The year's second men's major -- the PGA Championship -- is oh-so close.
Which player will add their name to the history books with a win at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course later this month?
Here's a look at 10 players you should be keeping a close eye on...
10. Brooks Koepka
PGA Championship appearances: 8 (2013-2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: Won twice (2018; 2019)
Notes: Koepka, a two-time PGA Champion and four-time major winner overall, is always a threat when he tees it up in the majors. If it weren't for concern over injuries that have plagued the 31-year-old over these last two seasons, he'd certainly be much higher on this list. Koepka has never missed the cut in his eight previous PGA Championship starts and -- remarkably -- has six, top-15 finishes over that stretch with four of those being top-5 finishes, highlighted by the two victories. As we've seen over the course of Koepka's career, the majors bring out the best in him.
9. Viktor Hovland
PGA Championship appearances: 1 (2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: T33 (2020)
Notes: Hovland has quickly become one of the brightest young stars in the game. The 23-year-old, who hails from Norway, is already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour since turning pro in 2019. Hovland's last win came in December at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, but he has also recorded two T2 finishes (Farmers Insurance Open, WGC-Workday Championship) and a T3 (Valspar Championship) in 2021. In five major championship starts -- three as a professional and two as an amateur -- the 2018 U.S. Amateur champion has yet to miss a cut. His best finish was a T13 at the 2020 U.S. Open. Hovland has shored up a previously so-so short game and is a factor whenever he tees it up.
8. Tyrrell Hatton
PGA Championship appearances: 6 (2015-2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: T10 (2016; 2018)
Notes: Over the last several years, England's Tyrrell Hatton has proven to be a player whose game travels well. His breakthrough on the PGA Tour came when he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2020. But on the European Tour, he's been a force with six victories since 2016. His most recent victory came at the 2021 HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship. A member of Europe's winning Ryder Cup team in 2018, Hatton has five top-10 finishes in 23 majors played. Hatton has been streaky on the PGA Tour in 2021, but he feels like the type of player who's due for a major.
7. Jordan Spieth
PGA Championship appearances: 8 (2013-2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: 2nd (2015)
Notes: One of the better stories in golf this season has been the resurgence of Jordan Spieth. Once a world beater who seemingly contended whenever he teed it up, Spieth went through a serious drought after collecting his fourth major in the 2017 Open Championship. Suddenly the putting that always looked so effortless became an achilles heel. But in 2021, Spieth has most certainly found the old magic. He ended his winless drought in April at the Valero Texas Open and immediately finished T3 the next week in the Masters -- his fifth top-3 finish in eight starts at Augusta National. A win at Kiawah Island would make Spieth just the sixth player to complete the modern-day career grand slam... and he's only 27 years old.
6. Dustin Johnson
PGA Championship appearances: 11 (2009-2013, 2015-2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: Second (2019), T2 (2020)
Notes: Everyone at Kiawah Island will be dreaming of hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy once the Championship ends, but perhaps no one more so than world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, as the PGA Championship is being played in his home state of South Carolina. The 2020 Masters champion has been in a bit of a slump since the end of February. He uncharacteristically missed the cut in his Masters title defense in April -- his lone missed cut of the season -- and hasn't recorded a top 10 since finished eighth at the Genesis Invitational back in mid-February. Even still, the two-time major winner is a player you have to keep an eye on at Kiawah Island. In 46 career majors played, Johnson has finished in the top 10 on 20 occasions. He's been a runner-up at the PGA Championship twice. A major win in the Palmetto State would be a heck of a way for D.J. to bust out of his slump.
