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Awards Season

Michael Block winning this year-end award was the biggest lock in sports

Scott Taetsch/PGA of America

We can safely say there will be no controversy with this year-end golf award announcement.

Michael Block has been named the PGA Professional Player of the Year Award winner for 2023 following a storybook season. The 47-year-old club pro burst onto the national scene in May with a T-15 at the PGA Championship, which included a slam-dunk hole-in-one late on Sunday while playing with Rory McIlroy at Oak Hill.

RELATED: Where does Michael Block rank in our Newsmakers of the Year?

“It’s very surreal for this to happen at 46-47 years young,” Block told the PGA of America. “I’m not really playing any differently than I always have. It just happened at the right moments this year. It’s not like I found some secret code or something. It happened to be where the course set up well for me. I read the greens nicely. The fairways were firm and fast. Everything lined up at Oak Hill and I’m not expecting to do that ever again. At the same time if it happens again at any event at all, I’ll be very happy.”

The long-time pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club also shot a final-round 66 to successfully defend his title at the Southern California PGA Section Championship in September. He won the Southern California PGA Player of the Year Award for a staggering 10th time in 11 years.

Block also earned exemptions into several other PGA Tour events, and finished T-27 at the Australian Open last month. With 1,352.50 points, this is his second consecutive PGA Professional Player of the Year Award.

RELATED: Michael Block sets scoring record at this 2024 major venue

“I was never in my life thinking ‘let’s try to do this twice,’” Block told the PGA of America. “I had this as a goal in life to win it one time. I happened to play well in two important events, the national club pro and the PGA Championship. I’m lucky enough to get it two times in a row.”

Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth of San Jose Country Club in ​​Jacksonville, Fla., won the Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year Award for the first time, while Bob Sowards of Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio, won in the senior division for a fifth time.

Block's win comes a week after Scottie Scheffler and Eric Cole won close votes on the PGA Tour for Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively. But again, after Block's performance at Oak Hill—which earned him a spot in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla —this award was never in doubt.

RELATED: Watch the cool moment Michael Block's caddie figured out just how much money he made

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Michael Block

Corebridge Financial Team

PGA Head Golf Professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club…Appearing in his sixth PGA Championship...Shot 70-70-70-71 (1-over 281) to finish T-15 in the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill...Recorded a final-round ace on the 151-yard, par-3 15th...His 2018 PGA Championship appearance at Bellerive came in his hometown of St. Louis...Won the PGA Professional Championship in his 2014 debut following a two-hole playoff with Jamie Broce in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina...Finished T-2 at the 2023 PGA Professional Championship…Winner, 2023 and '22 PGA Professional Player of the Year; Southern California PGA Player of the Year for the 10th time (2013, '14, '15, '16, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23); 2023, '22, '18, '17 Southern California PGA Professional Championship; 2023, '21, '17, '13 Southern California PGA Match Play Championship; 2019 Southern California PGA Stroke Play Classic; 2001 California State Open...Played for the U.S. Team at the 2022 PGA Cup in Surrey, England...Rallied from a four-hole deficit in the opening singles match on the final day to earn a crucial point and help the U.S. win its first overseas PGA Cup since 2009...Member of the 2015 U.S. PGA Cup Team (3-1-0 record)...Qualified for the 2007 (Oakmont) and 2018 (Shinnecock Hills) U.S. Opens...in 2007, made a 22-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a Sectional playoff...Has played in 30 PGA TOUR events including the 2024 and '23 The American Express and Farmers Insurance Open, 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge, RBC Canadian Open and World Wide Technology Championship...He has imprinted on his TaylorMade golf balls the words, "WHY NOT?"

Previous Performances

Michael Block didn’t chase pro golf. Now he’s beating the best at the PGA Championship

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It was nearing noon on Friday when Val Block, walking down the eighth fairway at Oak Hill Country Club during the second round of the 2023 PGA Championship, pointed to her husband and tried to explain something.

“This,” she said, “was never the goal.”

