Majors Value Meter: PGA Championship

Below are our 2019 PGA Championship rankings. This list is geared toward winner-take-all leagues and leagues that reward the lowest aggregate score, but it can serve other leagues and DFS as well, no matter the nuances. As of this writing, 155 players are in the field, and a final spot is held for the winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson, if he is not already exempt. If he is, another player from the PGA Championship points list will get the final berth. Check the comments section for any updates, including changes to the field.

Bethpage Black has been played four times on the PGA Tour – the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens and the 2012 and 2016 Barclays in the FedEx Cup playoffs. We won't consider what happened in 2002, but we'll reference the other three tournaments throughout. In 2016, Bethpage played as a par-71 over 7,468 yards. For the 101st PGA Championship, the yardage will stay the same, but it will play as a par-70. By comparison, last year's PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club was 70-7,316. Brooks Koepka won at 16-under-par.

FAVORITES

1. Brooks Koepka
He entered the Masters having won three of the past six majors and came thisclose to making it 4-of-7, ending up tied for second behind Tiger Woos. He's in the mix almost every major. He won the PGA last summer, and also has two other top-5s there. Bethpage Black, and PGA Championship setups in general, are perfect for his game. Koepka played Bethpage only once in the past three tournaments played there going back a decade, finishing 70th at the 2016 Barclays. No matter. It wasn't a major.

2. Dustin Johnson
Johnson has played Bethpage all three times since 2009, finishing 18th in 2016, third in 2012 and 40th at the 2009 U.S. Open. That was only his third major, and he's gone on to have 16 top-10s, half of them being top-5s, including tying Koepka for runner-up at the Masters in April. Of course, unlike Koepka, Johnson is stuck on one major win. He's come close a lot and this long behemoth of a course should leave him in the mix again.

3. Rory McIlroy
He has been enjoying a tremendous season, during which he has won The Players and contended often. But at the Masters, he never got a sniff en route to tying for 21st. There should be a bit less pressure now that he's not going for the career grand slam, as he was at Augusta. McIlroy has a great track record at the PGA, winning at The Ocean Course in 2012 and at Valhalla in 2014. His more recent PGA results have been mediocre. He was so-so at Bethpage for the Barclays -- 31st in 2016 and 24th in 2012 -- while finishing 10th there in '09.

4. Jon Rahm
He is starting to get the hang of majors -- and for most golfers, there is a learning curve. Rahm tied for ninth at Augusta last month after a pair of T4s last year at the Masters and the PGA.  Outside of one episode with his caddie at The Players, Rahm seems more composed this season. He's still only 24 and has not played Bethpage in a tournament.

5. Tiger Woods
The concern here, and the reason Woods is ranked this low, is whether he's recovered from the Masters. The win was so monumental -- probably more emotionally and mentally than physically -- that we wonder whether he's had enough recovery time. The only other Woods major that compares would be his first at the 1997 Masters. It seems improbable, but it took Woods 11 more majors to win his second, at the 1999 PGA vs. Sergio Garcia. At Bethpage, Woods finished sixth in 2009, was 38th in 2012 and didn't play in the 2016 tournament.

6. Rickie Fowler
Fowler certainly has had success at Bethpage, finishing seventh in 2016, and in the PGA, with a pair of top-5s in the past five years. He tied for 12th last year. While Fowler is long enough to compete at Bethpage, we just like all the other guys a little more. He also missed the cut at the 2009 Open at Bethpage, though that was just his second career major.

7. Jason Day
Day had an off-year in majors in 2018 -- off for him, as he had three top-20s and a missed cut. But for the five-year period before that, his major resume was among the best in the world: 11 top-10s, six of them being top-5s, and of course his win at the 2015 PGA at Whistling Straits. The PGA has been his best major of them all. Day got back to doing great at majors just last month, when he tied for fifth at the Masters. He also finished top-5 at Bethpage at the 2016 Barclays.

8. Justin Rose
Putting the No. 2 golfer in the world at No. 8 is hard, just as it is ranking someone in this elite group ninth and 10th. Rose has a pair of top-5s and another top-10 at the PGA through the years, but none since 2015. In the subsequent three years, two top-25s and a missed cut. Rose was far from great at the two Barclays -- 31st in 2016 and 46th in 2012 -- but he was far from the golfer he is now. He also missed the cut at the '09 Open.

9. Xander Schauffele
We say it all the time: He is in the mix at so many big tournaments, including tying for second at Augusta last month. Like Rahm, Schauffele is too young to have played in any of the three Bethpage tournaments. And if there's any worry, it's that the PGA has been the worst of all his majors, missing the cut in 2017 and tying for 35th last year. But Schauffele is sneaky long and his game fits nicely into Bethpage.

10. Justin Thomas
He finished T10 at his lone Bethpage start in 2016. His game is surely long enough, and he's showed he can deliver at a PGA Championship, winning in 2017 at Quail Hollow. But he has been having some issues with his wrist and has not won yet this season, which is uncharacteristic for the fast-starting Thomas.

CONTENDERS

11. Francesco Molinari
Just as Tiger Woods is taking a long time to recover from the Masters, we imagine Molinari is too. He's played just once since then, missing the cut the week after at the RBC Heritage. It's good he's taken time to step away. Examining his numbers from prior Bethpage events don't really help, as the Italian is a far superior golfer now. That said, he missed the cut at the 2016 Barclays and was 27th at the '09 Open.

