he so highly ranked here? This may sound backwards, but there aren't many guys more likely to win a major than McIlroy, who has had 14 top-10s since his last major win, including runner-up at the Masters last month and a tie for seventh at last year's U.S. Open.

4) Jon Rahm
Rahm ended a 10-month winless skid last month at the Mexico Open, his first victory since the 2021 U.S. Open, but it was not enough for him to reclaim his No. 1 world ranking from Scheffler. He used to be a top-10 machine even when not winning, but that's not the case of late and he was just 27th at the Masters, matching his worst finish at Augusta. Rahm's long game has remained elite, but his short game has been dreadful, making victory this week seem unlikely. But as with McIlroy, who are you putting in front of him?

5) Cameron Smith
Smith has been lights-out in the Masters and nearly won it last month. But his record in other majors is far different. Take away Augusta and he has only one top-10 three top-25s in 16 starts. He hasn't cracked the top-40 in the past five PGAs, though he's made four cuts. Smith is far more accomplished than he was even 12 months, so it will be interesting to see whether he can prove to be other than an Augusta specialist. With so much emphasis on and around the greens, that benefits Smith and his elite short game.

6) Jordan Spieth
The current Jordan Spieth we have seen in 2022 is actually Bizarro World Jordan Spieth, one where he is crushing the ball far off the tee but unable to putt. To further complicate things, he has only two top-20s all season, albeit they are a win and a runner-up. The thing is, both were at short tracks, winning at Harbour Town and finishing second at Pebble Beach. What does that bode for Spieth at a very long Southern Hills track, where he can complete the career grand slam? He has four top-25s in nine PGAs, including a runner-up in 2015 and a T3 in 2019.

7) Dustin Johnson
This will be Johnson's 51st career major and he has an outstanding track record in all four of them. At the PGA, he has six top-10s in 12 starts, coming close with runners-up in 2019 and '20. He still hasn't won a PGA Tour event since the 2020 Masters about 18 months ago, but he's been playing better of late, including a T12 at the Masters last month.

8) Collin Morikawa
Morikawa has not won in 2022, has not won a PGA Tour even since last summer's Open Championship and has not won in the U.S. in well over a year. He hasn't even played especially well of late, though he did have a backdoor top-5 at the Masters and was runner-up at Riviera. He's still the best iron player in golf, and the winner of the 2020 PGA finished top-8 in his last four major appearances.

9) Shane Lowry
Lowry is playing the best golf of his career in 2022, better even than when he won the Open Championship in 2019. He's coming off a tie for third at the Masters and tied for fourth last year the PGA. Really, he's been playing well on all different kinds of courses, even in strong fields. The key? He is ranked fifth on Tour in the all-important Strokes Gained: Approach stat.

10) Brooks Koepka
It was a bit of a stunner that Koepka missed the cut at the Masters given the narrative that he focuses only on the biggest events. He also missed the cut at the Masters a year ago. But in the other three majors of 2021, he finished T2-T4-T6, sharing runner-up at the PGA behind Phil Mickelson. Koepka has missed four cuts already this year, including THE PLAYERS, but dismiss hm here at your own peril.

CONTENDERS

11) Will Zalatoris
Zalatoris still has not won a PGA Tour event and hasn't even cracked the top-25 in the world rankings – ever. But he has played his best golf in majors. He just tied for sixth at the Masters, was runner-up at Augusta a year ago and tied for eighth at last year's PGA Championship. The long Southern Hills track should suit his game, so much so that we are playing him above some very big names.

12) Patrick Cantlay
Most of the guys ahead of Cantlay on this list all have won majors. So is Cantlay the best guy never to have won a major? Probably. And whoever holds that title in golf is always a threat to relinquish it. The thing is, Cantlay has not been great in majors. In 20 starts, he has just eight top-25s and only two-top-10s, both in 2019. Cantlay's game surely is built to win majors – he has no real weakness.

13) Viktor Hovland 
Ranked sixth in the world, Hovland has never had a top-10 in nine career majors. He was 27th at the Masters in April and 30th at last year's PGA at the Ocean Course. Hovland is a great iron player and has shown he can win tournaments. They just haven't been the biggest tournaments with the best fields. Presumably, that will change at some point.

14) Hideki Matsuyama
In his past 15 majors, Matsuyama has had a top-10 only once – his win last year the Masters. He was just 14th in his title defense. After winning the ZOZO in the fall and the Sony Open in January, Matsuyama has slowed down, in part because of a neck injury that led to his mid-tournament withdrawal from the Valero Texas Open last month. He appeared to be fine at the Masters the next week.