Val spoke with certainty. She’s been married to Michael Block for 20 years. The two met at a birthday party in Laguna Beach, Calif., when Michael, from Iowa, was caught off guard by Val, from Argentina. The accent hooked him. They went dancing that night. Two decades and two children later, they’re still at it.

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Michael, now 46, was in his mid-20s when he met Val. She remembers him being, even then, at peace with his reality. A reality that so many others have so much difficulty accepting.

That he was never going to be a PGA Tour golfer.

“People told him it wasn’t realistic and he believed it,” Val said. “So he never chased it.”

It all felt difficult to believe because, while happily living as a dutiful club pro for his entire adult life, Michael never stopped playing competitively, and as Val spoke, the man was walking down the fairway only 30 minutes removed from being one shot out of the lead of the 2023 PGA Championship.

This was what the world saw: Block, 3-under through 12 holes, one shot behind Scottie Scheffler, the No. 2-ranked golfer on earth. At the end of the day he was at even-par, tied for 10th with a group that included Rory McIlroy.

Pure. 👌 Michael Block is absolutely on fire this morning. #CorebridgexPGA | @scpga pic.twitter.com/o0UXSrGBrp — PGA of America (@PGA) May 19, 2023

Golf is, as you know, a cruel game, and in no ways is it more unsparing than in the harsh fact that at times the gap between those who are great, like Scheffler, and those who are simply really, really, really good, like Block, can seem both impossibly narrow and impossibly wide.

Could Block have been one of these tour pros if he had gone all-in on it as a younger man?

There’s no answer to that. There’s only what’s here. For Block, this whole week began as a chance to cap a playing career that he kept both hands on, oftentimes pushing it down. After playing Division II golf at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, he enrolled in the San Diego Golf Academy and soon after took an assistant pro job at the Lakes Country Club in Palm Desert, Calif. Thing is, he was a helluva player and the club’s membership didn’t understand why he was there. After Block won the 2001 California State Open, those members held a barbecue fundraiser to collect enough cash to send him to PGA Tour Q-School. He thought the plan was absurd and went begrudgingly.

That apprehension didn’t stop Block from advancing to the second stage at TPC Craig Ranch. There, though, came the affirmation that he expected all along. Not only were the other guys better than him, but they also looked miserable. The stress. The burden of living a life dependent on the fickleness of a game played with a crooked stick. Block didn’t want to pursue tour life, a decision he still calls “a no-brainer.”

“It didn’t take me 10 years to figure that out,” Block said Friday. “It took me one year and I was happy with it.”

But he didn’t stop playing. Today, Block is a 10-time Southern California PGA Player of the Year and 2022 PGA Professional Player of the Year. This is his fifth PGA Championship and he has also played in two U.S. Opens.

Block is also coming up on 50. On one hand, when he plays back home in Orange County with local tour pros like Patrick Cantlay and Beau Hossler, he sees that he can hang with them. On the other hand, he also plays about 40 yards behind them after each drive. Block came to Oak Hill with a now-or-never feel and set two lofty goals: Play the weekend and finish as low club pro.

Early on, all went according to plan. Block shot an opening even-par 70 on Thursday. He answered bogeys with birdies and was steady throughout. The round ended in near darkness and Block ended up at Oak Hill until about 8:30 p.m. Then he and Val left, stopped for dinner, and got into bed between 11 and 11:30 p.m. The alarm hit hard at 4:30 a.m. local time — 1:30 a.m. PT — and the two were back in the car 30 minutes later.

In some ways, everything happened so fast that Block never stopped to realize what was happening.

“I noticed this morning we walked from the car to the clubhouse at the same exact pace we did yesterday,” said John Jackson, a full-time caddie at Pebble Beach who traveled with Block this week to handle his loops. “We got out to the driving range, he hit five balls and then we started swapping stories. He was totally comfortable.”

Then Block began his round, played his game, and birdied three of his first five holes. He was, like that, sitting near the top of the leaderboard as those in the Media Center began Googling: “Michael Block.”