12. Bubba Watson
Watson can be a real threat this week on a track where distance is imperative and putting not so much (relatively speaking). He has finished top-20 in all three Bethpage events -- 13th in 2016, 10th in 2012 and 18th in 2009. He's also coming off a T12 at the Masters.

13. Sergio Garcia
You need to be a great ball striker at Bethpage, and Garcia is one of the best. He missed the cut at the Masters, which is not a confidence boost, but that might be more of a post-Masters-victory thing (he's missed both his cuts since winning. than a not-playing-well thing. Garcia tied for fourth a couple of weeks back at the Wells Fargo. He also was 10th at the '09 Open and third at the '12 Barclays.

14. Tony Finau
Finau has not enjoyed a great season but delivered at Augusta, tying for fifth. He had a real shot at winning. He has played in just the most recent Bethpage event, finishing 12th in 2016. He finished top-10 in three of the four majors last year, all but the PGA.

15. Matt Kuchar
Kuchar has not enjoyed great success at Bethpage, finishing well back in the pack at both Barclays and missing the cut at the '09 Open. But he's playing his best golf in years and is more than capable of delivering even on a long track. He's been top-10 in two of the past four PGAs, missing the cut in the other two, including last year.

16. Paul Casey
Like Garcia, Casey missed the cut at the Masters and then tied for fourth at the Wells Fargo in his lone start in between the two majors. And like Kuchar, the length of the course is not his strength, but he has the game to make it work just about anywhere. He tied for 31st in 2016 at Bethpage and missed the cut in 2009.

17. Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay has yet to experience Bethpage in competition, but no matter. He's coming off a tie for ninth at Augusta and tied for 12th at last year's U.S. Open. He's showing he can deliver in majors.

18. Tommy Fleetwood
If we were a Fleetwood backer, we'd be concerned that not only was he playing in Britain the week before the PGA, but he was the host of the tournament, the British Masters, bringing along all sorts of time-draining responsibilities. The Englishman has finished top-5 at the past two U.S. Opens, and Bethpage is a U.S. Open-type track.

19. Gary Woodland
Woodland has the length to make some noise this week. While the course was not nearly as penal at the 2016 Barclays, he tied for fourth that week. He tied for sixth at last year's PGA and for 22nd the year before.

20. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama has not come close to finding the form that left in the top-5 in the world rankings two years ago. But he remains a far-above-average tee-to-green player. Last year was sort of a lost year for the Japanese star, but he was top-5 at the two prior PGAs, at Quail Hollow and Baltusrol.

21. Kevin Kisner
Kisner certainly delivered at the Match Play, and he's done great the last three years at the always-long PGA, with top-20s every time, one of them a tie for seventh two years ago at Quail Hollow. He does it with smarts and a short game, and both will need to be on target this week.

22. Adam Scott
Like Matsuyama, Scott is far from the peak of his career. But he also was third last year at the PGA, battling Brooks Koepka on the back nine on Sunday. He tied for fourth at the 2016 Barclays.

23. Louis Oosthuizen
The South African missed the PGA last year but was co-runner-up the year before at Quail Hollow. He's had a terrific past few months, with a win and other top-5 showings. He delivered in both Barclays, tying for 18th in 2016 and for fifth in 2012.

24. Webb Simpson
This might be a tough track for Simpson to contend at, but a top-25 is easily within his range. He's done no better than T48 at the two Barclays and wasn't around for the Open at Bethpage. Following an impressive T5 at the Masters, Simpson has stayed on form with a pair of top-20s at the RBC Heritage and the Wells Fargo.

25. Henrik Stenson
When Stenson's ball striking is on, it's among the best in the world. But it's been on and off all season. He's been around long enough to have played in 2009, when he tied for ninth. He's had a great track record at the PGA, with five top-10s and three more top-25s. That said, he missed the cut last year at Bellerive.

26. Bryson DeChambeau
Who knows what's going on here? Maybe the law of averages. After winning four times in nine starts bridging the New Year, DeChambeau has been ordinary at best, with no top-10s in three months. He has only one top-25 in his past eight majors.

27. Ian Poulter
This track will certainly test Poulter's ability to keep up with the long hitters. Like Kisner, he's been doing it with smarts and a short game for years. He tied for 18th at the 2009 Open. He's had some good results at PGAs, though no top-20s since a T3 seven years ago. On the other hand, he's playing his highest level in years.

28. Rafa Cabrera Bello
It caught us by surprise to see that the Spaniard has played in seven PGAs. But then again, he's 34. He tied for 10th last year at Bellerive for his best showing by far in this major. He hasn't played in any of the prior Bethpage tournaments.

29. Phil Mickelson
If Mickelson continues to spray his drives all over the place, his stay on Long Island will be short. But we suspect he will take steps to throttle his swing speed and try to hit the fairway this week. If he does, he's shown he can compete here, finishing runner-up in 2009 and tying for 13th in 2016.

30. Marc Leishman
The Aussie surely has the game to do well this week, but we moved him down a handful of spots after he withdrew from the Byron Nelson, citing a back injury. Besides, the Masters and Open Championship have historically been better for him than the U.S. Open and PGA. That said, he does have a pair of top-15s at the PGA, one of them two years ago at Quail Hollow. But he missed the cut at both Barclays.

