Major Power Rankings: 2023 PGA Championship Field

This article is part of our Major Power Rankings series.

2023 PGA Championship Field Rankings

Below are RotoWire's rankings for the 2023 PGA Championship.

This list is an asset for any fantasy or gaming format, including wagers, season-long fantasy leagues, daily fantasy sports and any other contest you could enter.

The 105th PGA Championship will be played at Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y. -- just outside Rochester -- for the fourth time, second only to the five at Southern Hills, which hosted last year.

There are two courses at Oak Hill. The East is the championship venue, a 1925 Donald Ross design. Besides the three PGA Championships, it has seen three U.S. Opens, two U.S. Amateurs and the 1995 Ryder Cup. The most recent major was the 2013 PGA won by Jason Dufner. The 2019 Senior PGA Championship was also contested there.

The course has always been a long par-70 and now measures 7,394 yards. Depending on the weather -- upstate New York in spring -- it could play even longer. When Oak Hill was awarded this PGA, the tournament was still being played in August. Now in mid-May, favorable weather in upstate New York is no sure thing, but it appears that things will be fine, albeit a little chilly in the mornings with some chances of showers later in the week.

The course is obviously very long despite only two par-5s, both of which are 615+-yards. There are two par-4s of 500 yards and five more of 450+. Two par-3s are short, but the other two are 230 yards and, get this, 245. The pure bentgrass greens are among the smallest the golfers will see all year at an average of 4,500 square feet, according to the official golf course superintendents sheet. Plus there are 78 bunkers, which isn't a lot, but many are very deep, penal and strategically placed in the fairways and around the greens. There's water on six holes, all in the name of Allens Creek, which runs through the course. The fairways are still narrow, but wider than they were for the last major there a decade ago. As part of a big renovation by Andrew Green in 2019, thousands of trees were removed.

The 2013 PGA was won by Dufner at 10-under-par, two strokes better than Jim Furyk. The course played at 7,163 after having been in the 6,900s for every prior major there. Among some notables in this week's PGA, Adam Scott tied for fifth at 5-under, and Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy tied for eighth at 3-under. Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and Hideki Matsuyama finished in the top-25. The cut was at 3-over. A very young Jordan Spieth shot 8-over and missed the cut. Roughly 25 guys in that 156-man field will play the PGA this year.

There are even six players from the 2003 PGA at Oak Hill still around, including that year's surprise champion, Shaun Micheel, who won at 4-under. The cut then was 8-over. We should see nothing like that this time around. The others in that 2003 tournament were Scott, 2005 and 2021 PGA winner Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, 2007 champion Padraig Harrington and 1991 winner John Daly.

The field will be a maxed-out 156 and includes 99 of the top 100 in the world rankings. Injured Will Zalatoris is the lone golfer missing. One berth remained for the winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson if he is not already exempt. There is the usual complement of 20 club pros. One or two could make the cut, but none did last year. There are also 11 former PGA winners in the field, led by defending champion Justin Thomas. 

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

These rankings were formulated before the completion of the Byron Nelson and LIV Golf's tournament in Tulsa, Okla. About 25 players who were in the Nelson field and 18 LIV golfers are in the PGA, too.

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.

FAVORITES

1) Jon Rahm
Rahm won the Masters last month for his second major title and fourth victory already in 2023. The long Oak Hill course should be a perfect fit for the world No. 1, though at this point it would be hard to imagine one that isn't a good fit. Like Augusta, Oak Hill has bentgrass greens. Rahm has made 15 straight major cuts since last missing at the 2019 PGA. His best finish at the PGA was a tie for eighth at the Ocean Course in 2021. He was T48 last year at Southern Hills.

2) Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler really could be listed as 1A, as he and Rahm have dominated the PGA Tour in 2023. The big Texan has won twice, including the other top tournament to be played so far -- THE PLAYERS Championship. Scheffler stunningly missed the cut last year at the PGA at what he called his favorite course, Southern Hills. He tied for eighth in 2021 and for fourth in 2020 at TPC Harding Park. Scheffler held the 36-hole lead at the Byron Nelson.

3) Xander Schauffele
Schauffele has not won since capturing two straight starts last summer, the Travelers and the Scottish Open.  TPC River Highlands is another Northeast track with at least some similarities to Oak Hill. Schauffele tied for 10th at the Masters last month and 19th at THE PLAYERS, with four other top-fives in 2023. He has not missed a cut but WD from the Tournament of Champions with a back injury. Schauffele tied for 13th at the PGA last year, missed the cut in 2021 and tied for 10th in 2020.

4) Brooks Koepka
In finishing second to Rahm at the Masters last month, Koepka showed where the state of his game and his surgically repaired knee are and, perhaps more importantly, showed that the old Koepka still exists. His 2021 was a washout in the majors, with two missed cuts and two T55s. It's no surprise that his four majors been split between PGAs and U.S. Opens – usually long brutish courses. He also tied for second behind Mickelson at the 2021 PGA at the Ocean Course.

5) Rory McIlroy
McIlroy returned from a bit of a mental-health sabbatical at the Wells Fargo, and he finished well back at T47. This was at a Quail Hollow course where he had won three times. That followed missed cuts at his nemesis, Augusta National, and TPC Sawgrass. The pressure at the PGA will not be as great on McIlroy as at the Masters, where he was trying to complete the career grand slam. But any major brings the "He hasn't won any major since 2014" narrative. McIlroy was eighth at last year's PGA – and that was his worst 2022 major. He tied for eighth at the 2013 PGA at Oak Hill.

