KSR Golf: 2023 PGA Championship

The second major championship of the 2023 golf season is here. The 2023 PGA Championship will crown a champion this weekend at Bay Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.

The Wanamaker Trophy will be handed out on Sunday evening in Western New York at the 105th edition of this event. One year after Justin Thomas won his second PGA Championship, numerous golfers look like contenders heading into the May major championship.

From Thursday to Sunday, we will have some major championship golf on the tube with both ESPN and CBS on the call. Let’s get ready for the event by finding some winners.

Broadcast schedule

Scott Van Pelt and Jim Nantz will headline coverage for their respective companies this week. ESPN will have control in the mornings before CBS begins its coverage on the weekend. Unlike the Masters, traditional television coverage will cover more ground with ESPN going live just after lunch on Thursday and Friday.

— Round One (Thursday): 7 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN+), 1 p.m. -7 p.m. (ESPN)

— Round Two (Friday): 7 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN+), 1 p.m. -7 p.m. (ESPN)

— Round Three (Saturday): 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (ESPN), 1 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS)

— Round Four (Sunday): 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (ESPN+), 10 a.m. -1 p.m. (ESPN), 1 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS)

A weekend full of high stakes golf. Let’s ride.

Course layout

Oak Hill Country Club has hosted two major championship with Shaun Michael (2003) and Jason Dufner (2013) each bringing home a Wanamaker Trophy in August. However, this year’s event will look different than the previous PGA Championships in Western New York.

The East Course has changed a lot since the last major championship here. There are new greens, tees have been backed up, bunkers have been removed/relocated, and a bunch of trees have been taken out. The Donald Ross design is very long (7,394 yards) and will require players to get off the tee to score.

Expect to see the big hitters rewarded this weekend.

Advanced stat of the week

Hitting putts will be critical this weekend, but players must be able to get on the dance floor first to give themselves a shot at putting circles on the card. With three Par 5s over 490 yards and two Par 3s over 230 yards, strokes gained tee-to-green will be the No. 1 metric this week.

That is where I will be looking for value.

Xander Schauffele has only one top-10 finish in six career PGA Championship starts, but his form has been great this season. The 29-year-old ranks No. 7 in strokes gained tee-to-green and is inside the top 20 with his putter. Schauffele has made every cut in 13 starts this season with three consecutive top-10 finishes.

Now feels like a good time for Schauffele to pick up his first major title. The No. 5 ranked player in the OWGR has great value at 16/1 to win this week, per Draft Kings.

Luckett’s Locks

Xander Schauffele will be at the top of our card, but there are some other winning tickets waiting to be cashed. Let’s find those winners.

Tyrrell Hatton has four top-25 finishes at the PGA Championship in his career and enters this weekend ranked No. 6 in strokes gained tee-to-green. Hatton is consistently one of the best putters on tour and has three top-10 finishes in his last six starts. Good form and key metrics are met entering this tournament. Lock in the 31-year-old for a top-10 finish (+330).

After not qualifying for the last three majors, 34-year-old Rickie Fowler is back in the field this week and the Oklahoma State product is playing some good golf. Fowler has nine top-20 finishes in 14 starts this season and ranks No. 16 in tee-to-green efficiency. Meanwhile, Fowler has always been steady with the putter. A top-20 play (+220) has a lot of value with the Puma golfer this weekend.

Rory McIlroy has not been playing good golf lately and has finished outside of the top 20 at the PGA Championship five times in the last seven years. A missed cut bet (+330) could be foolish, but there could be some good value in matchups. Brooks Koepka is a major championship king and has been awesome throughout his career at this event. At plus odds (+105), Koepka over McIlroy is a great head-to-head matchup worth investing in this weekend.