MAKING THE CUT

31. Keith Mitchell
This may be our first "Woh, this guy is way too high" moment. But we have been so impressed with Mitchell. Not only in winning the Honda but how he's kept it going since then. He tied for 43rd in his first major at the Masters last month. His length and great tee-to-green game should translate well this week.

32. Patrick Reed
Well, Reed is still a mess. He doesn't have a top-10 on the PGA Tour since the WGC-HSBC Champions seven months ago. At some point, you have to figure his work with David Leadbetter will lead to some better results. Reed can surely deliver at Bethpage, where he won the 2016 Barclays.

33. Jordan Spieth
Everybody keeps thinking that at some point Jordan Spieth will return to being Jordan Spieth. But if it didn't happen at the Masters, and it didn't, it's hard to envision it happening this week, when accuracy off the tee is paramount. Spieth is ranked outside the top-200 on Tour in driving accuracy. He was 10th at Bethpage in 2016, a lifetime ago. The PGA is the one major he hasn't won.

34. Keegan Bradley
The 2011 PGA champ at the Atlanta Athletic Club tied for third the next year but hasn't been top-15 since. He hasn't been in the top-50 in the two Bethpage Barclays. He's 34th in the world for a reason, having mostly played well in big events since his FedEx Cup playoff win last summer. He was sixth at the WGC-HSBC, tied for 10th at the WGC-Mexico and for 16th at The Players before a T43 at Augusta. He's 15th on Tour in strokes gained: tee to green.

35. Sungjae Im
The Korean rookie has been outstanding all season, with five top-10s and four more top-25s. But he missed the cut at The Players and didn't qualify for the Masters. He was in two majors last year, missing the cut at the U.S. Open but tying for 42nd at the PGA. That's a good sign for this week.

36. Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton has not had a good year, but he's been pretty darn good at the PGA. He's played in four of them with a pair of T10s, including last year, and another T25. He also was T6 last year at the U.S. Open, showing that he can compete at these brutishly long tracks.

37. Joel Dahmen
Dahmen has climbed from outside the top-200 in the world rankings to 80th this year. But this is his first major. That said, he tied for 12th at The Players. Not the same thing by any stretch, but it's the toughest tournament he's been in and he delivered. He has 18 top-25s over the past two seasons, seven of them already in 2018-19.

38. Zach Johnson
Despite seeing his world ranking dip to around 90, and without a win anywhere since the 2015 Open Championship, Johnson manages to stay afloat in the majors. He's made the cut in the past eight, and in nine of the past 10 PGAs. He was even top-20 in three of the four majors a year ago (not the Masters). Pretty amazing, actually.

39. Brandt Snedeker
He's 38, a shorter hitter and seemingly is being passed by all the young bombers. But he stayed relevant by winning the Wyndham last year. He's also made the cut in five straight PGAs, two of them top-15s (2014-15). He's missed only one U.S. Open cut this decade. Snedeker was runner-up at the 2012 Barclays.

40. Shane Lowry
Lowry has had a strong year as he's climbed back into the top-50 OWGR. He won at Abu Dhabi and tied for third at Harbour Town. In between, he's missed the cut at Bay Hill, The Players and the Masters. His best showing by far in seven PGAs was last year's T12.

41. Eddie Pepperell
This will be the Englishman's eighth career major. His best was T6 at last year's Open Championship, but he was also T16 at the 2017 U.S. Open, which shows he can compete on a long track in an elite field. He also tied for third at The Players.

42. Cameron Smith
The Aussie is only 25, still finding his footing on the PGA Tour. He's 30th in the world, though going a bit backwards thanks to a horrible stretch in which he hasn't finished in the top-50 in his past five starts. That include The Players and the Masters. Before that, though, he was T6 at the WGC-Mexico. That was a shorter track. If Smith will compete this week, he'll need his superior wedge and putting game to be at its best. He's done no better than T25 in three PGAs. He was T48 at the 2016 Barclays.

43. Lucas Bjerregaard
The Dane tied for 21st at the Masters, his first major in four years and only the fourth of his career. He also finished T12 at the Honda, T30 at The Players and took down Tiger Woods at the Match Play. This will be his first PGA, but he's stood tall over the past three months.

44. Byeong-Hun An
By now, An should have done more than he has. He's been around long enough to play in 18 majors, though he has only one top-25. Yet he's young enough to have not played in any of the Bethpage tournaments. he's had a couple of top-10s recently, and was T26 at The Players, so maybe this week he'll do better.

45. Jason Kokrak
Kokrak has been playing really well this season, with a great tee-to-green game. He's been in five PGAs, improving the past three years from T49 to T33 to T19.

46. Ryan Moore
The 36-year-old has played in a dozen PGAs, never matching his T9 in his first visit. But he did tie for 13th two years ago at Quail Hollow. it's a big surprise he didn't even qualify for the Masters, though he was T20 at The Players. And then he was T3 at the Valero. He tied for seventh at the 2016 Barclays.

47. Thorbjorn Olesen
The 29-year-old Dane has made the cut in five of his six starts at the PGA, though without a top-25. He's coming off a tie for 21st at the Masters and for 41st at The Players.