6) Justin Thomas
Thomas won the PGA for the second time last year, staying close enough to the top so that when the inexperienced leaders faded, he was there to pounce. That somewhat fortunate win has been his only one in more than two years and his lone victory since his super-pairing with caddie Bones Mackay. He's had only two top-10s in 2023. He crushingly missed the cut at the Masters. He's fallen from the top-10 in the world rankings. He's outside the top-150 on Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting. Sounds awful, right? But as we saw at the Wells Fargo, where he just missed a top-10, he can still be the old Thomas.

7) Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay seemingly has put his stretch of poor majors behind him after missing the cut at last year's PGA. He tied for 14th at last year's U.S. Open, for eighth at the Open Championship and for 14th at last month's Masters. Cantlay hasn't won in 2023 but has come close, with top-fives at the Genesis, Bay Hill and the RBC Heritage. He is one of the very best drivers on Tour, ranked third in SG: Off-the-Tee. He is both long and accurate, ranked in the top-20 in both. The wild card for Cantlay may be his new caddie, veteran Joe LaCava, who used to be on Tiger Woods' bag.

8) Matt Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick proved last year that he can win on the PGA Tour, win in a loaded field, win on a long track and win a major – all in one weekend by capturing the U.S. Open at The Country Club. The Englishman more recently won the RBC Heritage on a completely different course. Fitzpatrick had a great 2022 at the majors – T14-T5-W-T21 – then kept it going with a tie for 10th at the 2023 Masters last month. 

9) Tony Finau
From 2018-'21, Finau was electric at the majors, with nine top-10s. He hasn't had so much as a top-25 over his past five majors. On the other hand, he's won twice each of the past two seasons, including at the Mexico Open a few weeks back. The thing is, none of those four was in a good field. As we continue to add up the pluses and minuses, it's clear Finau is a bit of an enigma. It's also clear that if he puts it all together for four days, his best is good enough to win a major.

10) Jordan Spieth
Spieth makes his seventh attempt to complete the career grand slam at the PGA. He came close in 2019 with a tie for third. His best PGA was a runner-up in 2015. Spieth hasn't had a top-25 in the past three editions, and PGA types of tracks generally are not his forte. He hasn't won in more than a year since the 2022 RBC Heritage, but he's been awfully close of late, with three top-5s in the past couple of months at the Valspar, Masters and RBC. Spieth was in the Bryson Nelson field but withdrew before the tournament started citing a wrist injury, and that bears close scrutiny before placing any action on Spieth.

CONTENDERS

11) Sungjae Im
The Masters has always been Im's best major with a runner-up in 2020, a tie for eighth last year and a T16 this year. Those are his three best showings in 14 career majors. Next comes the 2021 PGA, at which he tied for 17th. He missed last year after testing positive for COVID. Im has had a terrific 2023 to date, with top-eights at the Farmers, Phoenix, THE PLAYERS and Wells Fargo. Torrey Pines and Quail Hollow are uber-long tracks, similar in length to Oak Hill.

12) Hideki Matsuyama
It's no wonder Matsuyama has been bothered by a neck injury for more than a year – his playing schedule is enough to give you whiplash. He skipped the designated Wells Fargo two weeks ago because of the injury, then turned around and played the Byron Nelson. Matsuyama's first PGA came at Oak Hill in 2013, and he tied for 19th. He's never missed a cut in 10 PGAs, with a couple of top-fives (2016-17) and six top-25s. He tied for 60th last year, when his neck injury had already become an issue. Matsuyama made the cut at the Byron Nelson.

13) Viktor Hovland
Hovland used last year's Open Championship to start to redirect his majors record. He tied for fourth, and that was his first top-10 in 12 career major starts. He followed that up with a T7 at the Masters last month. Part of that is maturing (he's still only 25), part of that is finally making some headway with his terrible short game. As we see often, his driving and iron play are so good that they can bring him into contention by themselves. Driving and long iron play are paramount this week.

14) Max Homa
Another major, another chance for Homa to try to truly move himself into the elite-golfer conversation. He had a chance last month at the Masters and limped home with a T43. In his career, he's missed the cut in eight of 14 majors with zero top-10s. His best showing was at last year's PGA, where he tied for 13th, but then he reverted at both Opens. But he's a top-10 player in the world coming off another top-10 at a similarly long course, Quail Hollow. This is the perfect place for Homa to break through.

15) Cameron Young
Young's 2022 majors went like this: MC-T3-MC-2. And then he added a tie for seventh at the Masters in April. All that makes sense for a younger player, an aggressive player and an emerging great player. Young will find more consistency as he gets older and as spends more time with veteran caddie Paul Tesori, who recently moved over from Webb Simpson. Young hits the ball a ton, and this is the type of course where he could break through for his first PGA Tour win, as evidenced by how close he got at last year's PGA at Southern Hills.

16) Sam Burns
Over the past few years, Burns has proven to be one of the best players on the PGA Tour – except in the majors. Despite five wins in the past three years, including the WGC-Match Play in February, Burns has largely been a no-show in the majors. He tied for 29th at the Masters last month, his 12th career major. He's never been better than the T20 at last year's PGA. One day, probably soon, things will all of a sudden pop for Burns at a major and he'll contend, probably for the first of many times. 

17) Keegan Bradley
Through the years, Bradley has had an affinity for courses in the Northeast. He was seventh at The Country Club for the U.S. Open last year. He won the 2018 BMW at Aronomink, He won in 2012 at Firestone. Earlier this year at Torrey Pines, a long course but in California, he was runner-up. He was 10th at Bay Hill plus T23 at the Masters. And Bradley, the 2011 PGA winner, notched a T19 at the PGA at Oak Hill in 2013. Now back in the top-25 OWGR, Bradley will play all four majors for the first time since 2019.

18) Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton can be great at long, hard golf courses. Just look at his history at Bay Hill, where he won in 2020 and tied for fourth this year (then a week later was runner-up at THE PLAYERS. But his major resume has been spotty, and since 2020 has been awful, with five missed cuts in 13 starts and only three top-25s. One of them was last year's PGA, at which he tied for 13th. And Southern Hills was plenty long. Hatton made the cut at the Byron Nelson.
 
19) Collin Morikawa
Since winning the PGA in 2020 at Harding Park (not your typical PGA track), Morikawa has played 10 more majors, winning another and finishing in the top-10 six times, including T8 in his 2021 title defense and T10 at the Masters last month.  Yet he hasn't won a PGA Tour event in almost two years, since the 2021 Open Championship. He remains an elite iron player, enough to get him onto the first page of any leaderboard, but his putting has kept him out of the winner's circle.

20) Sahith Theegala
This will be just Theegala's fourth career major. He tied for ninth in his third last month at the Masters. The 25-year-old is on the short list of players who have taken the biggest leap this year. He was T6 at the designated-field Genesis, T5 at the designated-field RBC Heritage, T4 at the very-long-like Oak-Hill Torrey Pines. It's probably too much for him to win for the first time on the PGA Tour this week. If he can hit his drives straight, he can come close.

21) Justin Rose
Rose breathed life back into his career by winning at Pebble Beach in January. It got him back into the Masters and, with his world ranking now in the 30s, all the others.  He then tied for sixth at THE PLAYERS, 16th at the Masters and 25th at the designated RBC Heritage. This from a player who'll turn 43 in two months. The Englishman has an under-the-radar major resume, with 19 top-10s and 41 top-25s in 74 starts. He's finished T8-T9-T13 in his past three PGAs. He tied for 33rd at Oak Hill in 2013 and missed the cut there in 2003.

22) Joaquin Niemann
Niemann arrived at last month's Masters as the second-highest-ranked LIV golfer, and he backed it up with a tie for 16th. The 24-year-old Chilean has made 10 straight cuts in majors, including a tie for 23rd at last year's PGA. That matched his second-best major result behind this year's Masters. He has the length to get some serious TV time on Sunday.

23) Cameron Smith
Despite gaining hardly any world ranking points in the past 10 months, Smith remains in the top-10 in the world. That shows how good he was before leaving for LIV, winning THE PLAYERS and the Open Championship last year. Surprisingly, he has not been great at LIV, and he was a mere T34 at the Masters last month. The PGA has never been his thing. In seven previous starts, he's had only one top-20, and that came last year with a T13 at Southern Hills.

24) Shane Lowry
Nothing can match Lowry's victory at the 2019 Open Championship, but his track record at the PGA has been more than solid. Eight of 11 cuts, with top-25s in four of the past six years, including last year's T23. He was T8 in 2019 and T4 in 2021. Lowry is coming off a T16 at the Masters, which takes on added importance because he hasn't had many high finishes in 2023. Just one top-10 and three top-25s.

25) Rickie Fowler
Fowler's game has been resurgent this season, just not quite enough to qualify for the Masters last month. In fact, he's played only three majors the past two years. One was a tie for 23rd at last year's PGA and another was a tie for eighth at the 2021 PGA. This season, Fowler has four top-10s and nine top-25s. His putting, which lost its way, is now a strength (ranked 35th). With his elite iron play this season, that's a great combo.

MAKING THE CUT

26) Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood had an excellent 2022 at the majors, including a tie for fifth at the PGA. It was the first time he's had a top-25 in eight of them. Fleetwood's game is more suited for the Masters and Open Championship, while the PGA and U.S. Open often favor sheer length. That said, he found himself in contention two weeks ago at one of the longest courses of them all, Quail Hollow for the Wells Fargo.

27) Dustin Johnson
While LIV Golf had a great Masters, Johnson was not a part of it. He tied for 48th, after a long history of great success at Augusta National. That doesn't mean he can't play well this week. He's also had a great run at the PGA, with his tie for eighth at Oak Hill in 2013 among six top-10s. He was runner-up in 2019 but also missed the cut in the past two. Johnson has had good-but-not-great majors of late, with five top-25s in his past nine, though only two top-10s. Both came at the Open Championship.

28) Jason Day
Days is playing his best golf since he dominated on the PGA tour almost a decade ago. He won the PGA, his only major, in 2015 and was runner-up the following year – and he tied for eighth in 2013 at Oak Hill. This has always been Day's best major, with six top-10s and nine top-25s in 13 starts. Even after his game had slid, he tied for fourth in 2020. The Masters was his first major since regaining some of his mojo; unfortunately for him, he tied for 39th. Day then missed the cut at the Wells Fargo but made it at the Byron Nelson.

29) Talor Gooch
Gooch tied for 34th at the Masters, then proceeded to win back-to-back LIV Golf events in Australia and Singapore. This is an extremely important week for him, as he sits just outside the top-60 in the world rankings (63rd) and this will be his last chance to get back inside to automatically qualify for next month's U.S. Open. If not, Gooch has to decide whether he wants to go through 36-hole qualifying. If he can put that added pressure aside, he's one of LIV's best golfers and can do damage this week.

30) Harris English
English is back up to 36th in the world rankings and it finally seems he's returning to form after last year's hip surgery. He's coming off a tie for third at the Wells Fargo. He was also runner-up at Bay Hill and was 12th at Riviera a few months back. English missed last year's PGA while on the mend. He's missed only one cut in six tries, albeit with just one top-25. He's not the longest driver – he's average – so he'd have to be near-great in every other part of his game to move into the top-25.

