The second major of the season takes place from Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky with the staging of the PGA Championship. Scottie Scheffler has had his baby and will be looking to make it back-to-back majors while Brooks Koepka is looking to defend his crown and win his fourth PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy has won twice since Augusta and won the last time the PGA Championship was staged here while Jordan Spieth is aiming to become the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Stats\/Skill Set Required<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Valhalla is a beast of a course, a true major test. What one does off the tee is going to be critical with distance a must but being wayward will rule you out as the rough is thick and gnarly. A strong long approach game is also key. This is a ballstriker\u2019s course. Scoring on Par 5s and avoiding bogeys are absolute musts, as they are in all majors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Profiling recent winners we are looking for a player in their 20s or early 30s who ranks in the Top 20 of the Data Golf rankings with a win this season, a Top 20 last start and Top 10s in the PGA Championship previously and in one of their last two majors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Correlation Courses\/Tournaments<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n Xander <\/span>Schauffele<\/span> could not profile any better for the PGA Championship as he looks to break through for his first major win. The 30yo with seven PGA Tour wins has really struggled to break through for a signature victory and has twice thrown away the 54-hole lead in big tournaments since March but he is playing truly elite golf. Since January, <\/span>Schauffele<\/span> has played 11 individual tournaments with eight Top 10 wins including 2nds in The Players and Wells Fargo. He has the perfect game for Valhalla. He is the<\/span> best long approach player on the PGA Tour while he ranks 2nd in Strokes Gained: Tee <\/span>To<\/span> Green, 2nd in Bogey Avoidance, 4th in Par 5 Scoring and 6th in Total Driving. He <\/span>has to<\/span> be in the mix.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ludvig Aberg<\/em> Joaquin Niemann<\/em> Tony Finau Keith Mitchell<\/em> Min Woo Lee<\/em>\n
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\nThe rise and rise of Ludvig Aberg has been something else and after his stirring run at Augusta, a major seems very much on the cusp for the talented Swede. Total Driving is the most important stat to look at this week and Aberg ranks third. He ranks 2nd in Proximity, 8th in Bogey Avoidance and 13th in strokes Gained: Off The Tee. Ranks in the Top 20, finished Top 20 last start and was runner-up at The Masters. He is just going to contend in all the majors with his game.<\/p>\n
\nThere is probably no more underrated golfer on the planet right now than Chilean superstar Joaquin Niemann, who has thrived on the LIV circuit. He won the Australian Open last year while he won at Mayakoba and Jeddah. Finished T-22 at The Masters and has finished Top 9 in the last four five LIV events. He leads LIV in Strokes Gained: Approach while he ranks 2nd in Driving Distance. Great winning hope.<\/p>\n
\nIt is astonishing the price that Finau is set to be sent out here. He ranks 10th in Total Driving, 9th in Par 5 Scoring, 12th in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green and 14th in Strokes Gained: Approach. He has finished Top 10 in this tournament in the past three times, most recently in 2021, and he is playing good golf with eight Top 20s in his last 14 starts. Can win but Top 10 is the best bet.<\/p>\n
\n\u2018Cashmere\u2019 Keith Mitchell may be the most underrated player in the field this week. The big hitter has not played in a major since last year\u2019s US Open but that was his best finish in a big one, finishing T-20. He ranks 6th on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee while he ranks 9th in Par 5 Scoring, 9th in Proximity and 10th in Strokes Gained: Approach. He has won at PGA National in the past. Looks a nice Top 20 play.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>Valhalla is the perfect setup for Min Woo Lee and he is a great bet to be the Top Aussie. Cam Smith is a huge lay considering how erratic he has been off the tee. Lee ranks 2nd in Total Driving, 6th in Par 5 Scoring, 8th in Driving Distance and 10th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n