48. Haotong Li
Li has played in eight majors and he's still only 23, making the cut in six of them. But the two he missed were the past two PGAs, one an MC and a WD last year. China's best player has finished top-20 in the past two WGC stroke-play events, but missed the cut at The Players and was T43 at the Masters.

49. Joost Luiten
The 33-year-old Dutchman has a decent record at the PGA, mixing a T21, a 26 and a T33 with three missed cuts. This will be his 17th career major. Fun Joost Luiten factoid: According to Wikipedia, his full name is Willibrordus Adrianus Maria Luiten.

50. Lucas Glover
We've come to the golfer who won the previous major at Bethpage Black. Yes, Glover came out of nowhere to win the 2009 U.S. Open. He then finished fifth later that year the PGA, but has never come close again. He's qualified for the PGA only one time in the past five years, though that was a T33 in 2017. When Glover's laser tee-to-green game is on, he can do well anywhere.

51. Justin Harding
The rising South African has played in only three career majors, but one of them was his tie for 12th at the Masters last month. Another was a missed cut last year at Bellerive.

52. Matt Wallace
The Englishman tied for 19th in last year's PGA, his only made cut in five majors. That includes the Masters last month. Wallace had a good run of finishes in the spring: T33 at the WGC-Mexico, T20 at the Honda, T6 at Bay Hill and T30 at The Players.

53. Aaron Wise
Wise has the length to compete this week, if he can keep it in the fairway. He made his first cut in a major last month, tying for 17th at the Masters. He MCed last year at the PGA.

54. Ryan Palmer
Palmer has played in 10 PGAs, making the cut seven times with a best of T5 in 2014. He tied for 13th at the 2016 Barclays and for 24th in 2012.

55. Billy Horschel
Horschel has played in 21 majors in his career and has only one top-10. He's played in six PGAs with only one top-25. But he's made the cut in his past five. His usually solid iron game has not been so solid this season.

56. Steve Stricker
The 52-year-old Stricker doesn't play every major every year any more, but incredibly, he's made the cut in his past 29 dating to 2010. That includes last year's U.S. Open -- where he tied for 20th --and all four in 2017. He didn't play in last year's PGA, but did in the previous 12, missing only one cut.

57. Lee Westwood
Now 46, Westwood hasn't had a sniff at a major since finishing runner-up to surprise winner Danny Willett at the 2016 Masters. But he also hasn't missed a major cut since then or even before, running off 14 in a row. He won for the first time since 2015 late last year in South Africa. He has teed it up only six times so far in 2019, including a T33 at the WGC-Mexico. He was fifth at the 2012 Barclays.

58. Martin Kaymer
The German may seem ancient, but he's really only 34. He's made the cut in 11 of his past 13 majors, though the two misses were last year. It wasn't at the PGA, where he's made the three straight cuts and of course won in 2010 at Whistling Straits thanks to the Dustin Johnson debacle. He's now ranked around 200th in the world.

59. Branden Grace
Grace had a really good run in the majors from 2015-17, with five top-6s, two of them at the PGA in '15 and '16. Right now, he's barely hanging on to his place in the top-50 in the world rankings. He has only one top-25 in stroke play in 2019, and that was as a runner-up to Rickie Fowler in Phoenix.

60. Kevin Na
Na has never been great in the majors, but he's made nine of his last 11 cuts, including T19 last year at Bellerive. He was slowed by a finger injury earlier this season and is still making his way back, but last time out was T10 at Harbour Town. He missed both Barclays cuts at Bethpage.

61. Matthew Fitzpatrick
Still only 24, he's already been in 16 majors. He just doesn't do well in them most of the time, and never at the PGA: T49-MC-MC. You'd certainly expect better from someone ranked in the top-35 in the world. His best major has been the Masters, where he tied for 21st last month and for seventh in 2016. But he showed maybe he's ready to tackle really long tracks with a T12 last year at the U.S. Open.

62. Julian Suri
The native New Yorker who plays on the European Tour has returned to the top-100 OWGR thanks to five straight top-25s, two of them being top-5s. He impressively tied for 28th last year the Open Championship and backed it up with a T19 at Bellerive.

63. Ryan Fox
A lot of us got our first long look at the New Zealander when he contended at the Scottish Open last summer. He wound up T6, a week after being runner-up at the Irish Open. He then made the cut at the Open Championship and tied for 27th at the PGA. Fox also made the cut at the PGA the year before, and has made 5-of-6 lifetime in majors. He hits the ball very far.

64. Si Woo Kim
He's such a hard guy to gauge because he mixes so many great/awful results. Still being 23 contributes to that. Kim has missed the cut in five of his 10 majors, never making it to the weekend at the PGA. He had a great start to this season thanks to his putting, though that is showing signs of regressing to what it was the past few years. He missed the cut at the 2016 Barclays.

65. Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Pretty much a mainstay in the top-50 the past five years, the Thai star has never made much of a dent in majors, with a pair of 15th-place finishes being his best (2016 Masters, 2018 U.S. Open). He tied for third at the WGC-Mexico earlier this year. He does seem to have an affinity for that shorter track, with a tie for fifth the year before.

