Fact or Fiction: Taking Scottie, Rory and Brooks or the Field at the PGA Championship

The SI Golf staff debates whether chalk is the play at Valhalla and what Jimmy Dunne’s resignation means for possible unification in golf.

Would you take the trio of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka or the rest of the field at the PGA Championship? / USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where we hope we’re better at picking golfers than horses in Kentucky.

Once again, we’re here to debate a series of statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also (occasionally) be “Neutral” since there's a lot of gray area in golf.

Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X account.

Rory McIlroy turned in a spectacular Sunday at Wells Fargo, shooting 65 to win by five and ride a wave of momentum to Valhalla. McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka all arrive with wins in their last starts and one of those three will win this major.

Bob Harig: FACT. Rory seemed a good pick even before his victory and now it looks even better. It’s hard to go against that form, but when the choices also include Koepka and Scheffler, that is a heavy-hitting trio. The PGA typically is the most wide-open of the majors, so there are no guarantees, but it is difficult to go against that threesome.

John Pluym: FACT. I’d give McIlroy the edge right now. He played an unbelievable round Sunday, especially on the back nine. Plus, he’s won at Valhalla and has a ton of confidence. Scheffler is just a machine, so you know he’s going to be there in contention Sunday for his second major of the year. And Koepka always seems to play well at majors, although he struggled at Augusta. Still, I like McIlroy to take home the Wanamaker. 

Jeff Ritter: FICTION. Love that trio but I’m targeting Jon Rahm, Cam Smith and Xander Schauffele for this one. 

John Schwarb: FICTION. As much as I hate going against Scheffler these days, this field is too stacked. I can make a case for probably a dozen other players, and I'm on the record for Max Homa bagging his first major.

Jimmy Dunne resigned from the PGA Tour Policy Board and PGA Tour Enterprises board, walking away from the unification work he started last June. With players now steering the “transaction subcommittee,” a deal will become more difficult to complete.

Bob Harig: FICTION. As much as he might have helped to get this accomplished, Dunne didn’t seem to be involved anyway. He admitted as much in his resignation letter. Had he been allowed to see it through, perhaps there might already be a deal. But this has been in limbo for months. And he wasn’t part of it.

John Pluym: FACT. This whole process has been unpredictable, leaving us to ponder whether LIV and the Tour really wanted to do a deal. Now that Dunne has resigned, I think a deal becomes even more unlikely despite the presence of Tiger helping to get an agreement to the finish line. 

Jeff Ritter: FACT. Dunne was one of the few people who did in-person negotiations with PIF and set the stage to get future talks going. The fact that he departed in this way, at this time, is a clear sign those talks are not advancing.

John Schwarb: FACT. I simply don’t trust players to get this done, and I’m having a hard time seeing where the leadership is outside of them. Casting aside Dunne feels like a very misguided move.

Rose Zhang won while Nelly Korda’s win streak ended at the Cognizant Founders Cup, whose final round aired live on CNBC. The LPGA needs a deal with the PIF more than the PGA Tour does. 

Bob Harig: FACT. The PIF already sponsors the Aramco Series, which is a small schedule of tournaments that is part of the Ladies European Tour and in which several LPGA players typically participate. There have long been rumblings about an LPGA-LET merger. A PIF investment in women’s golf would be a good thing for all parties.

John Pluym: FACT. At this point, a PIF investment in men’s or women’s golf would be good. And maybe getting an agreement done in women’s golf would push LIV and the PGA Tour to come together and get a deal done.  

Jeff Ritter: FACT. Let’s get some more cash behind the women’s game. The eyeballs will follow. 

John Schwarb: NEUTRAL. The PGA Tour really needs a deal because the men’s game is so badly fractured and hemhorraging fans. At least all the top women still reside on the LPGA. But the women need a cash influx to improve their standing on television, as last week was pathetic.

There are 16 LIV players in the field at the PGA and nearly half were given special exemptions to compete. The PGA of America should be credited for rising above the infighting in the sport to give deserving players spots in its major.

Bob Harig: FICTION. The PGA didn’t acknowledge LIV Golf as much as is believed Talor Gooch is the outlier. Players such as Patrick Reed, Joaquin Niemann, Adrian Meronk and Lucas Herbert were top 100 in the OWGR—an unwritten exemption, more or less. Everyone in the top 100 has been invited. David Puig played his tail off around the world to get to 106th when those invites came. Dean Burmester won twice on the DP World Tour late last year. With so many spots to give, the PGA was always going to try and fill its field with as many good players as possible. Gooch is the only player among that group who didn’t do anything outside of LIV. Give credit to the PGA for not ignoring him, because he’s been beating a lot of guys who got invites. But until we hear otherwise, this is not some big olive branch.

John Pluym: FICTION. Last year, PGA Championship CEO Seth Waugh said about the LIV–PGA Tour feud, “I think disruption is a good thing. I think good things have happened from that.” Really? Masters ratings for the final round were down considerably. And I don’t think the PGA deserves a pat on the back when it has more latitude to invite players anyway. And the PGA didn’t even invite Talor Gooch, while inviting others who shouldn’t be in the field. Not a good look.

Jeff Ritter: FICTION. Agree with Harig—the PGA wasn’t trying to make any statement in pro golf’s culture war. It essentially followed its own criteria to make the field this week as strong as possible. 

John Schwarb: FACT. The PGA is always seeking an identity to move closer to the other majors in stature (Remember “Glory’s Last Shot”?) and there is publicity to be gained in LIV invitations even if many are common sense and/or following their own OWGR-based criteria. Letting Gooch in is a genius play—how many golf fans will look up his scores this week?