How the top five looked when the PGA Championship was last played at Valhalla and where they are now

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The PGA Championship returns to Valhalla for the first time in ten years this week, and a stacked field has descended on the Louisville venue.

With Scottie Scheffler now participating after the birth of his first child, it’s hard to look past the American securing his third major title.

Rory McIlroy, of course, will fancy his chances of repeating his 2014 heroics at Valhalla. The Northern Irishman is coming off his fourth win at the Wells Fargo Championship and is one of several in-form PGA Tour players who could threaten the leaderboard.

McIlroy’s last major title came at this week’s venue, securing a dramatic one-shot victory over Phil Mickelson in near darkness.

Nearly ten years have passed since that dramatic final round, and here, The Golfing Gazette has taken a look at how the leaderboard looked back in 2014 and where the top five are now.

2014 PGA Championship final leaderboard

T5. Ryan Palmer

47-year-old Ryan Palmer tied fifth at Valhalla in 2014 and is still playing on the PGA Tour.

Palmer is currently ranked 275th in the world and 190th in the FedEx Cup standings. He has played ten events in 2024, making five cuts, missing five cuts and landing one top-25 finish.

The four-time PGA Tour event winner failed to make the weekend at his most recent outing at TPC Craig Ranch.

T5. Jim Furyk

PGA Tour legend Jim Furyk is now competing on the Champions Tour and recently finished 11 over at the Regions Tradition at the Greystone Founders Course.

Furyk turned pro in 1992 and registered an impressive 17 PGA Tour wins. However, 2024 hasn’t been kind on the Champions Tour, with his highest finish (T33) coming at the Hoag Classic Newport Beach.

T3. Henrik Stenson

Henrik Stenson has six PGA Tour wins to his name and one Open title, which he secured in 2016.

The 48-year-old turned his back on the PGA Tour in 2023 and was one of the more high-profile names to join the LIV Golf league.

Stenson has yet to taste victory in 2024 and has a high finish of 13th, which came in LIV’s Hong Kong event.

T3. Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler’s wait for a major title continues after his heartbreak during the U.S. Open in Los Angeles last year.

He was within touching distance in 2014 but ultimately couldn’t hold onto the coattails of McIlroy during the final stretch of holes.

2024 has been far from ideal for the 35-year-old, who has just one top-25 finish to his name. Fowler is coming off a T43 finish at the Wells Fargo with a score of six over.

2. Phil Mickelson

Back in 2014, Mickelson displayed superb sportsmanship by allowing McIlroy’s group to play up the 18th in order to conclude their rounds before the visibility became too poor.

Now with LIV Golf, the lefty has endured a tough 2024. The 53-year-old is 34th in the individual standings and has a season-high finish of ninth, which came in Jeddah.

However, after his iconic 2021 PGA Championship win, the six-time major winner cannot be ruled out at Valhalla this week on a course he clearly enjoys.

1. Rory McIlroy

McIlroy needs no introduction.

The 34-year-old is still operating at the highest level and is peaking at the right time after his superb win at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Xander Schauffele couldn’t handle the Northern Irishman’s immense scoring at Quail Hollow and fell off badly during the final round.

The world number two now has back-to-back PGA Tour victories and could compete with Scheffler this week.