66. Chez Reavie
He got a return ticket thanks to his T12 last year at Bellerive, his best career effort in a major. Also tied for 22nd the year before at Quail Hollow, which is impressive for such a short hitter. It's not been a great season for Reavie, though he just tied for 18th at the Wells Fargo (at Quail Hollow). He tied for 31st at Bethpage in 2016.

67. Jhonattan Vegas
Vegas has missed the cut in 6-of-11 career majors with one top-25 -- T22 at the PGA in 2016. At 34, he's been playing quite well this season, with five top-25s, two of which have been top-10s, including a tie for third at The Players. He tied for 22nd at the 2016 Barclays.

68. Pat Perez
Just back from an Achilles injury to tie for eighth at the Wells Fargo, he also teed it up at the Byron Nelson. Perez's best finish ever in a major was T6 at the PGA at Baltusrol back in 2005. He made the cut in the last three majors last year and has had two decent finishes the past two years at the PGA: T28 and T35. He missed the cut at Bethpage in 2009 and 2016, tying for 38th in 2012.

69. Sam Burns
Burns had been playing well before his WD from the Wells Fargo, with three straight top-25s. He's played in two majors to date, both U.S. Opens, missing the cut in 2016 and tying for 41st last year. His driving accuracy is wayward, and that will need to improve for him to make the weekend.

70. Jorge Campillo
The 32-year-old Spaniard is one of the hottest golfers in the world coming in. He won the Euro event in Morocco last month and has -- get this -- five top-3s in his past six starts. They have not been elite fields, but still. He's been in only two career majors, missing the cut last year the Open Championship and PGA.

BORDERLINE

71. Jim Furyk
Now 48 and done with Ryder Cup duties, he's shown he can still play at this level, albeit doing better on shorter tracks. His past three PGAs have gone T73-MC-T71. He was 41st at the 2016 Barclays, missed the cut in 2012 and tied for 33rd at the 2009 U.S. Open. Making the weekend is a tossup.

72. Russell Knox
Three years ago, Knox was in the top-20 OWGR. Now, he's close to 70. He's been managing to make a lot of cuts -- 13 in a row before an MC last time out at Harbour Town -- but only one top-10 in that stretch. He's got one top-25 in five PGAs, missing the cut three times.

73. Thomas Pieters
The big Belgian can be great, and he can be awful. He tied for fourth at the Masters two years ago, tied for sixth last year at the PGA. But in his other seven career majors, he's missed three cuts with zero top-25s. He's been plummeting down the world rankings, now in the 90s, and this is his first trip stateside since Bellerive nine months ago.

74. Sung Kang
While Kang was busy tearing up Trinity Forest over the first two days of the Byron Nelson, he got into the field thanks to a withdrawal. And he's had a pretty impressive record in majors, making the cut in all five of his appearances. His best was a T18 at the 2016 U.S. Open, and he was T44 at his lone PGA in 2017.

75. Satoshi Kodaira
He's been going the wrong way ever since his out-of-nowhere win at last year's RBC Heritage. But he's made the cut in six of his past seven majors, albeit without a high finish, including the past two PGAs.

76. Charles Howell III
Howell has been in every PGA but one going back to 2001. He used to do well, with four top-25s. But the last of those was in 2005. Making the cut is no sure thing, despite his success on Tour this season. He withdrew from the Byron Nelson.

77. Daniel Berger
Berger is in the field thanks to his finish among the top-15 and ties in last year's PGA (he tied for 12th). He has a pretty good history in majors over the past three years -- T6 at the U.S. Open last year, T10 at the 2016 Masters -- but he hasn't regained his form since hurting his wrist. He tied for 70th at the 2016 Barclays.

78. J.B. Holmes
He's coming off a WD after shooting an 80 in the first round of the Wells Fargo, and we don't know whether he's hurt. Curiously, he's also withdrawn twice from the PGA in years past; he's missed the cut there twice in the past three years. Even before the Wells Fargo, it's been a terrible year for Holmes -- outside, of course, his win at Riviera. That was his only stroke-play top-25 in 2019. He was 41st at Bethpage in 2016, 19th in 2012 and 27th in 2009.

79. Dylan Frittelli
Frittelli, trying to make a go of it on the PGA Tour, played in six majors from 2017-18, missing four cuts. The two he made were at the PGA, and he tied for 31st last year. he tied for 24th a couple of weeks ago at the Wells Fargo, his best PGA Tour showing this season outside of an opposite-field event.

80. Tom Lewis
The 28-year-old Englishman was ranked around 400th in the world a year ago; he's now in the 60s thanks to a bunch of top-10s on the European Tour, including a win at the Portugal Masters last September. But this is only his fourth career major as a pro, missing two cuts and tying for 47th last year at the Open Championship. He was T65 at the WGC-Mexico. He's better than he's ever been before, but this is a big step up.

81. Alex Noren
Noren has had a terrible 2019, during which he's fallen from inside the top-20 OWGR to outside the top-30. In seven stroke-play events, he has zero top-25s. And he's never made any noise in six prior PGAs, missing the cut twice, including last year.

82. Scott Piercy
A very accurate iron player, he nonetheless has missed the cut in five of his past six majors, twice at the PGA. He did finish T5 at the 2013 PGA at Oak Hill. Had some good finishes this year, but at shorter tracks.