15) Xander Schauffele
Schauffele finally kinda/sorta ended his long victory drought at the Zurich Classic last month, though he's now gone nearly 3 ½ years without a solo stroke-play win. Overall, he has not been great in 2022, and he even missed the cut at the Masters. Schauffele has had two top-10s in majors every year the past four years, but it's fair to think that streak may be in jeopardy in 2022.

16) Corey Conners
Conners is coming off a third straight top-10 at the Masters, but he's also done well in other majors. He finished in the top-20 last year at both the PGA and Open Championship. Plus he's been on a roll after a slow start to 2022, with four top-12s in this past seven starts.

17) Matt Fitzpatrick
This will be the 28th career major for the Englishman. He's made 20 cuts with seven top-25s, one of them coming last year at the PGA. That tie for 23rd was his best showing in six PGAs. Fitzpatrick has seven top-20s in his nine starts in 2022.

18) Sam Burns
For a golfer who has won three times in the past 12+ months to crack the top-10 in the world, Burns' record in majors has been horrible. Since winning for the first time at the Valspar last May, he withdrew during the PGA, missed the cut at the U.S. Open, tied for 76th at the Open Championship and just missed the cut again at the Masters. Burns also tied for 26th at The PLAYERS in March. It's a small sample size and one we don't think will continue, but it's still a bit concerning.

19) Joaquin Niemann
Sometimes it's hard to remember that Niemann is still only 23 because he's been around for a number of years already. He recently broke through for his biggest career win at Riviera, and the next level would be to win a major. Niemann has not been good so far in majors, with only one top-25 in 12 of them. He was just T35 at the Masters, giving him made cuts in his past six major starts.

20) Tony Finau
It has not been a great 2022 for Finau, though he has shown signs in his past few outings. And his record in majors is fantastic across the board. Specific to the PGA, he's made seven starts with three top-10s, including the past two years, a T8 in 2021 and a T4 in 2020. Finau's strength is not around the greens, but rather with his irons.

21) Daniel Berger
Berger has been good but not great in 2022 with a pair of top-10s and three other top-25s in eight starts. That includes a top-15 at THE PLAYERS. He's missed only two cuts in seven PGAs, two of those ending with top-15s, in 2018 and 2020, if you're into that even/odd-year thing.

22) Louis Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen has been so good in the majors through the years, it's almost unfathomable he's won only one – the 2010 Open Championship. He's been runner-up six times, two of them at the PGA, including last year. The big concern is his health. He hadn't played since withdrawing from the Masters until giving it a go at the Byron Nelson.

23) Sungjae Im

Im has withdrawn from the PGA Championship.

This will be the 24-year-old Im's 12th career major and his record outside of the Masters has been unremarkable. His best non-Augusta finish was T17 at last year's PGA. Im was eighth at the Masters last month and followed that up with a T21 at the RBC Heritage, adding to a good but not great 2022 to date.

24) Tyrrell Hatton
It's been virtually all-or-nothing with Hatton in majors through the years. He's made only 14 of 27 cuts, but he has eight top-25s and five top-10s, two of them in PGAs. We think this Southern Hills setup with benefit Hatton, who was runner-up at Bay Hills and T13 at THE PLAYERS earlier this year.

25) Max Homa
Homa's record in majors has been bad, with seven missed cuts in 10 starts. He has made his past two, however, including the Masters last month. Still, he's never finished higher than 40th in a major, which is so odd for a four-time PGA Tour winner. He's coming off another big win at the Wells Fargo, which could carry him to be his best major finish ever.

MAKING THE CUT

26) Billy Horschel
Horschel has been in 33 majors with a mere seven top-25s, only one of which was a top-10 (T4 at the 2013 U.S. Open). He's playing perhaps the best golf of his life the past two years (outside of that brief stretch in the 2014 playoffs), but that has not been reflected in recent majors. He just finished 43rd at the Masters, giving him 10 made cuts in his past 12 majors. In that stretch were top-25s at two of the past three PGAs.

27) Tommy Fleetwood
The PGA has been Fleetwood's worst major in that he's never had a top-25 in seven starts (three missed cuts). But he's not in the top-25 ranked here. He's borderline because wedge play will be vital at Southern Hills, and Fleetwood has been ranked in the top-five in Strokes Gained: Around the Green throughout 2022. He's also been in the top-25 in his past five stroke-play events entering the Byron Nelson, including THE PLAYERS and the Masters.

28) Talor Gooch
Gooch is coming off by far his best major with a tie for 14th at the Masters. He's clearly a different player than even from last year's PGA, when he tied for 44th. He also finished seventh a couple of months ago at Bay Hill and was top-20 at Torrey Pines. Gooch has been ranked top-10 this season in SG: Around-the-Green.

