2023 PGA Championship Remembered: Brooks Bags No. 5

With the 2024 PGA Championship set to begin Thursday at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, KY, with 156 professionals set to compete for the Wanamaker Trophy, here is what the last PGA Championship brought us: 

BROOKS KOEPKA BACK ON TOP

Brooks Koepka joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win three PGA titles in the stroke-play era and became the 20th player to win five majors.

With the victory, Koepka became the first golfer to win a major golf championship as a member of LIV Golf.

Koepka's victory ended a streak of seven consecutive major winners under the age of 30, the first time that occurred since the Masters began in 1934. 

Koepka entered the tournament as one of just five players in men’s golf history to win multiple majors in the state of New York (2018 U.S. Open, 2019 PGA).

RAHM

In the opening round, world No. 1 Jon Rahm made one double-bogey and six bogeys, including on his final three holes, to post a first-round, 6-over 76. 

Rahm missed more fairways (nine) in this round than he did in all four rounds (eight) in his Masters victory. 

Rahm's 76 was the highest opening-round score by a reigning Masters champ in his next major start since Bubba Watson shot 76 in the first round of the 2014 U.S. Open. 

This was Rahm's highest round against par for a single round up to this point in the 2022-23 season, and his highest first-round score anywhere in the world since October, 2021. 

JUSTIN 

Defending champion Justin Thomas shot 72-74 to miss the cut by a single shot. Thomas made double-bogey on the 18th hole, missing a 7-footer to save bogey and make the cut on the number. 

SCOTTIE 

In the first round, despite hitting only 11 greens in regulation, Scottie Scheffler shot the first bogey-free round of his major championship career by going 7-of-7 scrambling. It was just the sixth time in his pro career he’s had a perfect number in that stat with at least seven attempts.

Scheffler added to his week a final-round, 5-under-par 65 to tie Hovland for second place. Scheffler's finish coupled with Jon Rahm's T50 finish returned Scheffler to world No. 1.

BLOCK BONANZA

Club pro Michael Block made a hole-in-one on the 15th hole and shot 71 (+1), his tie for 15th place the best finish by a PGA professional since 1986. 

Block was T8 entering the final round after posting even-par 70s in each of the first three rounds, making him the first PGA professional to be inside the top 10 after the third round since Jay Overton in 1988.

SPIETH

Jordan Spieth, who was attempting to win the career grand slam, entered the week as a question mark because he had withdrawn from the previous week's AT&T Byron Nelson with an injury to his left wrist. He posted rounds of 73-72-71-69 to finish T29.

This was Spieth's seventh try to complete the career grand slam by adding the PGA to his list of major titles. The five players who've completed the career grand slam (Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods) did so in three tries or less. 

COLE IN THE COLD

A frost delay caused tee times to be delayed on Thursday by almost 2 hours, ultimately resulting in play being suspended at 8:50 pm EDT due to darkness. 10 groups did not finish their rounds due to the suspension of play. 

Play resumed at 7:00 am EST on Friday.

Playing in the last group of the day teeing off No. 10, Eric Cole was alone in first place at five under when play was halted. He double-bogeyed the first hole he played after the re-start. Cole, whose average approach shot Thursday wound up some 27 feet from the hole — more than 15 feet closer than the field - was making his PGA Championship debut after getting into the field as an alternate. 

ODDS & ENDS

Viktor Hovland finished T7 or better for the third consecutive major. 

The 2023 PGA Championship increased its purse by $2.5 million to $17.5 million, with the winner's share at $3.15 million.