83. Emiliano Grillo
Grillo had three top-20s in majors in his breakthrough rookie season of 2016, including at the PGA. But he hasn't had a top-30 since, with five missed cuts in his last seven major starts. He was runner-up to Reed at the 2016 Barclays, but there's nothing in his game right now to suggest anywhere near a repeat performance.

84. Vijay Singh
The oldest guy in the field at 56, the 2004 champ at Bellerive has played in every PGA since 1992. He's made the cut six of the past seven years, missing in 2016. Now around 500th in the world, Singh also flashed long-ago brilliance by contending at the Honda, where he tied for sixth in February. He also made the cut at Bethpage in in 2009, 20012 and 2016.

85. Ross Fisher
Now 38, he's missed the cut in majors over the past five years almost as much as he's made it (14 majors, six MCs). He's had no finishes inside the top-30 in that span. Interestingly, his best showing ever at a major was at the ... 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage, where he tied for fifth.

86. Erik Van Rooyen
The 29-year-old South African tied for 17th at the Open Championship last summer, his lone major to date. He tied for 36th at the WGC-Mexico earlier this year and has a couple of recent runners-up on the European Tour, in Qatar and a few weeks ago in Morocco.

87. Richard Sterne
The 37-year-old South African has been around for years, playing in 17 majors and having some decent finishes. In his past three PGAs, he's made the cut twice, tying for 28th in 2017. He's also had some good finishes this season, notably a runner-up to Shane Lowry in Abu Dhabi.

88. Luke List
After taking Justin Thomas to a playoff at the 2018 Honda, it appeared List was on the rise. He's had some top-5s, for sure, but he hasn't sniffed a win and his world ranking is nearly identical to where it was 15 months ago -- in the 70s. He's never qualified for the Masters. He's missed the cut at the past two PGAs and at the 2016 Barclays.

89. Michael Thompson
Thompson played in seven majors in 2012-13, and did pretty well with three top-25s and famously finishing co-runner-up to Webb Simpson in the 2012 U.S. Open at Shinnecock. But he hasn't been back since. He's played well in 2019, with six top-20s heading into the Byron Nelson

90. Kyle Stanley
Stanley is a really good tee-to-green player who had not been having a good season -- until recently. He tied for 21st at the Masters and then for eighth at another super-long track, Quail Hollow. He's never cracked the top-50 in his three Bethpage visits, and has missed the cut in all four of his PGAs, so maybe "borderline" is generous.

LONG SHOTS

91. Corey Conners
Conners is not far removed from his breakthrough win at the Valero. He tied for 46th at the Masters and missed the cut at Harbour Town in his only subsequent starts. He previously MCed at the 2015 Masters and 2017 U.S. Open.

92. Danny Willett
He's clearly talented when on -- he won the 2016 Masters and then the season-ending European Tour Championship last year. But he misses a lot more than he makes. Since tying for 27th at the WGC-Mexico, he's missed 5-of-6 cuts. He's made the cut in 4-of-7 PGAs, but not the past two.

93. Max Homa
It's asking a lot of Homa to regroup so quickly after his breakthrough win. He's been in one major, way back in 2013 at the U.S. Open (MC). Who knows? Maybe his momentum can carry him to the weekend this time around.

94. Jimmy Walker
Now 40, his stunning win at the 2016 PGA is still his most recent win. Walker is free-falling down the world rankings, without a top-25 in the past year. One of his best results in that time is a tie for 36th last month at the Masters. He missed the cut at the 2016 Barclays and was 36th in 2012.

95. Patton Kizzire
He's been around only a couple of years but is already 33. Kizzire tied for 18th at the Masters last month, by far his best showing in eight career majors. He missed the cut in three of them last year, including the PGA. Has made his past four cuts, including The Players. Missed the cut at Bethpage in 2016.

96. Adrian Otaegui
The 26-year-old Spaniard made his debut with a tie for 65th at last year's PGA. He tied for fourth at last year's season-ending European Tour event, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. he also tied for 60th at the WGC-Mexico.

97. Graeme McDowell
Now a couple of months shy of 40, McDowell won his lone major, the 2010 U.S. Open, at very-short Pebble Beach track. It's hard for him to keep up on the longer courses. He's MCed at the past two PGAs and U.S. Opens. He missed the cut at the 2012 and '16 Barclays. That said, he's playing his best golf in a few years.

98. Adam Hadwin
Hadwin has done nothing since finishing as runner-up at La Quinta in January. He's missed the cut in four of his past six majors, two of them the PGA. He tied for 64th at the 2016 Barclays.

99. Brian Harman
He had one good year in majors, and that was 2017, when he was playing far better than he is now. He tied for 13th at the PGA that year. Harman has missed the cut in 8-of-12 starts this season. He was 22nd at the 2016 Barclays and fifth in 2012.

100. Abraham Ancer
This will be Ancer's second career major, having missed the cut last year at Carnoustie. He's shown growth over the past couple of years -- winning the Australian Open in November, breaking into the top-60 OWGR and tying for 12th at The Players -- but simply making the cut would be an accomplishment this week.

101. Shugo Imahira
The 26-year-old from Japan tied for 33rd at the Sony and for 39th at the WGC-Mexico earlier this year. He's played in each of the majors once, missing every cut, including last year's PGA. He's won twice on the Japan Tour.