“There were suddenly a lot of people around, basically right when we made the turn,” said Taylor Pendrith, a member of Block’s group. “Then I saw the leaderboard at No. 2 and realized he was 3-under and one back. I was like, oh, wow. But it wasn’t surprising. The guy was absolutely striping it. He was in total control.”

Block, meanwhile, never peeked at the leaderboard throughout the day.

A bogey on No. 4 didn’t feel like a big deal.

Then came a twist in the storybook. Jimmy Chitwood bricked a free throw. On one of Oak Hill’s most manageable holes, the par-3 fifth, Block opted for an 8-iron from 165 yards out and hit one of the worst shots ever seen in all 105 years of this fine event. A cold, dead, 20-handicapper’s shank. No time to even yell, “Fore right!” Block’s shot would’ve crossed over a property fence if not for a kindly tree knocking it down. The ensuing double bogey created a sense of total doom. It felt as if there was a very real chance Block might implode, somehow go from among the leaders to a total collapse, and maybe even miss the cut.

Poor Val. “I just want simple pars,” she pleaded shortly after the wreck. “Don’t even care about birdies. Just finish this.”

The only one unconcerned? Her husband. After the shank, Block walked past Pendrith, made eye contact, and chuckled. Pendrith was taken aback. “Like, hey, if you can laugh at that, good for you, man,” he said afterward, brows raised.

After a par on No. 6, Michael looked over to Val off the side of the green and gave a reassuring nod, mouthing, “We’re OK.” Val, a bundle of nerves, nodded back.

He followed with a par on No. 7.

And a par on No. 8.

And a sand-save par on No. 9.

He rolled in that final putt, extended both arms and said out loud: “Thank you.”

Afterward, going through a gauntlet of interviews, Block swallowed emotions over and over. He said he planned to watch the afternoon broadcast with an IPA. His life’s motto, he said, is to always make the hole look bigger. When you’re happy, the hole is bigger. “That’s how I figured out a long time ago that I wasn’t going to be a tour pro. Because I was like, I don’t want to have to make putts to pay my mortgage. I need a real job that’s going to pay me weekly. That will make the hole look bigger.”

Live on ESPN, Block was introduced as only the second club pro in the last 20 years to sit inside the top 20 of the PGA Championship after 36 holes. “Don’t make me cry,” he said. “This is the last little goal I have for my career.”

What’s unclear is the genesis of that goal. Is it to prove he was always good enough to play with the real pros? Or maybe it’s to prove that he’s the best club pro around. Or maybe it’s to represent all his fellow club pros out there.

Because, yes, don’t forget, once this week is over, Block will go back to work. He’ll clock in at Arroyo Trabuco around 8 a.m., knock out payroll or whatever stack of papers is on his desk, then give a lesson or two. The going rate — $125 for 45 minutes on the range or a nine-hole playing lesson for $500. Then Block will come in for lunch before heading back out for an afternoon lesson.

But, then, around 5 p.m., Michael and Val’s two sons, Dylan and Ethan, will arrive at the course. Block spends time working daily with both of his boys. “And it’s the best thing in the world,” he said. And something he wouldn’t be able to do if he were a tour pro.

Dylan, 18, and Ethan, 16, are both elite juniors. Dylan, actually, is playing in the U.S. Open sectionals at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles on June 5 alongside his dad. Both could qualify for the U.S. Open.

After that, according to Val, young Dylan might bypass college and head to Q-School. He’s dreaming of being a pro. His parents are telling him to chase it.

(Top photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

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Brendan Quinn is an senior enterprise writer for The Athletic. He came to The Athletic in 2017 from MLive Media Group, where he covered Michigan and Michigan State basketball. Prior to that, he covered Tennessee basketball for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Follow Brendan on Twitter @ BFQuinn

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Michael Block Makes Quadruple Bogey Early in Round 1 at PGA Championship

John schwarb | may 16, 2024.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The “Block Party” got off to a rough start Thursday in the first round of the PGA Championship.

Michael Block, the PGA professional from California who stole the show in the 2023 PGA with a T15 finish and a Sunday hole in one, opened bogey-quadruple bogey to start at Valhalla.