5. Collin Morikawa
PGA Championship appearances: 1 (2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: Win (2020)
Notes: You can only get better with experience, right? Well, that's unless you're Collin Morikawa and we're talking about the PGA Championship. Morikawa is the defending champion after winning in his PGA Championship debut at Harding Park last August. Since turning pro in 2019, Morikawa has quickly become a PGA Tour superstar. He already has four wins, including a World Golf Championship, to go along with his major. One thing will certainly be different for Morikawa (and everyone else) at this particular PGA Championship. Aside from being on the opposite side of the country this year, there will also be fans -- something that lacked in San Francisco due to the pandemic. We all know Morikawa is more than capable of playing in front of fans, but how much does that factor in down the stretch when trying to close out a major? Surely Morikawa would love to know that feeling at Kiawah in what will be just his sixth start in a major.
4. Bryson DeChambeau
PGA Championship appearances: 4 (2017-2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: T4 (2020)
Notes: One of the most electrifying players in the game, there's one thing you can be certain about when it comes to 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau -- no matter how he's playing, it sure is going to be fun to watch. DeChambeau's transformation over the last two seasons has been nothing short of astounding. And, no matter which side of the fence you're on when it comes to agreeing with or disagreeing with his approach, there's no doubt that what DeChambeau is doing is working for him. And that's all that matters. The majors have left something to be desired for the 27-year-old, eight-time PGA Tour winner. That's a strange sentence to type, but it's true. In 18 majors played, DeChambeau has finished in the top 10 just twice -- the win at Winged Foot and a T4 at Harding Park in last year's PGA Championship. DeChambeau no doubt wants to become more of a factor in the majors and that starts at Kiawah.
3. Justin Thomas
PGA Championship appearances: 5 (2015-2018; 2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: Won (2017)
Notes: Breaking news -- Justin Thomas is a big-time player. At just 28 years old, Thomas already boasts a remarkable 14 PGA Tour wins. Among those victories? Two World Golf Championships, two Playoffs events, a Players Championship (2021) and, of course, the 2017 PGA Championship that he won at Quail Hollow. There is nothing not to like about Thomas' overall game. He has no weaknesses. Thomas always features on the first page of the leaderboard and we don't see that being any different at Kiawah. All he cares about at this stage is adding to his major win total. And he will add to it.
2. Xander Schauffele
PGA Championship appearances: 4 (2017-2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: T10 (2020)
Notes: There's always a list of usual suspects when it comes to those everyone can agree will contend in the majors. At just 27 years old, Xander Schauffele is very much on that short list. The PGA Tour's 2017 Rookie of the Year already has four career victories, but that number feels like it should be more. It also feels like he should have at least a major or two given the frequency with which he puts himself in the mix. In 15 major championship starts, Schauffele has missed the cut just once (the 2017 PGA Championship). Eight of those starts -- EIGHT! -- have yielded a top 10, including a T2 at the 2018 and 2019 Masters, as well as a T3 in the 2019 U.S. Open and 2021 Masters. Do not overlook Schauffele. He is primed for a major.
1. Rory McIlroy
PGA Championship appearances: 12 (2009-2020)
Best PGA Championship finish: Won twice (2012; 2014)
Notes: There had been little middle ground with Rory McIlroy in 2021... until he met up with old friend Quail Hollow for the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks before the start of the PGA Championship. Shockingly, McIlroy hadn't won on the PGA Tour since the WGC-HSBC Champions in November of 2019, until winning the Wells Fargo Championship for the third time in his career two Sundays ago -- a victory that could not have come at a better time for his confidence and the part of the golf schedule that's ahead. Similar to what had been plaguing Jordan Spieth until this year, McIlroy was having a hard time stringing together four rounds. But he got over the hump at Quail Hollow, where he won on the PGA Tour for the first time in 2010 and again in 2015. The latest victory made it the first tournament McIlroy has won more than twice in his career. That made McIlroy go from major championship question mark to a serious contender... something we should expect anyway, since history shows that his game -- more often than not -- shows up when it counts the most evidenced by 30, top-25 finishes in 48 major starts. Among those are 22 top 10s and four major wins, including two in the PGA Championship. Oh, and one more note on McIlroy: He won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island the last time it was played here in 2012.