102. J.J. Spaun
He tied for 35th at the PGA last year in his majors debut, but arrives in horrible form. His recent T28 at Harbour Town was his best showing since November. Heading into the Byron Nelson Spaun had missed the cut or withdrawn from five of his past eight starts.

103. Chesson Hadley
Hadley has had a bad 2019, missing the cut in 7-of-11 starts, though he does have three top-20s. He's missed the cut in 5-of-6 career majors, three of them last year, including the PGA.

104. Brian Gay
Now 47, Gay first played a major in 1995! But he's played in only 24 over those 24 years. His best showing was T20 at the 2008 PGA at Oakland Hills. He made the cut last year at Bellerive, a big accomplishment for a short hitter.

105. David Lipsky
The 30-year-old Los Angeles native and Northwestern alum plays on the European Tour. He's been in only two majors, both Open Championships, and made the cut in 2015. He recently tied for 10th at the WGC-Mexico.

106. Charley Hoffman
The 42-year-old has turned it around of late, with a top-20 at the Valspar, a runner-up at the Valero and even a tie for 29th at the Masters. Three years ago at the Barclays, he tied for 13th. But Hoffman's PGA track record is abysmal, missing the cut eight times in 10 visits.

107. Brandon Stone
The 26-year-old South African won the Scottish Open last summer as No. 371 in the world. He got into the PGA and is back by virtue of his tie for 12th last year at Bellerive. But he's done virtually nothing since then.

108. Kurt Kitayama
The 26-year-old California native made some noise by winning in South Africa late last year, then in Oman in March. Neither was a quality field. He then had top-20s in Qatar and Morocco. This will be his first major.

109. Jazz Janewattananond
The 23-year-old Thai has leaped to 70th in the world thanks a long string of top-5 finishes dating back to December -- eight of them, in fact, topped by a win in Singapore. These have all been low-level fields. He already has three Asian Tour wins, which is impressive at 23. This will be his first major. It may be too soon for him to make a dent.

110. Jason Dufner
The 2013 champ at Oak Hill has not cracked the top-50 at the PGA since then. At 42, his game has been in serious decline, only to make a recent cameo at the Wells Fargo, where he tied for fourth. Dufner tied for 22nd at the 2016 Barclays.

111. Kevin Tway
Tway won the Safeway, then collapsed. He had missed six cuts in a row until a pretty impressive T36 at the Masters. He had been in three U.S. Opens before that, missing the cut twice. He has the length to make it to the weekend, but not the overall game. He didn't play Bethpage in 2016.

112. Shaun Norris
The 36-year-old South African has been in two career majors, making the cut at the past two Open Championships. He finished 71st at the WGC-Mexico (that's last place).

113. Alexander Bjork
The 28-year-old Swede has missed the cut in all three of his career majors, two of them last year, including the PGA. He's seen his world ranking dip from 59th at the end of 2018 into the 80s.

114. Mikko Korhonen
He's 38 years old, he's from Finland, and he just won the Volvo China Open two weeks ago. This was his second career win and the other one came only last year on the European Tour as well. Remarkably, he has been in only one major, missing the cut in last year's PGA

115. Harold Varner III
This will Varner's fifth career major, and second PGA. He's made only one cut, that being the 2016 Open Championship. He's had a poor 2019 to date, missing five of his past eight cuts. He tied for 60th at Bethpage in 2016.

116. Danny Lee
He has not been in a major since missing the cut at the 2017 PGA. But he made the weekend the two prior years. Outside of a T7 at the Valero, it's been a brutal year for Lee. He missed the Bethpage cut in 2016.

117. Sam Ryder
Ryder got into the tournament because they ran out of players: "If necessary to complete the field, those players beyond the top 70 players who have earned the most PGA Championship Points … " This will be his second career major, having missed the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open.

118. Cameron Champ
Champ was the darling of the fall season, with his prodigious drives and win at the Sanderson Farms. He's been awful and hurt in 2019. This will be the second major for the 23-year-old, having tied for 32nd at the 2017 U.S. Open.

119. Beau Hossler
The Texan has not had a good 2019, tumbling outside the top-100, with only one top-35 (T15 at Riviera. in 11 starts before the Byron Nelson. He tied for 75th at the Open Championship last year before missing the cut at Bellerive.

120. Mike Lorenzo-Vera
The 34-year-old Frenchman has been around for about 15 years, and his only win was on the European Challenge Tour in 2007. He's been in two majors, the Open Championship two years ago and the last year's PGA, making the cut both times but finishing outside the top-60.

121. C.T. Pan
Pan has actually played in five majors, four of them U.S. Opens, dating to 2011. He's made two cuts. He's coming off his surprise win at the RBC Heritage.

122. Andrew Putnam
Putnam was T4 at the WGC-HSBC, then runner-up at the Sony to get his season off to a roaring start. But he's sunk like a rock since then, missing the cut four times in his eight subsequent starts with nothing inside the top--30. He tied for 59th at the PGA last year, his second career major (2010 U.S. Open)

123. Lucas Herbert
The 23-year-old Aussie played both Opens last summer, missing the cut in the U.S. and tying for 51st at Carnoustie. Playing on the European Tour, he doesn't arrive with the best form.