Block hit the first tee shot of the tournament off the first hole—a nod to what he did last year in bringing so much positive publicity to the PGA of America and its professionals—and missed the fairway left. He had to pitch out to the fairway and bogeyed the opening par-4.

Then on the 2nd hole, disaster struck. He was short of the green in two on the par-4 then sent his third over the green into thick rough. His fourth came back over the green again into a bunker and his blast out of there went long. His sixth shot settled safely on the green 11 feet from the hole, but he failed to convert the putt for triple bogey and walked off with an 8.

Here’s how it looked on the PGA’s Shot Tracker:

Block's finish last year at Oak Hill was nearly as big of a story as Brooks Koepka's win. The 46-year-old was in the top-10 for a while on the weekend, rarefied air for a PGA club professional in the major. He aced a par-3 Sunday while playing with Rory McIlroy and got up-and-down on the 18th hole to secure an invitation to this year's PGA.

He was so popular that the PGA Tour gave him exemptions into two tournaments after the PGA, and got a number of endorsements and was featured prominently in PGA of America advertising.

Two holes after the quad Block rebounded with a birdie on the par-4 4th hole, stuffing his approach to 4 feet, but then bogeyed the par-4 6th hole and stood at 5 over.

JOHN SCHWARB

John Schwarb is the Senior Editor of SI Golf. He has covered golf for the St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), PGATour.com and Visit Florida; and has also written for ESPN.com, The Golfers Journal and several magazines. He lives in Indianapolis and graduated from Indiana University.

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Michael Block sends PGA Championship into a frenzy with unreal Hole in One

Michael Block’s fairytale week isn’t over yet as the PGA pro slam dunked a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th, as if this story couldn’t get any sweeter.

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Share All sharing options for: Michael Block sends PGA Championship into a frenzy with unreal Hole in One

Michael Block isn’t finished winning over the Oak Hill Country Club fans as he slam dunked a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th. The ball didn’t roll in but went straight in on the fly. A hole in one is rare enough, but to do it that way is even more incredible.

Block couldn’t believe it either, and he kept saying, “No way. No Way. Rory, did that go in?” Yes, it went in and sent the crowd into a frenzy. As if his story couldn’t get any better, Block makes an ace to get back to even par in the tournament.

He has had some of the best luck this week, and the golf gods must want the world to see his story because the odds of making a hole-in-one are astronomical, but to make one on Championship Sunday at a major — who even knows. Block continues to show how much of a stud he is with his game. He is fighting hard despite a tough start to his final round.

UNBELIEVABLE! MICHAEL BLOCK JUST DUNKED A HOLE-IN-ONE! pic.twitter.com/Qin8FYXFQV — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 21, 2023

CBS Sports wasn’t giving the Southern California pro much coverage , but they should now. With three holes to play, Block could be playing himself into next year’s PGA Championship and the history books.

He already became the first PGA Club Professional to enter the final round of a Major in the top 10. He’s looking to finish that way as well, and make history along the way.

He won over the people of Rochester, NY., the PGA Tour pros around him, and is showing the world who he is. It doesn’t get much better than an ace on a Sunday.

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PGA hero Michael Block ejects with four-chip quadruple bogey

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Michael Block's PGA Championship hopes were dashed on Thursday with an ugly quad.

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Midnight struck for Michael Block shortly after 8 a.m. local time on PGA Championship Thursday.

A year after leaving the PGA Championship at Oak Hill the darling of the golf world, America’s favorite PGA Professional needed only two holes to eject from the second major championship of the golf season.

After starting the day with a bogey on the first, Block needed four chips to get on the green on the par-4 second, carding a quadruple bogey eight that sent him tumbling to the bottom of the leaderboard.

The drama started for Block after his drive on the 493-yard 2nd put him in the left rough, 211 yards from the green. His approach also missed left, leaving him in the rough with a delicate shot over a bunker to a short-sided pin.