31) Seamus Power
The 36-year-old Irishman didn't play in a major until last year – and he did great, highlighted by a T9 at the PGA and a T12 at the U.S. Open. He's made the cut at the past two Masters. Power's good start to this season had slowed the past few months, with no top-25s and two missed cuts in a six-start span, until he tied for 18th at the Wells Fargo. Power made the cut at the Byron Nelson.

32) Abraham Ancer
Ancer is one of the best LIV Golf guys, as evidenced by still being ranked in the top-40 in the world rankings. He surely was aided by winning the Saudi International back in February. His only OWGR-sanctioned tournament since then was the Masters, at which he tied for 39th. Ancer has finished top-10 in the past two PGAs (T8 and T9), and just missed another at last year's Open Championship (T11).

33) Adam Scott
Scott has played more this early in a PGA Tour season than he had in years. He doesn't have much to show it. Yes, he's made all nine of his cuts, but until his T5 at the Wells Fargo two weeks ago, he had only one top-25, a T21 at the Sony back in January. He tied for 39th at the Masters. This will be Scott's 23rd PGA, and he's had some great ones, with six top-10s and 13 top-25s. He's played in both recent PGAs at Oak Hill, tying for 23rd in 2003 and for fifth in 2013. He's missed the cut the past two years. Scott made the cut at the Byron Nelson.

34) Wyndham Clark
Clark is just two weeks removed from his breakthrough victory on the PGA Tour, a four-shot win at the Wells Fargo. He is the rare player whose two best clubs are driver and putter. So why hadn't he had more success before Quail Hollow? Good question. Even before Wells Fargo, he was playing well this season, having made 16 of 18 cuts with eight top-25s and five top-10s. He's played in only five majors and made two cuts, including a T75 at the 2021 PGA.

35) Gary Woodland
Woodland finished 14th last time out at the Wells Fargo. He also was 14th at the Masters and ninth at the Genesis. He is playing better of late, especially on longer tracks. He's back up to 75th in the world rankings. He's missed only two cuts in 11 career PGAs, and he has two top-10s and two top-25s. He tied for 34th last year.

36) Keith Mitchell
Mitchell is 31 years old. He hasn't been in a lot of majors, just nine of them, and has never finished in the top-30. He was solo 53rd last month at the Masters. Two of his four made cuts in majors have come in his past two PGAs, including T34 last year. Really, with his game, Mitchell should do more than just make the cut this week. He was playing well at the start of the season but has slipped since a top-25 two months ago at Bay Hill. Nothing inside the top-30 in five starts since then.

37) Corey Conners
Conners was amid a down year for him until winning the Valero Texas Open last month. He then went out and missed the cut at the Masters, where he had finished in the top-10 the three previous years. He rebounded with a tie for eighth at the Wells Fargo. Conners' mark at majors other than the Masters is merely decent. At the PGA, he's made two of four cuts with a T17 in 2021. He's a great iron player, but he has only average length and his short game and putting are woeful.

38) K.H. Lee
Lee is starting to get the knack for playing majors. Or maybe he's just getting to be a better player, now ranked in the top-50 OWGR. He tied for 23rd at the Masters, his best major result. He also made the cut at last year's PGA (T41) and U.S. Open (T37). Lee is coming off a tie for eighth at the Wells Fargo before going for a rare PGA Tour three-peat at the Byron Nelson. He made the cut on the number.

39) Chris Kirk
Kirk has played in only seven majors over the past seven years, not what you'd expect from someone ranked in the top-50 in the world. But Kirk has only recently salvaged his career and now has a second act. He won the Honda Classic, then added a top-10 at the Valero and a top-25 at the Masters. Maybe we're burying the lede here, but Kirk also finished fifth at last year's PGA, quite an accomplishment given his limited length. He also played in the 2013 edition at Oak Hill and tied for 57th.

40) Phil Mickelson
What to make of Mickelson after that turn-back-the-clock runner-up at the Masters? This will be his first PGA since his previous fountain-of-youth performance in winning at the Ocean Course in 2021. He skipped last year amid the backlash of his controversial comments about Saudi Arabia. Before 2021, his previous four PGAs were MC-MC-T71-T71. He was T72 at Oak Hill in 2013 and T23 there in 2003. The Masters may simply have been an outlier, a course Mickelson could play blindfolded. But what if it wasn't? Hmmmm.

41) Russell Henley
Henley has been in nine PGAs and, after missing the cut in his first two, he's made it seven straight times. With his accuracy off the tee and from the fairway, that's not a surprise. He hasn't had a top-25 since 2016 and, with his putter, that's also not a surprise. Henley is coming off his best ever major by far, a tie for fourth at the Masters.

42) Mito Pereira
Pereira may always rue what went wrong at last year's PGA at Southern Hills, when he van de Velded the 72nd hole to go from winning to a tie for third. If he can avoid replaying that horror show in his mind, there's no denying he's a superior iron player, as he has shown with LIV Golf. He tied for 43rd at the Masters. Now 57th in the world rankings, Pereira needs to stay inside the top-60 to avoid having to qualify for next month's U.S. Open.

43) Ryan Fox
The New Zealander is among the most anonymous members of the top-50 in the OWGR. He's also among the biggest hitters. Fox won twice with four runners-up last year. Of course, none of that came on the PGA Tour. He just showed his chops with a tie for 26th at the Masters, and he surely has the length to play Oak Hill. He made the cut at last year's PGA at Southern Hills.