124. Ryan Armour
On Tour for a decade, he didn't play a major till last year, missing the cut at both the Open Championship and PGA. He's missed seven of his last 11 cuts, though he was T6 at the Valspar and T12 at the Honda.

125. Brendan Jones
The 44-year-old Aussie who spends his time on the Japan Tour has played in 11 majors in his career and has missed the cut in eight of them. His best is a tie for 24th at the 2009 PGA.

126. Adam Long
Long was a stunner of a winner at La Quinta, then missed five straight cuts, then tied for 10th at Bay Hill, then went back to oblivion again, trunk-slamming at the Masters. His only other major was a missed cut at the 2011 U.S. Open. That's a long time ago. He's 31.

127. Troy Merritt
He won the opposite field Barbasol last year to qualify. This will be his sixth career major, and he's missed the cut in three of them, including the PGA last year. He's actually coming off a T10 at Harbour Town.

128. Padraig Harrington
Now 47, the 2008 champ at Oakland Hills will play in his 20th PGA. He's missed the cut five of the past six years, but that other one was a T13 in 2016. He's now outside the top-250 in the world.

129. Martin Trainer
Trainer won the Puerto Rico Open and has missed 3-of-6 cuts without a top-40 since. This will be his first major. He withdrew from the Byron Nelson

130. Bronson Burgoon
The 31-year-old Burgoon has missed eight of his last nine cuts, but got in via a withdrawal. He was in position on the points list because of two great finishes amid all his despair: runner-up at the John Deere last summer and at the CIMB Classic last fall. He's played in two career majors, missing the cut at the 2009 U.S. Open and at the Open Championship last July.

131. Michael Kim
Kim got here by winning the John Deere last year at the No. 473 golfer in the world. He zoomed inside the top-200, but is back in the 300s, so there's nothing really to see here. He had missed 10 straight cuts heading into the Byron Nelson. He missed the cut last year at the PGA and in the Masters last month.

132. Y.E. Yang
The Tiger slayer at the 2009 PGA at Hazeltine is 47 and has missed the PGA cut f. ive of the past six years. He's ranked around 225th in the world, which is not too shabby.

133. John Daly
What's gonna be more fun, watching his drives fly all over the place or watching him drive his cart all over the place? Daly is 53.

134. Rich Beem
The 2002 winner at Hazeltine, now 48, has missed the cut five of the past six years, making the weekend just three years ago. This is the only tournament he plays every year. The Champions Tour is close.

135. Shaun Micheel
The outlier of all major winners, Micheel, now 50, won at Oak Hill in 2003. It's his only PGA Tour win. He's missed the cut the past seven years and actually played some Web.com events last year. Why? Who knows?

CLUB PROS

Rob Labritz, from GlenArbor G.C. in Westchester County, N.Y., tied for eighth in the PGA Professional Championship. We list him first because he is the only one of the 20 club pros to have made a cut in the PGA Championship. This will be his sixth PGA, having debuted in 2002. In 2010 at Whistling Straits, he tied for 68th with Stuart Appleby.

Alex Beach, from Westchester (N.Y.) C.C., won the so-called Club Pro Championship. He played in the major once before, in 2017.

Danny Balin, from Fresh Meadow C.C., on Long Island, N.Y., was the runner-up to Beach. He's played in the PGA five times, 2010-13 and again last year.

Stuart Deane, out of Texas Star G.C., near Dallas, finished third in the qualifying tournament. He is set for this third PGA, having played in 2014 and '17.

Jason Caron plays out of Mill River Club on Long Island, where my brother is a member (true story). He qualified by tying for fourth. This will be his first PGA, but he tied for 30th at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage.

Ben Cook, from Yankee Springs G.C. in Michigan, tied for fourth and will be playing in his first PGA.

Rich Berberian Jr., from Vesper C.C. near Boston, tied for sixth and will playing in the PGA for the fourth year in a row.

Rod Perry, from Crane Lakes Golf & C.C. in Florida, tied for six. He's played in five PGAs, 2012-14 and '16-17.

Jeffrey Schmid, Brown Deer G.C., Iowa, tied for eighth. This will be his first PGA.

Marty Jertson, representing Ping Golf in Phoenix, tied for eighth and has played in three PGAs, including last year.

Casey Russell, out of Golfcrest C.C. near Houston, tied for eighth. This will be his first PGA.

Brian Mackey, representing Hollow Brook G.C., north of New York City, tied for eighth. This will be his first PGA.

Ryan Vermeer, from Happy Hollow Club, Nebraska, tied for eighth. This will be his third straight PGA.

Craig Bowden, a Life Member from Indiana, tied for 14th. This will be his second PGA and second in a row.

Justin Bertsch, from Hideout G.C in South Florida, tied for 14th and will be making his first PGA appearance.

John O'Leary, from Trump National G.C. in the Washington, D.C., area, tied for 14th. He played once before in 2007.

Cory Schneider, out of The Pointe G.C. in North Carolina, tied for 17th. This will be his first PGA.

Craig Hocknull, representing Saber Golf in Arizona, tied for 17th. He made his PGA debut last year.

Andrew Filbert, from Royal Poinciana G.C. in South Florida, tied for 19th and won a six-man playoff. This will be his first appearance.

Tyler Hall, out of Upper Montclair C.C. in New Jersey, tied for 19th and also emerged from the playoff. This will be his first appearance.