Perhaps pressing too much to land his ball close, Block missed the green again with his third shot, hitting the ball well long of the flagstick and into the far rough. Faced with a gnarly lie on his fourth shot, Block knocked his ball across the putting surface and into the bunker he’d just played over. With his fifth shot, he blasted out into the far rough, leaving a dribbler down toward the hole.

Having finally landed his ball on the putting surface, he two-putted for a quadruple-bogey eight that sunk him to 5-over, good for 75th place, or second-to-last in the tournament.

It's moving quickly for Michael Block as he starts his Corebridge Financial leaderboard defense. pic.twitter.com/jbGG487Iy4 — Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) May 16, 2024

It was a calamitous start to the tournament for Block, the underdog hero of last year’s PGA Championship. In that tournament, Block finished an improbable T15 after an ace on the 15th hole on Sunday, besting names like Rory McIlroy in the process. His finish guaranteed him an exemption into this year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, where Block happens to own the course record.

Block’s Cinderella showing in 2023 turned him into a social media sensation , earning him sponsors’ exemptions and waves of online love. But the sudden exposure also came with slings and arrows, none more pointed than the mockery Block suffered after an appearance on a podcast in which he described his short game as “world class” and claimed that he’d be “one of the best players in the world” if he had McIlroy’s length. On Thursday morning at Valhalla, Block’s short game was part of his undoing, and he’s now got work to do to make it into the weekend.

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James Colgan is a news and features editor at GOLF, writing stories for the website and magazine. He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and utilizes his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Prior to joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Person killed near front gate of Valhalla Golf Club was vendor employee, PGA says

The person who died after being struck by a shuttle bus early Friday morning near the front gate of Valhalla Golf Club ahead of round 2 of the PGA Championship was a vendor employee, according to the PGA of America.

"This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club. This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones," the organization said in a post on X , formerly Twitter.

Officials have yet to identify the person.

Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson Dwight Mitchell said officers received a call to the 15500 block of Shelbyville Road around 5 a.m. regarding a collision between a bus and a person, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY network.

A preliminary investigation found a man was struck by a shuttle bus traveling eastbound in the center lane dedicated to buses. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky is the site of this week's 2024 PGA Championship , which runs through Sunday.

PGA Championship 2024 live updates: Why Scottie Scheffler was arrested, tee times, forecast

Scottie Scheffler arrested, released from jail, tees off in round 2 of PGA Championship

In a separate incident, world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested and booked into a Louisville jail Friday morning after a situation with police near the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club.

Scheffler, 27, is facing four criminal charges  − including second degree assault on a police officer, which is a felony − after an encounter with a Louisville police officer who was directing traffic in front of the golf course, following the fatal collision in the area.

In a criminal complaint obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the officer wrote that Scheffler disregarded his verbal instructions, accelerated his car forward and dragged the officer to the ground, causing pain and swelling to his left knee and wrist. 

Scheffler said in a statement  that he was "proceeding as directed" by officers and called the incident "a big misunderstanding."

Scottie Scheffler arrested: Scottie Scheffler arrested before start of Round 2 of the PGA Championship

"It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do," he wrote in the statement. "I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today." 

Scheffler was arrested just before 6:30 a.m. and booked into jail roughly an hour later, according to online records published by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections.  He is also being charged  with criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

By 9:15 a.m., Scheffler had been released from jail and arrived at Valhalla. He teed off less than an hour later and birdied the first hole. (Tee times were delayed by almost 90 minutes Friday due to the traffic accident.)

Louisville police did not immediately reply to messages from USA TODAY Sports seeking comment and more information on the circumstances surrounding Scheffler's arrest. His arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Contributing: Gentry Estes & Tom Schad, USA TODAY; USA TODAY Network staff

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X  @GabeHauari  or email him at [email protected].

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Scottie scheffler planning to play next week on pga tour after 'hectic' week at 2024 pga championship, share this article.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Those who followed Scottie Scheffler on Sunday at the 2024 PGA Championship were served an excellent round of club with a side of open mic night at the Louisville Comedy Club off Main Street.