44) Patrick Reed
The bulk of Reed's major success has come at the Masters, where he won in 2018 and tied for fourth last month. But he's had top-10s in all four of them, including a co-runner-up at super-long Quail Hollow for the 2017 PGA. Now with LIV, Reed doesn't have the length that today's top guys have; he has to do it with his short game and putter. It doesn't mean he can't contend this week, it's just that almost everything has to go perfectly for him to do so.

45) Harold Varner III
Varner sits at 64th in the world ranking, meaning a good finish this week is critical for him to get back inside the top-60 and therefore avoid qualifying for the U.S. Open. Now with LIV Golf, he's finished top-30 in three of his past five majors – the past two Masters and last year's Open Championship. He tied for 48th at the PGA, a result that likely would not nudge him forward enough, especially considering this will be only OWGR event before next month at Los Angeles Country Club.

46) Si Woo Kim
Kim began 2023 on fire, winning the Sony Open and then adding three more top-25s in a row. He's cooled significantly since then, with only one more top-25 in seven starts – and that was at the Match Play. He tied for 29th at the Masters. Kim tied for 60th at last year's PGA, but it was just his second made cut in seven tries. The other was far better, a tie for 13th in 2020. Kim made the cut at the Byron Nelson.

47) Justin Suh
Suh is about to play in just his third major. He missed the cut as an amateur at the U.S. Open way back in 2016, then did so again in 2021. But he's a far more accomplished golfer than even two years ago, as indicated by his tie for sixth at THE PLAYERS. He also had a T5 at the Honda and rode a streak of eight straight made cuts until missing at the Byron Nelson.

48) Taylor Moore
Moore was the surprise winner at the Valspar, his maiden PGA Tour win, one that got him into his first major. He tied for 39th at the Masters. He then tied for 11th at the RBC and 27th at the Wells Fargo. So the life-altering win did slow down Moore in the least.

49) Matt Kuchar
Kuchar is back in the top-50 in the world rankings, though it came too late for him to get into the Masters. His history in the PGA is mixed. He's made only half his 14 cuts, but four of them were top-10s and two more were top-25s. He tied for 22nd in 2013 at Oak Hill. Last year, he tied for 34th in his lone major of 2022. Kuchar made the cut at the Byron Nelson.

50) Adrian Meronk
The first golfer from Poland to ever play in the Masters (MC) now will play in his first PGA. Meronk is not a Tour member. He's played six times this season, highlighted by a made cut at the Genesis, a T14 at the Honda and a T17 at the WGC-Match Play. He's also coming off a victory in the Italian Open, one that moved him solidly in the top-60 (46th) to avoid having to qualify for the upcoming U.S. Open.

51) Christiaan Bezuidenhout
The best way to describe Bezuidenhout's career might be "treading water." He was ranked 71st in the world after last year's PGA and now he enters ranked 77th. He's made 14 PGA Tour starts this season with 11 made cuts and four top-25s. Meh. The bright side is that one was at THE PLAYERS (T13) and another recently at the RBC Heritage (T19). Bezuidenhout also played in the Byron Nelson and made the cut. He's been in three PGAs with two missed cuts and a T30 in 2021.

52) Tom Kim
Still only 20 years old for another month, Kim hasn't done a whole lot since winning the Shriners back in October. Sure, he has a few top-10s and bunch of top-25s, but he hasn't contended in seven months, which surely is a step back after the way he burst upon the scene last year. Kim tied for 16th at the Masters. He's missed the cut in both his PGAs, in 2020 and 2022. He made the cut at the Byron Nelson.

53) Tom Hoge
Hoge is ranked in the top-30 in the world, but it's a quirky top-30. He's had some outstanding weeks, such as his tie for third at the Tournament of Champions, then another T3 at THE PLAYERS. He also missed the cut at Phoenix, then Bay Hill, then the Masters and RBC. The MC at Augusta was his third straight in a major, after tying for ninth at last year's PGA. Quirky indeed. Hoge made the cut at the Byron Nelson.

54) Bryson DeChambeau
If DeChambeau can't play well at a track perfectly suited to showcase his enormous skills – super long, super long carry – then his on-going slump is even more problematic than it appears. He has not played well in LIV Golf tournaments. He missed the cut at the Masters. He missed the cut at the Saudi International back in February. He's almost fallen off the golf map (but not the social media map). DeChambeau missed last year's PGA. He tied for 38th in 2021 and for fourth in 2020.

55) Denny McCarthy
McCarthy sits at a career-best 55th in the world rankings thanks to a T8 at the Wells Fargo – yes, a super long Quail Hollow track, Known for his putting, he has made great strides with the rest of his game and he's now ranked 67th in SG: Tee-to-Green. (He's 15th in Putting.) McCarthy's played in the past three PGA's and made every cut, though last year's T48 was his best. He tied for seventh at last year's U.S. Open, meaning he secured a return invite for next week.

56) Brendan Steele
Steele has made the cut in the past three PGAs, including T9 last year, which earned a return invite. Now with LIV, Steele played four times in 2023 before departing. He tied for 20th at the Farmers, missed the cut at Phoenix and then he was gone.

57) Kurt Kitayama
Since his surprising but deserving win at the Arnold Palmer, Kitayama hasn't made a stroke-play cut -- MCs at THE PLAYERS, Masters, RBC and Wells Fargo. He missed the cut by seven shots at Quail Hollow. Ouch. (Kitayama tied for fifth at the WGC Match Play amid that stretch.) Some regression after a breakthrough maiden win is expected, but this is a bit extreme for someone who moved into the top-20 by winning at Bay Hill. In nine career majors, Kitayama has never had a top-50.