29) Russell Henley
Henley has led the Tour in SG: Approach for much of 2022, which is enough to rank him highly in a major. But he's also been top-25 in SG: Around-the-Green. This will be Henley's 30th career major and he's made 20 cuts, with a tie for 12th in the 2015 PGA and a tie for 22nd a year later.

30) Adam Scott
Scott has been tremendous through the years in all the majors. He's missed only five cuts in 21 PGAs and was top-25 in 13 of them, top-10 in six of them.  He missed the cut last year, breaking a three-year run of 3-T8-T22.

31) Tiger Woods
Well, here he is. If he is. Woods has committed to playing at the course where he won the PGA way back in 2007. If this was just a grueling long, long, long track, we'd rethink things. But with so much acumen needed around the greens, and with things so forgiving off the tee, we like Woods to make cut and more, though a repeat of what happened at the Masters -- fading as the tournament goes on – is certainly possible.

32) Keegan Bradley
As bad as Bradley is with a putter in his hand, he's darn good with a wedge and or course his long irons. The 2011 PGA winner has made nine of 11 cuts through the years with four top-25s, including T17 last year. And he's coming offa great putting week in which he shared runner-up at the Wells Fargo.

33) Cameron Young
One of the top contenders for Rookie of the Year, this will be Young's fourth major and first PGA. He's missed all three cuts, including the Masters in April. He's a very long hitter who should find Southern Hills more to his liking. He's a decent player who had high finishes at Riviera, PGA National, Bay Hill, Harbour Town and, most recently, runner-up at TPC Potomac.

34) Harold Varner
Varner is coming his best major, a top-25 at the Masters. He had another rough round (third-round 80) when he was in the mix, just as was the case in the 2017 PGA (final-round 81). But he's clearly better than he's even been, ranked in the top-40 in the world and one of the better wedge players on Tour.

35) Patrick Reed
Reed is in a freefall. He's down to 35th in the world, an eight-year low. He just missed the cut at the Wells Fargo – by a lot. But his major record in exemplary – seven top-20s in his past nine starts – and majors are a different animal. He's coming off a T35 at the Masters, certainly not up to his standards. But in a tournament where finesse around the greens will be critical, we're not ready to write off Reed just yet.

36) Robert MacIntyre
The 25-year-old Scotsman has played in eight majors – two in each of them – and has never missed a cut. He was sixth and 49th at the past two PGAs. MacIntyre has teed it up only three times on the PGA Tour this year, but he has top-25s at Riviera and the Masters.

37) Seamus Power
The 35-year-old Power tied for 27th at the Masters in April in his first career major. A year ago he was playing on the Korn Ferry Tour but now has reinvented himself and altered his career. Power has five top-15s in 11 starts on the PGA tour in 2022.

38) Jason Day
Day debuted a new swing at the Wells Fargo two weeks ago, led for the first two days and showed he still can be, well, Jason Day. He's had a spectacular record in majors, falling off only a bit in recent years. In the PGA, he has nine top-25s in 12 starts, six of them top-10s, including of course his win in 2016. He tied for fourth as recently as two years ago.

39) Abraham Ancer
Ancer is still ranked in the top-25s in the world but make no mistake he's played terribly in 2022. His ranking has been propped up by top-10s in Saudi Arabia and the Match Play. In 10 stroke-play events on the PGA tour in 2022, he  hasn't cracked the top-30. But he's missed only three cuts. Ancer is three for three at PGAs, with a top-10 last year and a T16 in his 2019 debut.

40) Kevin Kisner
This is a long track for Kisner to handle, but he's actually done well at the PGA through the years. In his seven starts, he's has four top-25s (also three missed cuts). He's one of the better wedge players on Tour and of course a tenacious putter. Kisner's best showing this year was T4 at THE PLAYERS.

41) Webb Simpson
Simpson has struggled all year, though he's missed only one cut. His track record for making cuts at majors is pretty strong, missing only nine in 42 starts. He's made seven straight at the PGA Championship, three of them top-25s. The more this tournament turns on short-game play, the better it will be for Simpson.

42) Alex Noren
Too high? Maybe. At this point in the rankings we're really starting to see the haves and have-nots. And Noren is ranked near the top 50 in the OWGR, so this isn't that much of a reach.  The PGA has been his best major, making seven of nine cuts. His lone top-25 was two years ago. Noren didn't qualify for the Masters but he has five top-25s in nine starts in 2022.