Yells of “Free Scottie!” and variations of “Look out! There are two police officers right there” or “He’s the man in blue, get him, officer!” were heard on every hole out at Valhalla Golf Club in the final round of the second men’s major of the year. The officers who have walked with Scheffler inside the ropes the last few days have been able to brush off the amateur jokers, while Scheffler claims he hardly heard any.

“I think when you’re out there inside the ropes, I don’t really hear too much of it. It’s nice to hear your name. I heard a lot of “Scottie” chants. I didn’t hear too many of the “free Scottie” chants, but I definitely heard a lot of “Scottie” chants,” said Scheffler, who must be able to block out the word free. “Like I said, it’s great to have the support of the fans. Being able to play out here in front of them week in, week out is one of the greatest joys of my life for sure. So being able to do that this week and play another major championship, it was fun. Obviously the results weren’t what I was hoping for at the beginning of the week, but overall I’m proud of how I fought this week.”

After a 2-over 73 on Saturday, his first over-par performance in 42 rounds so far this year, Scheffler bounced back with his best showing of the week, a superb 6-under 65 that featured just one bogey on the first hole. Scheffler walked off the course at 13 under for the tournament, T-8 on the leaderboard.

“It was obviously not what I was hoping for going into the week, but overall I’m proud of how I fought this week, and excited to get home and get ready for next week,” he said. But how soon will he be able to get back to Texas? Following his wild arrest on Friday morning before his second-round tee time that led to four charges, including a felony, Scheffler has an arraignment set for Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET. He’s also scheduled to play next week’s 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club near his home in Dallas.

“I think it’s all up in the air. I’m not really sure what the next days have in store,” Scheffler said of his sticky situation. “I think I’m able to get home tonight, but we’ll see when I leave here. I haven’t really had much chance to assess the situation off the course. I signed my card and then came straight over here. So we’ll see, but hopefully we’ll be able to get home tonight.”

For a 27-year-old with a clean history and laid back, private life, Scheffler has handled this week as well as could be expected. Four hours after his Friday arrest he shot a 5-under 66 and birdied two of his first three holes fresh out of a cell. His Saturday 73 could have easily been chalked up to the gravity of his situation finally setting in after the adrenaline wore off, or the fact he was without his caddie and good friend Ted Scott, who left the tournament for a day to attend his daughter’s high school graduation. When asked what was different between Saturday and Sunday, Scheffler didn’t take the easy out.

“I think I would attribute it mostly to a bad day. I think when you come out here to compete, you’re out here competing, you’re doing what you can throughout the course of the round to post a score and I wasn’t able to get that done yesterday,” he explained. “Did I feel like myself? Absolutely not. Was my warm-up the way it usually is and the distractions were they normally are? Absolutely not. But I’m not going to sit here and say that’s why I went out and played a bad round of golf yesterday.”

“Yesterday obviously was quite frustrating and a bit of a different day, but overall proud of how I fought this week,” Scheffler added. “Was fortunate to be out here competing, doing what I love.”

If Scheffler thought he had fan support this week, just wait until his fellow Texans rally around him in Fort Worth. That is, assuming he’s able to tee it up. No Laying Up’s Kevin Van Valkenburg reported Sunday morning that Jefferson County prosecutors are planning to drop the charges against Scheffler early next week.

Until then, we wait.

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2024 PGA Championship odds, picks, field, predictions: Golf insider backing Brooks Koepka at Valhalla

Sia nejad reveals his pga championship 2024 picks, props and sleepers for valhalla golf club following rory mcilroy's win at the wells fargo championship.

Only one of the last 12 editions of the PGA Championship has gone into a playoff, but that hasn't taken away from the dramatics of the 18th hole on Sunday. Brooks Koepka won last year's PGA Championship after withstanding a Sunday comeback effort from Scottie Scheffler, who shot a 5-under-par in the final round. Justin Thomas defeated Will Zalatoris in a playoff in 2022 and Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship despite shooting a 1-over-par in his final round. Each of these three previous winners will be in another stacked 2024 PGA Championship field with the second major of the year teeing off on Thursday from Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

Scheffler is the 3-1 favorite in the 2024 PGA Championship odds, followed by Rory McIlroy (6-1) and Koepka (10-1). The 24-year-old Ludvig Aberg finished second at the Masters in his first career major and at 12-1 odds to win the PGA Championship 2024, is he someone to use in 2024 PGA Championship betting strategy? Before locking in any 2024 PGA Championship picks, make sure you see the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from golf betting and fantasy expert Sia Nejad .