58) Emiliano Grillo
The PGA has been Grillo's best major. He's made six of seven cuts with both of his major top-25s. He didn't qualify last year, but he tied for 38th in 2021. Grillo has a good 2023, especially lately, with top-10s at the RBC Heritage and Mexico Open last month, then a T23 at the Wells Fargo.

59) Dean Burmester
The South African was in his first PGA Tour season when he bolted for LIV after playing Pebble Beach. He had made seven of eight cuts with his lone top-25 a tie for fourth at the Sanderson Farms. Burmester was ranked 59th in the world at the time of his exit. He has played in the past two PGAs, missing the cut last year and tying for 59th in 2021.

60) Thomas Detry
The 30-year-old Belgian has made a name for himself in his first season on the PGA Tour. He's made 13 of 15 cuts with seven top-25s and three top-10s. Detry is in the running for Rookie of the Year. He hasn't played in many majors, just five, and made two cuts. He missed in his lone PGA in 2021.

61) Billy Horschel
Horschel has made the cut in 14 of the past 17 majors, including the past five PGAs, with two top-25s (T68 last year). The thing is, this season his game has dropped off precipitously.  He's missed five cuts already, with only three top-25s and two top-10s in 13 starts. One of the top-10s was in October and the other was in the WGC-Match Play. Horschel is ranked 149th in SG: Tee-to-Green and 192nd in Off-the-Tee.

62) Adam Svensson
The Canadian won for the first time on the PGA Tour at the RSM Classic in November, played in his first PLAYERS (T13) and first major (MC at the Masters). He also had a top-10 at the Genesis, a top-25 at Bay Hill and just missed another at the Wells Fargo (T27). So even though Svensson is a very short hitter (168th in driving distance), he can make his way around longer tracks.

63) Hayden Buckley
Buckley has made 17 starts this season and four of them have carried him – T5 at the ZOZO in the fall, runner-up at the Sony, T10 at the Valero and T5 at the RBC Heritage. Mind you, many players would kill for a full season with those results. Buckley is great off the tee, ranked fifth in Total Driving, which should serve him well heading into his third career major and first PGA. He opened eyes by tying for 14th at last year's U.S. Open.

64) Adam Hadwin
Hadwin has made the cut in the past four PGAs, though in the past three he's failed to finish inside the top-50. He's good at making cuts, 12 of 16 this season. Hadwin has six top-25s, notably a tie for 13th at THE PLAYERS.

65) Thomas Pieters
Pieters headed to LIV Golf this year after playing in a couple of DP World Tour events, including a tie for sixth in Dubai. He played the Masters and tied for 48th. That left him outside the top-50 in the world rankings at No. 52. The Belgian made the cut at last year's PGA. His best was a tie for sixth in 2018.

66) Robert MacIntyre
Somehow, the 26-year-old Scotsman has never missed a cut in 10 career majors. He's 3 for 3 at the PGA, though his best finish was a T49 two years ago. MacIntyre's career path has gone in reverse the past couple of years, and now he hovers around 100th in the world rankings. He has not played a PGA Tour event since last summer's Open Championship.

67) Cam Davis
Since ending a dreadful year-opening slump, Davis has made four of five cuts, with two of them top-10s, plus a top-20 at the Match Play. He's never missed a cut in four career majors. Davis has been in two PGAs and tied for 48th last year.

68) Aaron Wise
Wise just returned from a mental-health break last week at the Byron Nelson (he made the cut on the number). So golf is secondary right now. Before breaking, he had missed the cut in four of his past five stroke-play events. Wise has done quite well in his major career, making eight of 11 cuts. He's made three of four at the PGA, with top-25s the past two years. 

69) Webb Simpson
Simpson is not the player he once was. Then again, he wasn't that player last year at the PGA and yet he tied for 20th at Southern Hills. In fact, he hasn't missed a PGA cut since 2014. He tied for 25th at Oak Hill in 2013. Simpson, now ranked 150th, doesn't play as much as he used to, and he's with a new caddie after losing longtime bagman Paul Tesori. But he was seventh at the Valspar, 24th at Bay Hill and made the cut at Quail Hollow.

70) Jimmy Walker
The 44-year-old Walker, who won the PGA in 2016, has played his way into relevance in 2023. He has five top-25s in 11 starts, including his past four before playing the Byron Nelson, where he made the cut. This will be Walker's first major since 2021. He tied for 64th at the PGA that year and also made the cut at the U.S. Open.

BORDERLINE

71) Davis Riley
Riley played in two majors last year – a T13 at the PGA and a T32 at the U.S. Open. But he was a different player then. In 2023, he's missed five of 12 cuts. He's had just one top-10, thought it was a good one at Bay Hill, and one top-25, at the Valspar. Riley missed the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

72) J.J. Spaun
Spaun has a knack for making cuts – 13 of 18 this season with an impressive eight top-25s. He just missed another at the Wells Fargo (T27). Spaun is inside the top-100 in every strokes-gained stat but putting, and he's average there (107th). He's played in five majors, three of them PGAs, with a missed cut last year.

73) Paul Casey
Now playing with LIV and ranked 131st in the world, Casey received a surprise invite to Oak Hill. He's had a great major career, making 50 of 71 cuts, including 13 of 19 at the PGA, with six top-25s and two top-5s. Notably, those came in his past two PGAs, runner-up in 2020 and T4 in 2021. He didn't play last year. Casey is two months shy of 46 and went to LIV because his career was in decline, and he has not been great with LIV.