43) Aaron Wise
We were expecting big things from Wise in 2022, but he face-plated out of the gate. But he was T21 at Harbour Town and T6 at Mexico in his past two starts before the Byron Nelson. His game is a good fit for Southern Hills – wide open off the tee but the need for a good wedge game closer in. Wise tied for 17th at last year' PGA.

44) Marc Leishman
Leishman missed the cut at the Wells Fargo two weeks ago. It was just his second MC all year, but he hasn't had a high finish since Riviera in February (T15) and is close to tumbling out of the top-50 in the world rankings. Leishman has made seven of 11 cuts in PGAs through the years, but he's missed the past three and never has had so much as a top-10.

45) Christiaan Bezuidenhout
It's been a decent start to 2022 for the South African, with four top-25s in 10 starts and only one missed cut. He's also made seven of nine career cuts in majors, including his past five. He was 30th at last year's PGA, which is his best major finish to date.

46) Si Woo Kim
Outside of the Masters, Kim has been terrible in the majors, with the PGA being the worst of them all. Just one made cut in six starts. That came two years ago when he tied for 13th. Overall, he's made seven of his past nine majors cuts, so he's improving as time goes by, Kim has not missed a cut in 13 tournaments in 2022, though he did WD from THE PLAYERS.

47) Brian Harman
Harman finished in the top-20 in three of the four majors last year, but missed the cut at the PGA, as he just did at the Masters in April. That was one of only two cuts he's missed in 10 starts on Tour in 2022.

48) Jason Kokrak
There hasn't been much juice in Kokrak's game in 2022, though he's missed only one cut in 10 tournaments. His best result was a tie for 14th at the Masters. Kokrak has also made five of his past six cuts in majors, including T49 last year at the PGA.

49) Sergio Garcia
Garcia will play in his 93rd major and 24th PGA. On one hand, he has two runners-up, a T3 and a T10 in the PGAs, but all those were long ago. He's also missed his past six PGA cuts. That's the enigmatic Sergio in nutshell. He's still in the top-50 in the world and playing at a high level, having not missed a cut in eight starts in 2022, including at the Masters.

50) Maverick McNealy
McNealy has been in four majors and missed every cut, including last year's PGA. But he's a rapidly improving golfer who was a perfect nine for nine in cuts so far in 2022 entering the Byron Nelson, highlighted by a top-10 at Riviera.

51) Justin Rose
Rose has finished in the top-10 at the past two PGAs, giving him five total and 10 top-25s in 19 starts. He's missed six cuts. Rose is now 41 and has not had a quality 2022 to date, missing cuts at the Masters, THE PLAYERS and Bay Hill.

52) Jhonattan Vegas
Vegas has been playing a long time, but he hasn't played in that many majors. This will be his 15th overall and sixth PGA. He has only one major top-25, and that came in the 2016 PGA. The often-erratic Vegas has been very consistent in 2022, making eight of 10 cuts with three straight top-20s entering the Byron Nelson.

53) Gary Woodland 
Until winning the U.S. Open in 2019, Woodland had had a poor record in majors but the PGA had been the best of them. In total, he's played in 11 and made seven cuts, four of them top-25s including top-10s in 2018-19. Woodland is coming off a missed cut at the Wells Fargo but has three top-10s so far in 2022.

54) Bubba Watson
For someone who has won two Masters, you'd expect a better majors career from Watson. But in 55 starts he has missed 20 cuts and has only 11 top-25s. At the PGA, he's made nine of 15 cuts with three top-25s, lastly in 2015. Watson made the cut at the THE PLAYERS and Masters earlier this year to come back within shouting distance of the top-50 in the world rankings.

55) Sebastian Munoz
Munoz has made the cut only three times in nine majors. He's zero for two at the PGA. He's been very consistent in 2022, making seven of eight cuts with every finish between 21st and 39th.

56) Kevin Na
In the past eight  PGAs, Na has missed six cuts with two top-25s. Even though this course is long, which hurts Na, the focus on play on and around the greens should be enough to get him through to the weekend. He's made seven of nine cuts on Tour in 2022.

57) Cameron Tringale
Tringale has been in seven PGAs and somehow been DQed from two of them. The other five haven't been much better. But Tringale is, at least of late, moving him into the top-50 in the world this year. He finished third at Torrey Pines, 13th at Riviera and has made his past four cuts.

58) Tom Hoge
Hoge has elevated his career in his 30s and will play in majors with more regularity now. He's been in only seven. He's made his past five major cuts, among them the past two PGAs and the Masters in April. Hoge has slowed down after a hot start to 2022 led to his maiden win at Pebble Beach, but he's still made five of seven cuts since then.