Nejad specializes in betting and DFS in golf, among other sports. He's had success in the outright and first-round leader markets and in betting head-to-head matchups. He also has been solid with his head-to-head matchups since last year's Charles Schwab Challenge, going 43-28-3 and returning 11.24 units over that span. That's a $1,124 profit for $100 bettors since May 2023.

Nejad also nailed Clark, a 75-1 longshot, as the outright winner at the Wells Fargo Championship. In 2023, SportsLine debuted "The Early Wedge," and in the first three months of the show, he hit two first-round leaders and three outright winners.

Now, Nejad has focused his attention on the 2024 PGA Championship field and has locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. See who they are at SportsLine .

Top 2024 PGA Championship expert picks

One surprise: Nejad is completely fading Xander Schauffele, even though he's fourth in the 2024 PGA Championship odds. Schauffele is considered one of the best active golfers who has still not won a major title, with his best finishes being T2 at the 2018 Open Championship and T2 at the 2019 Masters. This has been one of his worst majors though, as he has never finished better than T10 in seven attempts. 

Schauffele missed the cut in 2021, finished T13 in 2022 and T18 last year. He ranks outside the top 30 on the PGA Tour in driving distance, driving accuracy and proximity, which will put him at a disadvantage against some of the golfers in this field. Nejad knows Schauffele has the tools to contend, but his poor history at the end of majors makes him a golfer to avoid this week. 

Instead, Nejad is high on the chances of Brooks Koepka, even though he's a double-digit longshot at 10-1. Koepka is coming off a victory in his latest tournament, winning in Singapore on May 5. Koepka, a three-time PGA Champion, is a five-time major winner and has six top-five finishes over his last nine PGA Championship events. The PGA Championship has been Koepka's most consistent major and despite finishing 45th at the Masters, Nejad sees Koepka as a strong option for 2024 PGA Championship bets.

Koepka finished 15th at the last PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, but that was 10 years ago. The 2014 PGA Championship was only his fourth major as the young golfer was still adjusting to becoming a professional at that stage. He is looking to tie Tiger Woods for the second-most PGA Championship victories, which would place him one behind Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen (five) for the most all-time. Koepka has put together a strong tournament already this month and Nejad expects that to continue into the 2024 PGA Championship.  See who else to back at SportsLine .

How to make 2024 PGA Championship picks

Nejad has locked in his early best bets for the 2024 PGA Championship and is backing a longshot who is priced at more than 30-1. Nejad likes this player's "skill set at the PGA Championship when the number is this long."  You can see Nejad's PGA Tour picks only at SportsLine .

So, which players should you target or avoid for the 2024 PGA Championship, and which player in the PGA Championship field could bring a huge payday of more than 30-1? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sia Nejad's top picks for the 2024 PGA Championship, all from the expert who is 43-28 on head-to-head picks .