74) Mackenzie Hughes
Hughes is ranked 61st right now, so getting inside the top-60 by Sunday night will secure a spot in the U.S. Open without having to qualify. He also played in the Byron Nelson and made the cut. Now an established player, Hughes has been in the past 11 majors. He's made only seven of 15 cuts and only one of three at the PGA, a tie for 58th in 2020.

75) Min Woo Lee
Lee had a fantastic 2022 at the majors, especially for a 23-year-old. He had top-25s at the Masters and Open Championship and just missed a third at the U.S. Open. But he missed the cut at the PGA. Lee found himself in the final group at THE PLAYERS in March opposite Scheffler. He wasn't quite ready for the moment and ended up tied for sixth. He then missed the cut at the Masters and RBC Heritage before trying to gain some momentum at the Byron Nelson. He didn't; he missed the cut again. He's fallen to 62nd in the world, meaning he needs to move up to avoid U.S. Open qualifying.

76) Maverick McNealy
McNealy is 27. He's in his fourth full season on Tour. He hasn't won. He's played in only two majors during that time, missing the cut at the 2021 PGA and tying for 75th at last year's. The new year has not been kind to him. Since opening 2023 with a tie for seventh at the Sony, he's played eight times with no finish inside the top-30, plus two WDs and a missed cut. He missed the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

77) Lucas Herbert
The South African tied for 13th at last year's PGA, the third time he's made the cut in four tries. He also tied for 15th at the Open Championship but missed the other two major cuts. After tying for ninth at the Match Play and making the cut at the RBC Heritage, Herbert ventured onto the DP World Tour and won the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan last month. He is wildly inaccurate off the tee and from the fairway, and is usually saved by his short game. But that hasn't been very good either this season.

78) Brendon Todd
Todd has made five straight cuts leading into Oak Hill, including a tie for eighth at Quail Hollow and cashes at THE PLAYERS and Bay Hill. He's made the cut in seven of 15 majors, two of four at the PGA. Todd was T17 at the 2020 PGA.

79) Francesco Molinari
On one hand, Molinari has never missed a cut in 12 PGAs. On the other, he's play in only one the past four years, during which his game has tumbled. He's ranked 132nd OWGR. But not that long ago, he was runner-up at the 2017 PGA. Molinari has made only four of eight cuts in 2023, but he was 14th at Bay Hill and top-25 at Mexico. On occasion, he can still bring it.

80) Padraig Harrington
Harrington tore up the Champions Tour with four wins in 2022, including the U.S. Senior Open. The 2008 PGA winner turned back the clock with a tie for fourth at the PGA in 2021, earning a return visit last year, when he missed the cut. Harrington has played three regular PGA Tour events this year – the Honda, the Arnold Palmer and the Valero – and made the cut in each, with a tie for 10th at the Valero.

LONG SHOTS

81) Nicolai Hojgaard
4th major. 2nd PGA. best PGA: MC, 2022. Ranked 107th OWGR.

82) Brandon Wu
4th major. 1st PGA. Ranked 83rd OWGR. Made the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

83) Alex Noren
34th major. 11th PGA. Best PGA: T22, 2020. Ranked 56th OWGR.

84) J.T. Poston
8th major. 4th PGA. Best PGA: T60, 2019. Ranked 54th OWGR.

85) Patrick Rodgers
6th major. 2nd PGA. Best PGA: MC, 2017. Ranked 105th OWGR.

86) David Micheluzzi
1st major. Ranked 361st OWGR. Played in the Byron Nelson. Made the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

87) Joel Dahmen
10th major. 5th PGA. Best PGA: T10, 2020. Ranked 108th OWGR.

88) Victor Perez
10th major. 3rd PGA. Best PGA: T22, 2020. Ranked 67th OWGR.

89) Kevin Kisner
33rd major. 9th PGA. Best PGA: T7, 2017. Ranked 59th OWGR.

90) Thorbjorn Olesen
23rd major. 8th PGA. Best PGA: T27, 2012. Ranked 93rd OWGR.

91) Danny Willett
37th major. 11th PGA. Best PGA: T30, 2014. Ranked 99th OWGR.

92) Matt Wallace
16th major. 5th PGA. Best PGA: T3, 2019. Ranked 116th OWGR.

93) Brian Harman
28th major. 9th PGA. Best PGA: T13, 2017. Ranked 33rd OWGR.

94) Beau Hossler
9th major. 4th PGA. Best PGA: T36, 2019. Ranked 128th OWGR.

95) Adri Arnaus
4th major. 2nd PGA. Best PGA: T30, 2022. Ranked 89th OWGR.

96) Nick Taylor
7th major. 2nd PGA. Best PGA: T68, 2015. Ranked 65th OWGR.

97) Trey Mullinax
4th major. 1st PGA. Ranked 87th OWGR. Missed the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

98) Sam Ryder
3rd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 106th OWGR.

99) Alex Smalley
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 102nd OWGR.

100) Rasmus Hojgaard
3rd major. 2nd PGA. Best PGA: T79, 2021. Ranked 115th OWGR.

101) Jordan Smith
6th major. 3rd PGA. Best PGA: T9, 2017. Ranked 95th OWGR.

102) Adam Schenk
3rd major. 2nd PGA. Best PGA: T41, 2022. Ranked 91st OWGR. Made the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

103) Mark Hubbard
3rd major. 2nd PGA. Bet PGA: T51, 2022. Ranked 123rd OWGR.

104) Taylor Montgomery
3rd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 60th OWGR. Played in the Bryon Nelson.

105) Pablo Larrazabal
18th major. 9th PGA. Best PGA: T45, 2011. Ranked 69th OWGR.