59) Cameron Champ
If Champ is to make the cut this week, he will need to bomb his way there – his short game is terrible. He's navigated Augusta National that way, but he also has a top-10 at the PGA two years ago (MC last year). Champ followed up a tie for 10th at the Masters with a tie for sixth at the Mexico Open.

60) Sepp Straka
Straka has been in three majors and made the cut every time, including a tie for 30th at the Masters last month and a tie for 66th at last year's PGA. This year seen his breakthrough on Tour, with his maiden win at the Honda and a top-10 at THE PLAYERS.

61) Cam Davis
The 27-year-old Australian has been in three majors and made every cut, including last year's PGA and this year's Masters. He's also coming off a tie for third at Harbour Town and has missed only three cuts in nine starts in 2022.

62) Keith Mitchell
Mitchell has been pretty bad in limited major experience in his career, missing four of six cuts. He tied for 43rd at the 2020 PGA. Mitchell has had a very good start to 2022 on the PGA Tour, making seven of nine cuts with three top-10s and two more top-15s before playing in the Byron Nelson.

63) Thomas Pieters
Pieters is tricky. He's done well in majors, but he's been in only three total the past three years. That's because he wasn't playing well overall and his ranking fell. The Belgian has been in five PGAs and made three cuts, two of them top-25s including a tie for sixth in 2018. He hasn't been good on the PGA Tour in 2022, missing three of four cuts, including THE PLAYERS and the Masters.

64) Lee Westwood
This will be Westwood's 90th career major and he's made 69 cuts. At the PGA, it's been 15 of 22 including the past seven. He's coming off a tie for 14th at the Masters. 

65) Adam Hadwin
Hadwin has made six of eight cuts in majors the past three years, including all three PGAs (he didn't qualify for this year's Masters). The long Southern Hills track does not align with Hadwin's game, and he did miss cuts at Torrey Pines and Riviera this year. But his other seven starts in 2022 have all been top-30s, including three top-10s, thanks largely to an excellent wedge game.

66) Ian Poulter
Poulter didn't qualify for the Masters in April, his first missed major since 2017. He's had a terrific record in the PGA, making 15 of 19 cuts with six top-25s, the latest coming two years ago. He made all four major cuts in 2021. Poulter has fallen well outside the top-50 in the world rankings, to 80th, but he has made five of six cuts on the PGA Tour this year, albeit with nothing better than a 30th-place result.

67) Anirban Lahiri
Lahiri has been in 16 majors but made only seven cuts. He's made only two of five at the PGA. One of the makes was a tie for fifth in 2015. Lahiri has been playing his best golf in years of late, with a runner-up at the THE PLAYERS and top-15s at the Valero and Mexico.

68) Chris Kirk
Kirk generally struggles on longer tracks and has not done well at the PGA through the years (only three made cuts in eight starts), but the need to be proficient around the greens may make this year different. He is ranked 13th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. Besides, he also has top-10s at two tough tracks in PGA National and Bay Hill.

69) Rickie Fowler
Fowler is so hard to gauge because his major career is fantastic but he's no longer the same Rickie Fowler. But amid two years of sagging play, he did tie for eighth at last year's PGA. He's made 10 of 12 cuts there through the years. Now down to 140th in the world, Fowler has made only four cuts in nine starts in 2022, but one of them came at the Wells Fargo two weeks ago with his best showing of the year, a tie for 21st.

70) Matthew Wolff
Wolff is the ultimate wild card in any tournament he enters these days, possessing top-10 talent but also weighed down by off-the-course issues. He just shot two rounds in the 60s at the tough TPC Potomac before settling into a tie for 25th. In majors, he was fourth at the PGA and runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2020, thenT15 at the Open the next year. He missed the cut at the Masters last month.

BORDERLINE

71) Paul Casey

Casey has withdrawn from the PGA Championship.

Casey obviously wouldn't be here if he were healthy – he'd be far higher. But he's obviously not, at least he wasn't two weeks ago after another last-minute WD at the Wells Fargo. He also missed the Masters and couldn't continue at the Match Play, all related to a bad back. Casey has been in 19 PGAs with 13 made cuts and six top-25s.
 
72) Kevin Streelman
Streelman is 43 years old and has played in 29 majors. Last year was his best showing in majors by far, with three top-20s in three starts, including a tie for eighth at the PGA. He then tied for 22nd at this year's PLAYERS. He didn't qualify for the Masters, but then was seventh at the Valspar and 18th at the Valero.