2024 PGA Championship odds, field

See Nejad's picks, best bets and predictions here

Scottie Scheffler +300 Rory McIlroy +600 Brooks Koepka +1000 Xander Schauffele +1200 Ludvig Aberg +1200 Jon Rahm +1400 Joaquin Niemann +2500 Collin Morikawa +2500 Bryson DeChambeau +2500 Wyndham Clark +2500 Patrick Cantlay +2800 Cameron Smith +3300 Max Homa +3300 Viktor Hovland +3500 Hideki Matsuyama +3500 Will Zalatoris +4000 Justin Thomas +4000 Tommy Fleetwood +4500 Dustin Johnson +4500 Cameron Young +5000 Jason Day +5000 Matt Fitzpatrick +5000 Tyrrell Hatton +5000 Jordan Spieth +5500 Tony Finau +5500 Patrick Reed +6000 Byeong Hun An +6000 Sam Burns +6000 Shane Lowry +6000 Tom Kim +6000 Sungjae Im +6500 Dean Burmester +6500 Sahith Theegala +6500 Abraham Ancer +7000 Min Woo Lee +7500 Brian Harman +7500 Talor Gooch +8000 Keegan Bradley +8500 Akshay Bhatia +8500 Russell Henley +8500 Adam Scott +8500 Sepp Straka +8500 Si Woo Kim +9000 Tiger Woods +12500 David Puig +12500 Corey Conners +12500 Rickie Fowler +12500 Stephan Jaeger +12500 Denny McCarthy +12500 Phil Mickelson +12500 Jake Knapp +12500 Chris Kirk +12500 Billy Horschel +12500 Sergio Garcia +12500 Taylor Pendrith +12500 Adrian Meronk +12500 Austin Eckroat +15000 Mackenzie Hughes +15000 Alex Noren +15000 Harris English +15000 Matthieu Pavon +15000 Ryan Fox +15000 Adrian Otaegui +15000 Justin Rose +17500 Adam Schenk +17500 Keith Mitchell +17500 Mito Pereira +17500 Kurt Kitayama +17500 Daniel Berger +17500 Christiaan Bezuidenhout +17500 Emiliano Grillo +17500 Lucas Herbert +17500 Tom Hoge +17500 Victor Perez +17500 Erik Van Rooyen +17500 Lucas Glover +17500 Nicolai Hojgaard +20000 Eric Cole +20000 Jordan Smith +20000 Thomas Pieters +20000 J.T. Poston +20000 Thomas Detry +22500 Ryan Van Velzen +22500 Cam Davis +22500 Thriston Lawrence +22500 Beau Hossler +22500 Aaron Rai +22500 Ben Griffin +22500 Nick Taylor +22500 Alex Smalley +22500 Brendon Todd +25000 Maverick McNealy +25000 Luke List +25000 Nick Dunlap +25000 Davis Riley +25000 Adam Hadwin +25000 Marc Leishman +25000 Seamus Power +25000 Ryo Hisatsune +27500 Matt Wallace +27500 Andrew Putnam +27500 Andy Ogletree +27500 Patrick Rodgers +30000 Doug Ghim +30000 Taylor Moore +30000 Sebastian Soderberg +30000 Adam Svensson +30000 Rasmus Hojgaard +30000 Robert MacIntyre +30000 Gary Woodland +30000 Lee Hodges +30000 Ben Kohles +30000 K.H. Lee +30000 Camillo Villegas +35000 Alejandro Tosti +35000 Taylor Montgomery +35000 Vincent Norrman +35000 Jesper Svensson +35000 Tim Widing +35000 Charley Hoffman +40000 Mark Hubbard +40000 Keita Nakajima +40000 Zac Blair +50000 Francisco Molinari +50000 Joel Dahmen +50000 Peter Malnati +50000 Sami Valimaki +50000 Takumi Kanaya +50000 Grayson Murray +50000 Alexander Bjork +50000 Martin Kaymer +75000 Kazuma Kobori +75000 Brice Garnett +75000 Michael Block +75000 Padraig Harrington +75000 Luke Donald +75000 Jimmy Walker +75000 Y.E. Yang +100000 Jason Dufner +100000 John Daly +150000 Wyatt Worthington IV +150000 Tyler Collet +200000 Matt Dobyns +200000 Josh Speight +200000 Braden Shattuk +200000 Brad Marek +200000 Tracy Phillips +200000 Evan Bowser +200000 Josh Bevell +200000 Larkin Gross +200000 Rich Beem +200000 Zac Oakley +200000 Jeremy Wells +200000 Preston Cole +200000 John Somers +200000 Ben Polland +200000 Kyle Mendoza +200000 Jared Jones +200000 Shaun Micheel +200000 Jeff Kellen +200000 Jesse Mueller +200000 Andy Svoboda +200000

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