106) Scott Stallings
14th major. 6th PGA. Best PGA: T55, 2013, at Oak Hill. Ranked 66th OWR. Missed the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

107) Anirban Lahiri
18th major. 7th PGA. Best PGA: T5, 2015. Ranked 98th OWGR. LIV Golf.

108) Taylor Pendrith
3rd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 119th OWGR.

109) Davis Thompson
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 82nd OWGR. Made the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

110) Matthew NeSmith
3rd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 109th OWGR. Made the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

111) Ben Griffin
1st major. Ranked 84th OWGR. Missed the cut at the Bryon Nelson.

112) Chez Reavie
26th major. 8th PGA. Best PGA: T12, 201. Ranked 113th OWGR.

113) Andrew Putnam
10th major. 4th PGA. Best PGA: T59, 2018. Ranked 72nd OWGR.

114) Sepp Straka
8th major. 3rd PGA. Best PGA: T66, 2020. Ranked 38th OWGR.

115) Ben Taylor
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 101st OWGR.

116) David Lingmerth
12th major. 5th PGA. Best PGA: T12, 2015. Ranked 118th OWGR.

117) Yannik Paul
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 104th OWGR.

118) Callum Shinkwin
4th major. 1st PGA. Ranked 88th OWGR.

119) Rikuya Hoshino
8th major. 3rd PGA. Best PGA, T60, 2022. Ranked 125th OWGR.

120) Lee Hodges
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 141st OWGR.

121) Zach Johnson
74th major. 20th PGA. Best PGA: T3, 2010. Ranked 253rd OWGR.

122) Thriston Lawrence
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 97th OWGR.

123) Adrian Otaegui
5th major. 3rd PGA. Best PGA: T65, 2018. Ranked 94th OWGR.

124) Sadom Kaewkanjana
3rd major. 2nd PGA. Best PGA: MC, 2022. Ranked 92nd OWGR.

125) Nick Hardy
5th major. 1st PGA. Ranked 177th OWGR.

126) Callum Tarren
3rd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 164th OWGR.

127) Kazuki Higa
3rd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 100th OWGR.

128) Luke Donald
56th major. 15th PGA. Best PGA: T3, 2006. Ranked 457th OWGR.

129) Ockie Strydom
1st major. Ranked 143rd OWGR.

130) Sihwan Kim
2nd major. 1st PGA. Ranked 239th OWGR.

131) Nico Echavarria
1st major. Ranked 291st OWGR.

132) Y.E. Yang
36th major. 16th PGA. Best PGA: Win, 2009. Ranked 1,598th OWGR.

133) Steven Alker
6th major. 1st PGA. Ranked 1,624th OWGR. (Won 2022 Senior PGA Championship to qualify.)

134) John Daly
78th major. 30th PGA. Best PGA: Win, 1991. Ranked 3,526th OWGR.

135) Shaun Micheel
36th major. 20th PGA. Best PGA: Win, 2003. Ranked 3,526th OWGR.

CLUB PROS

Braden Shattuck won the PGA Professional Championship (commonly called the "Club Pro Championship") by one stroke over Michael Block and Matt Cahill earlier this month at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M., to become one of the 20 qualifiers for the PGA Championship. The other 19 are listed alphabetically. No club pro made the cut last year.

Braden Shattuck, Rolling Green Golf Club, Springfield, Penn., first PGA Tour event 
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Matt Cahill, Seminole Golf Club, Juno Beach, Fla., first PGA Tour event
Alex Beach, Westchester Country Club, Rye, N.Y., sixth PGA (2017, '19-'22 – all MCs)
Michael Block, Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, Mission Viejo, Calif., fifth PGA (2014, '16, '18, '22 – all MCs), two U.S. Opens (2007, '18 -- both MCs), 20 PGA Tour events, including the 2023 Amex and Farmers (both MC)
Anthony Cordes, Cherokee Town & Country Club, Atlanta, first major, played in 2020 RSM Classic (MC)
Jesse Droemer, Lakeside Country Club, Houston, first major, 2018 Valero Texas Open (MC)
Chris French, Aldeen Golf Club, Rockford, Ill., first PGA Tour event
Russell Grove, North Idaho College, Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, first PGA Tour event 
Steve Holmes, Rustic Canyon Golf Course, Moorpark, Calif., first major, third PGA Tour event (2010 Shriners, 2014 Northern Trust – both MCs), Korn Ferry Tour member in 2002
Colin Inglis, Shadow Hills Country Club, Junction City, Ore., second PGA (2022 -- MC)
Ben Kern, Hickory Hills Golf Club, Grove City, Ohio, second PGA (2018 -- T42)
J.J. Killeen, Red Feather Golf Club, Lubbock, Texas, first major, 36 career PGA Tour events, 33 of them in 2012 but also 2022 Byron Nelson (MC), two-time Korn Ferry winner, 150 Korn Ferry starts. He missed the cut at the Byron Nelson.
Greg Koch, Ritz-Carlton Golf Club-Grand Lakes, Orlando, Fla., second PGA (2021 -- MC), seventh PGA Tour event, including three in 2023 (T68 at Bay Hill, two MCs)
Kenny Pigman, Arrowhead Country Club, San Bernardino, Calif., second PGA (2017 -- MC)
Gabe Reynolds, Topgolf, Dallas, first PGA Tour event
Chris Sanger, Woodstock Golf Club, Woodstock, N.Y., first PGA Tour event
John Somers, Southern Hills Plantation Club, Brooksville, Fla., first PGA Tour event
Josh Speight, The Club at Viniterra, New Kent, Va., second PGA (2016 -- MC)

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