73) Matt Kuchar
Kuchar did not qualify for the Masters in April, his first missed major since 2014. He's back at the PGA, where he's been all-or-nothing of late: three top-10s and four missed cuts in the past seven years, MCing the past two editions. In fact, Kuchar has trunk-slammed in his past seven majors. But he's playing his best golf of the past few years right now, coming off a T16 at the Valspar, a runner-up at the Valero and a tie for third at Harbour Town.

74) Matt Jones
Jones didn't qualify for the Masters, but last year he played in all four majors for only the second time and made three cuts, including a T30 at the PGA. He's very long off the tee but not very accurate, so he should welcome the wide fairways of Southern Hills, much like at Kapalua, where he tied for third to start the new year.

75) Charl Schwartzel
Schwartzel was the fourth alternate into the tournament after the field was published, the benefactor of Phil Mickelson bowing out. He's an interesting consideration. He's missed seven of 12 cuts in 2022, but was top-10 at the Masters and contending after two rounds of the Byron Nelson. Plus Schwartzel has made 11 of 15 cuts at the PGA, though he missed last year.

76) Luke List
List actually played his first major 19 years ago, but he's been in only 13 total. Four of the have been PGAs, two of them made cuts, including a solo sixth in 2019 and a tie for 51st in 2020. List has not played well at all since his breakthrough win at Torrey Pines in January. But he's a pretty good wedge player.

77) Min Woo Lee
The 23-year-old Australian just tied for 14th at the Masters in just his second career major (MC at 2021 Open Championship). Lee has otherwise missed four cuts in four stroke-play events on the PGA Tour in 2022. 

78) Erik van Rooyen
The South African made the cut in his first six majors. Now he's missed his past four, including last year's PGA and this year's Masters. But he was top-15 at THE PLAYERS and top-10 at Harbour Town and is ranked in the top-65 in the world.

79) Francesco Molinari
Molinari hasn't missed a cut in 11 career PGAs. But he hasn't played in one since 2019 and has missed three of five major cuts since 2020, including last month's Masters. He certainly has the guile and experience to handle a major. Now ranked 208th, the question is whether he still has the game.

80) Harry Higgs
Higgs made quite a major debut last year when he tied for fourth at the PGA. That got him into this year's Masters, where he tied for 14th. He hasn't had many other good results in the past year, having missed 14 cuts. But some guys are built for majors.

LONG SHOTS

81) Bryson DeChambeau

DeChambeau has withdrawn from the PGA Championship.

DeChambeau had surgery on his left hand just one month ago and it's remarkable he's even in the field. It would not be surprising if he pulled out before Thursday. But it would be surprising if the made the cut.

82) Henrik Stenson
The 46-year-old Stenson is set for his 63rd major and 16th PGA. He's made 11 PGA cuts, including last year, but he's MCed in five of his past seven majors. Coming in, he has made his past three cuts on the PGA Tour.

83) Richard Bland
The 49-year-old Englishman was one of the feel-good stories of the Match Play a few months back, and he needed one more win to secura a top-50 spot in the OWGR and qualify for the Masters. It didn't happen. This will be only his sixth lifetime major and very first PGA. He made the cut in both Opens last year.

84) Mackenzie Hughes
Hughes has been in 11 career majors and made the cut in four of his past five, including the Masters in April. The one miss last year was at the PGA. But this year's edition, with a need for sound play around the greens, maybe benefit Hughes, who when he's on his game has a quality short game. But other than a T9 in his past start at the Wells Fargo, it's been a disappointing year-to-date.

85) Lucas Herbert
Herbert is actually ranked in the top-50 in the world and has played in eight majors. He's missed five cuts but made two of three in PGAs. The Australian has made four of seven cuts on Tour this year with a best of T7 at Bay Hill.

86) J.J. Spaun
Spaun broke through for his maiden PGA Tour win at the Valero and followed it up the next week with a top-25 at the Masters. That was his fourth career major and he's made three cuts, two of them at the PGA in 2018-19.

87) Aaron Rai
The 27-year-old old Englishman is set for his fourth career major and second PGA. He missed the cut last year, then had a top-20 at the Open Championship. Rai has made seven of 10 cuts on Tour in 2022.

88) Stewart Cink
This will be Cink's 84th career major but he hasn't played a lot of them over the past eight years. He qualified for just two of the past seven PGAs. He made both cuts, tying for 30th last year and for fourth in 2018. Now 48, Cink certainly has the length to keep up at Southern Hills but he hadn't had a very good year on Tour until a tie for ninth at the Wells Fargo.

