US PGA Championship 2024: Everything you missed on Tuesday at Valhalla

The main talking points from Valhalla on Tuesday

The second major week of the year is here. We pick out the key talking points as players arrive at Valhalla for the 106th PGA Championship.

The lead-up to the season’s second major was slightly disrupted on Tuesday with officials suspending practice at 09:50 due to potentially dangerous weather. However, by 10:36 play had officially resumed and excitement continued to build as the most competitive field in golf assembled at Valhalla Golf Club.

Here’s what you might have missed on Tuesday…

Father Scheffler arrives in Valhalla

Baby Bennett may be less than a week old, but the World No.1 is back on the major hunt and took to the course on Tuesday to get back into the groove that has seen him win a second green jacket and three other PGA Tour titles this season. Scheffler celebrated Meredith’s (his wife) first Mother’s Day on Sunday and her birthday on Monday before heading to Louisville for the PGA Championship.

“I couldn’t imagine it being the way that it is, and it’s a lot of fun,” Scheffler said. “I miss him like crazy. It was not easy to leave the house Monday morning. But like I said, I told my son as I was leaving, I don’t want to leave you right now, but I need to.”

When Scottie tees off on Thursday it will be his first competitive action in three weeks, during which his main rivals, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka have notched up three tour wins between them. It will be fascinating to see whether the short break has killed some momentum, or perhaps given the dominant force in men’s golf an even bigger purpose.

No Teddy for Scheffler on ‘moving day’

An interesting twist this week is that Scottie Scheffler will require a mid-tournament caddie switch. Ted Scott, who has been on Scheffler’s bag since 2022, will take a 24-hour sabbatical for Saturday’s third round. Strapping up in his absence will be Scheffler’s good buddy Brad Payne who also happens to be the PGA Tour chaplain.

“Teddy is going home Friday night, coming back Saturday evening after the graduation, said Scheffler. “That’s something we talked about from the beginning of our relationship was family always comes first, and it’s the same thing for me as it is for my caddie. It was a pretty easy decision.

Box office groupings for opening rounds

The powerhouse trio of pre-tournament favorites will be pulled along with the help of some more than capable colleagues. Defending champ Koepka is drawn alongside Max Homa and Jordan Spieth, McIlroy alongside Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose, and Scheffler alongside Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark.

Other standout groups that grab the eye are Swedish superstar Ludvig Aberg, playing alongside Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas, and the sensational swinging trio of Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, and Akshay Bhatia. As for Tiger. The 2000 Valhalla champion tees it up with Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley.

See tee times and groupings for the opening rounds of the PGA Championship.

Tiger still believes

He played the question with a straight bat at Augusta. He was there to “win one more.” And despite admitting in Tuesday’s press conference that his game isn’t as sharp as he would like, he still believes a fifth Wanamaker Trophy is not an impossibility.

“I still feel that I can win golf tournaments,” Woods said. “I still feel I can hit the shots and still feel like I still have my hand around the greens and I can putt. I just need to do it for all four days, not like I did at Augusta for only two.

Tiger took to the course to play nine holes on Monday and Tuesday, confident in his ability to cope with the physical demands of a long and challenging course such as Valhalla. He managed four rounds walking the arduous Augusta National which was hugely encouraging.

“I wouldn’t say the walk is that difficult. I know it’s a long walk, it’s a big piece of property. This is a big golf course and if you get in the rough here, yeah, things could get a little bit sore, but if I drive it well and do the things I need to do and what I did 24 years ago and hopefully it works.”

Tiger coy on Ryder Cup captaincy

Team USA is still to announce Zach Johnson’s successor for the 2025 Ryder Cup captaincy at Bethpage Black. When questioned again on the likeliness of stepping up to the role, Tiger could only reiterate that talks were ongoing and hinted that due to his heavy involvement in trying to progress the PGA Tour and PIF merger, he was unsure whether he had the time needed to take on such a role.

“I’m dedicating so much of my time to what we’re doing with the PGA Tour, I don’t want to not fulfill the role of the captaincy if I can’t do it. What that all entails and the commitments to the PGA of America, the players, the fans, and all of Team USA. I need to feel that I can give the amount of time that it deserves.”

Rahm’s comment causes outrage

One of the more bizarre moments of Tuesday came when LIV defector Jon Rahm insisted that he still considers himself a PGA Tour member despite joining the Saudi-backed golf league in a $450 million deal back in December.

“You guys keep saying ‘the other side’ but I’m still a PGA Tour member, whether I’m suspended or not,” said Rahm. “I still want to support the PGA Tour and I think that’s an important distinction to make. I don’t feel like I’m on the other side. I’m just not playing there.”

The comment provoked a scathing attack from former PGA Tour winner Arron Oberhalser, who fumed: “You’re going to sit there and tell me you still feel like a PGA Tour member. I mean, I wanted to wring his neck through the television. I’m that mad right now. I’m that mad, and every player in that locker room, if they watched that, should be absolutely incensed with him.”

McIlroy bridges gap to Scheffler with the bookies

Unsurprisingly Scottie Scheffler goes off as the short-priced favorite with the bookmakers at 4/1 with Rory McIlroy at 7/1, straddling the gap to the chasing pack of Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, and Ludvig Aberg – all priced around 16/1.

Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, and Max Homa all trade around the 25/1 mark, while Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Cantalay, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, and defending champion Wyndham Clark will start at 30/1 plus.

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Ross Tugwood

Senior Digital Writer

Ross Tugwood is a Senior Digital Writer for todays-golfer.com, specializing in data, analytics, science, and innovation.

Ross is passionate about optimizing sports performance and has a decade of experience working with professional athletes and coaches for British Athletics, the UK Sports Institute, and Team GB.

He is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with post-graduate degrees in Performance Analysis and Sports Journalism, enabling him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make better-informed buying decisions.