Perhaps it is recency bias, but it is difficult to remember the last time an outsider appeared to have such a small chance of winning a major, with so many of the biggest names in the game in fine form heading into this year’s PGA Championship.
All of the heavyweights appear to be playing brilliantly right now. Rory McIlroy won The Masters last month, while Scottie Scheffler was absolutely outstanding at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson as he won by eight.
Justin Thomas won at the RBC Heritage and was triumphant the last time the PGA Championship was held at Quail Hollow in 2017.
But of course, one eye will definitely be on the LIV Golf stars involved in North Carolina.
Patrick Reed says LIV star is playing the best golf outside of Scottie Scheffler ahead of the PGA Championship
Like Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau goes into the second major of the year off the back of a win in his most recent appearance. Meanwhile, Jon Rahm‘s remarkable run of never finishing outside the top 10 on LIV continued in Korea.
Joaquin Niemann has won three times this year already. And speaking to The Times about the split in the game, Patrick Reed made the case that the Chilean is almost as good as anyone on the planet right now.
“We need more opportunities for guys to come together. It would be good for the viewership, the fans and the excitement,” he said.
“It’s great Augusta invited Joaquin, who has been playing some of the best golf some of us have seen except for Scottie Scheffler, but it’s nerve-racking having to look for invites.”
How Joaquin Niemann has performed at Quail Hollow
Unlike Scheffler, Niemann has played at Quail Hollow in a handful of PGA Tour events during his career. And interestingly, he improved each time he returned to Charlotte.
Niemann missed the cut the first time he played at the event now known as the Truist Championship in 2018. But he followed that with a tied 38th place finish one year later.
And he moved to just inside the top 20 in 2021. However, Niemann passed up the opportunity to play in the Presidents Cup at the course in 2022 after deciding to jump to LIV Golf.
Niemann still finished fourth in the qualification standings that year.
Of course, he now needs to prove that he can contend at the majors. He initially threatened to have a brilliant week at The Masters before falling away.
It would be no surprise if he did put himself into the conversation this week.
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