89) Nicolai Hojgaard
Hojgaard turned 21 just two months ago and this will be his second major after missing the cut at the Open Championship last summer. He came stateside earlier this year for three tournaments and missed every cut, including at the opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic.

90) Bernd Wiesberger
In his eight PGAs, Wiesberger has two made cuts. He has been far better at the Masters and Open Championship. The Austrian has made only one PGA Tour start in 2022, tying for 33rd at the Valspar.

91) Branden Grace
This will be the veteran South African's three-dozenth major, and he has a pretty good track record. But his sweet spot was 2015-17, when he totaled five top-6 results, two of them in PGAs. Even though he tied for seventh at last year's U.S. Open, his recent record has been abysmal, with missed cuts in eight of his past 12 starts and no top-30 finish.

92) Lanto Griffin
Griffin got in at the last possible moment, using a tie for 15th in Mexico and a tie for sixth at the Wells Fargo to break into the top-100 in the world rankings. This will be his ninth major and he's made half the cuts, including a tie for 19th in the 2020 PGA.

93) Troy Merritt
This will be Merritt's 11th major and sixth PGA. He's made only one PGA cut and that came in his 2015 debut. He's missed only two of 10 cuts so far in 2022 with two impressive top-5s.

94) Ryan Palmer
Palmer's ranking has plummeted in 2022, from inside the top-50 to approaching No. 100. He's missed four of his past six cuts. He's rarely been good in the majors, missing 18 of 35 cuts, including his past four.

95) Mito Pereira
Pereira has played decently in his first full season on the PGA Tour, but not well enough to stay inside the top-100 in the world. This will be only his second major after missing the cut at the 2019 U.S. Open.

96) Brendan Steele
Steele was an alternate who got in after the field was published. This will be his 22nd major and ninth PGA, with his best a tie for 12th in 2015. Steele has missed five of nine cuts in 2022, but he's made his past four.

97) Davis Riley
Riley has had a very good rookie season on Tour, notably his runner-up at the Valspar and another top-5 recently in Mexico. This will be his third major, after two missed U.S. Open cuts in 2015 and '20.

98) Sam Horsfield
The 25-year-old Englishman is set for his sixth career major. He made both his cuts last year at the PGA and Open Championship. He missed more than two months before competing in the Zurich Class last month, then tied for 21st at the British Masters,

99) Carlos Ortiz
Ortiz has missed the cut in five of seven majors, including three of four last year, though the one make was a t55 at the PGA. He's missed five of nine cuts in 2022 with no finish inside the top-30.

100) Martin Kaymer
The two-time major champion and 2010 PGA winner at Whistling Straits is set for his 52nd major. Kaymer has missed the cut in the past three PGAs. He's made only three starts in 2022, all on the PGA Tour, making one cut at the Valspar. The 37-year-old is now ranked 195th in the world.

101) Beau Hossler
7th major. 3rd PGA. Best PGA: T36, 2019. Ranked 205th in the OWGR.

102) Hudson Swafford
8th major. 3rd PGA, 2 MCs in 2017 and '21. Ranked 81st in the OWGR.

103) Lucas Glover
46th major. 12th PGA. Best PGA: 5th, 2009. Ranked 108th in the OWGR.

104) Zach Johnson
71st major. 19th PGA. Best PGA T3, 201. Ranked 245th in the OWGR.

105) Ryan Fox
11th major. 4th PGA. Best PGA: T27, 2018. Ranked 106th in the OWGR.

106) Chan Kim
10th major. 3rd PGA. Best PGA: T23, 2021. Ranked 91st in the OWGR.

107) Takumi Kanaya
7th major. 2nd PGA. MC, 2021. Ranked 62nd in the OWGR.

108) Justin Harding
10th major. 3rd PGA. Best PGA: T54, 2019. Ranked 104th in the OWGR.

109) Rikuya Hoshino
4th major. 2nd PGA. MC, 2021. Ranked 67th in the OWGR.

110) Adri Arnaus
3rd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 55th in the OWGR.

111) Dean Burmester
5th major. 2nd PGA. T59, 2021. Ranked 72nd in the OWGR.

112) Garrick Higgo
5th major. 2nd PGA. Best PGA: T64, 2021. Ranked 100th in the OWGR.

113) Padraig Harrington
79th major. 23rd PGA. Best PGA: Win, 2008. Ranked 165th in the OWGR.

114) Laurie Canter
3rd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 107th in the OWGR.

115) Daniel van Tonder
3rd major. 2nd PGA. Best PGA: T44, 2021. Ranked 103rd in the OWGR.

116) K.H. Lee
6th major. 2nd PGA. MC, 2021. Ranked 88th in the OWGR.

