LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY | Before the first official shot is struck in this PGA Championship – last year’s darling Michael Block will have that honor Thursday morning at Valhalla – the casting director deserves a shoutout.
Putting the right people in the right places can turn a good story into a great one and, at least until play commences on what will be a rain-softened course, the run-up to this PGA Championship might get a nod of approval from Martin Scorsese.
How this championship ends remains an open-ended question, but it begins with three players – Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka – with five wins among them in their last five starts.
On the surface, that would be enough, but that’s just part of the overall story. Scheffler is in his first week of fatherhood, McIlroy filed for divorce in Florida on Monday and Koepka wears the LIV Golf label in the second of four events when players from both sides of the game’s divided world co-mingle.
Who needs De Niro or DiCaprio when we have those guys?
Let’s start with Scheffler, the best player in the game and winner of four of his last five events, including the Players Championship and the Masters.
We last saw Scheffler wearing the red tartan jacket that he won at the RBC Heritage in late April before going back to Texas for three weeks to await with his wife, Meredith, the birth of their first child. Baby boy Bennett arrived last Wednesday and everyone is doing well, though there are understandable questions about how sharp the edge on Scheffler’s game might be this week.
Leaving home Monday morning, Scheffler said he apologized to his new son for going away so soon.
If you’re wondering, the Schefflers didn’t know whether they were having a boy or a girl until their son arrived and, as so many new fathers have said, the childbirth process was overwhelming.
“I’m glad it was [Meredith] going through it and not me, because I don’t know if I could have done it. It was pretty nuts,” Scheffler said.
Leaving home Monday morning, Scheffler said he apologized to his new son for going away so soon.
“I was like, I don’t want to leave you right now, but I need to. I’m called to do my job to the best of my ability, and I felt like showing up Wednesday night wouldn’t really be doing myself a service this week when it comes to playing and competing in the tournament, so I had to show up, especially with the weather forecast, showing up, being prepared and ready to play and being back home as quick as I can,” Scheffler said.
During his three weeks away, Scheffler said he had plenty of time to play and practice until the past week, but he feels the happy tug of fatherhood, saying his workout Sunday may have been his fastest one ever so he could get back to being with his family.
Scheffler found himself reflecting on a career that is still in its early stages.
“I married my high school sweetheart and I always wanted to play professional golf, and now I’m here. I was sitting there with a newborn in my arms and the green jacket in the closet. It was a pretty special time, I think, at home,” Scheffler said.
McIlroy’s story has multiple layers to it, starting with the news Tuesday that he has filed for divorce from Erica Stoll, his wife of seven years. The paperwork was filed one day after he won the Wells Fargo Championship for the fourth time, his second straight PGA Tour victory after the Northern Irishman teamed with Ireland’s Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
McIlroy, who is scheduled to meet with the media Wednesday, already was at the core of the pre-tournament conversation before the divorce news as he chases his first major-championship title in 10 years. That victory came at Valhalla and, like this week, McIlroy had won his two previous starts.
Remember his high-profile breakup with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki? It happened 10 years ago, just before the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
While the results have been different, McIlroy said his game has been in a good spot for the past two years, and a recent tune-up with swing coach Butch Harmon sharpened a few dull edges.
“I think part of it was technical. I was missing a lot of shots left,” McIlroy said Sunday at Quail Hollow Club. “Then missing those shots left, not having full confidence in what I was doing with my swing, and that sort of bleeds into the rest of your game.
“I’ve always said whenever I’m driving the ball well and hitting the ball well … it goes the other way and it feeds into my short game and my putting, and I can get confidence from that… There were signs of life – San Antonio, Augusta – but getting that little spark in New Orleans and getting the win there with Shane [Lowry] definitely gave me a lot of confidence.”
No one has played majors better than Koepka over the past several years, and shortly after lamenting his own lack of production this year, he won the individual title in the LIV event in Singapore two weeks ago.
It didn’t take long after his victory at Quail Hollow for him to be asked about returning to Valhalla a decade later.
“Just need to try to replicate whatever I did in 2014; just try to do that all over again,” McIlroy said.
“I’m feeling really good with my game. I need to stay in my own little world next week and not get too far ahead of myself, but if you can step on to the first tee at Valhalla on Thursday and feel as good about my game as I did today, I think I’ll have a good chance.”
Then there’s Koepka, who counts three PGA Championships among his five majors, including the one he won at Oak Hill last May. No one has played majors better than Koepka over the past several years, and shortly after lamenting his own lack of production this year, he won the individual title in the LIV event in Singapore two weeks ago.
Since there’s a family-matters theme, it was Koepka’s first win with his young son, Crew, in attendance.
“It’s such a cool feeling,” Koepka said in Singapore.
“It’s all starting to come around. I’ve put in a lot of work.”