117) Bio Kim
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 115th in the OWGR. Finished 1-T3-T4-T5 over his last five Asian Tour starts.

118) Yuki Inamori
3rd major. 1st PGA Ranked 93rd in the OWGR.

119) Pablo Larrazabal
16th major. 9th PGA. Best PGA: T45, 2011. Ranked 68th in the OWGR.

120) Ryosuke Kinoshita
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 78th in the OWGR.

121) Shaun Norris
8th major. 3rd PGA. MC, 2019-20. Ranked 65th in the in the OWGR.

122) Joohyung Kim
2nd major. 2nd PGA. MC, 2020. Ranked 71st OWGR.

123) Oliver Bekker
2nd major. 1st PGA Ranked 89th in the OWGR.

124) Chad Ramey
1st major. Ranked 117th in the OWGR.

125) Jinichiro Kozuma
1st major. Ranked 99th in the OWGR.

126) Kramer Hickok
1st major. Ranked 157th in the OWGR.

127) Adam Schenk
1st major. Ranked 182nd in the OWGR.

128) Ryan Brehm
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 279th in the OWGR.

129) Sadom Kaewkanjana
1st major. Ranked 116th in the OWGR.

130) Jason Dufner
45th major. 14th PGA. Best PGA: Win, 2013. Ranked 546th in the OWGR.

131) Alex Cejka
24th major. 7th PGA. Best PGA: 4th, 2003. Ranked 1,723rd in the OWGR. Won 2021 Senior PGA to qualify.

132) Y.E. Yang
35th major. 14th PGA. Best PGA: Win, 2009. Ranked 1,040th in the OWGR.

133) Rich Beem
39th major. 20th PGA. Best PGA: Win, 2002. Ranked 1,723rd in the OWGR.

134) John Daly
77th major. 28th PGA. Best PGA: Win, 1991. Ranked 1,623rd in the OWGR.

135) Shaun Micheel
35th major. 18th PGA. Best PGA: Win, 2003. Ranked 1,723rd in the OWGR.

CLUB PROS

Jesse Mueller won the PGA Professional Championship -- commonly called the "Club Pro Championship" -- by five strokes last month at Omni Barton Creek in Austin, Texas to become one of the 20 qualifiers for the PGA Championship. The other 19 qualifiers are listed alphabetically. Two club pros made the cut last year.

Jesse Mueller, Grand Canyon University Golf Course, Phoenix, first PGA, one U.S. Open (2012)
 -----
Alex Beach, Westchester Country Club, New York. fifth PGA (2017, '19-'21)
Brandon Bingaman, Bent Tree Country Club, Dallas, first major
Michael Block, Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, Mission Viejo, Calif., fourth PGA (2014, '16, '18), two U.S. Opens (2007, '18)
Matthew Borchert, Isleworth Golf and Country Club, Windermere, Fla., second PGA (2018), one U.S. Open (2016)
Tyler Collet, John's Island Club, Vero Beach, Fla., second PGA (2021)
Paul Dickinson, Atlantic Golf Club, Bridgehampton, N.Y., first major
Tim Feenstra, Broadmoor Golf Club, Seattle, first major
Austin Hurt, Wing Point Golf & Country Club, Seattle, first major
Colin Inglis, Shadow Hills Country Club, Junction City, Ore., first major
Nic Ishee, Preston Trail Golf Club, Dallas, first major
Jared Jones, River Oaks Country Club, Houston, first major
Sean McCarty, Liberty University golf coach, Lynchburg, Va., second PGA (2018), one U.S. Open (2003)
Kyle Mendoza, The Farms Golf Club, Rancho Santa Fe Calif., first major, played 2022 Amex (MC)
Dylan Newman, Brae Burn Country Club, Purchase, N.Y., first major
Zac Oakley, Bidermann Golf Club, Wilmington, Del., first major
Casey Pyne, The Stanwich Club, Greenwich, Conn., first major
Ryan Vermeer, Happy Hollow Club, Omaha, Neb., fifth PGA (2017-20), one U.S. Open (2021)
Shawn Warren, Falmouth (Maine) Country Club, third PGA (2018, '20)
Wyatt Worthington II, the Golf Depot, East Columbus, Ohio, second PGA (2016)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Len Hochberg
Len Hochberg has covered golf for RotoWire since 2013. A veteran sports journalist, he was an editor and reporter at The Washington Post for nine years. Len is a three-time winner of the FSWA DFS Writer of the Year Award (2020, '22 and '23) and a five-time nominee (2019-23). He is also a writer and editor for MLB Advanced Media.
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