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PGA Championship 2024 Predictions: Our Editors Pick a Winner at Valhalla

Kentucky's Valhalla Golf Club has crowned big names in previous PGA Championships. Is another one in the cards this week?

John Schwarb, Bob Harig, Jeff Ritter, John Pluym, Pat Forde

Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa and Scottie Scheffler (clockwise from top left) have our attention.
Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa and Scottie Scheffler (clockwise from top left) have our attention. /

The 106th PGA Championship begins Thursday, and as usual there is no lack of storylines going into a major.

The defending champion is Brooks Koepka, whose inner drive is underrated and whose game has rounded into form with a recent LIV Golf win.

Speaking of recent wins, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler stacked up four in five starts including the Masters before taking a three-week break to welcome his first child. Now he's back to work and is the betting favorite at Valhalla.

The other superstar coming to Kentucky off a win in his last start is Rory McIlroy, who romped last week at Quail Hollow and returns to where he won his last major 10 years ago.

Tiger Woods is always a story when he plays, which hasn't been often this year. He said “I wish my game was a little bit sharper” but nonetheless he'll give it a go at Valhalla, where in 2000 he won a duel for the ages.

As for Valhalla itself, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course has had a penchant for drama in major championships. Keep an eye on five holes in particular to perhaps decide who wins—and who doesn't.

But who will win? SI Golf's writers and editors have an opinion. Let us know yours on the SI Golf X account.

Pat Forde, SI Senior Writer: Two weeks after a thrilling, three-horse photo finish in the Kentucky Derby, I'm predicting another three-way battle for victory at the PGA. I can see Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele all dueling down the stretch, and I'm going to pick the one with the least amount of fresh family tumult to win—Schauffele. He's due to capture a major.

Bob Harig, SI Golf Senior Writer: Rory McIlroy. It’s going to happen one of these days. McIlroy is too good to not have another major after all this time. He’s recent form and a course he likes make a difference.

John Pluym, SI.com Managing Editor: Rory McIlroy. He played an unbelievable back nine (the double bogey didn't matter) to win the Wells Fargo. He also won the Zurich with Shane Lowery. He's hot right now. Maybe even hotter than Scottie Scheffler, who is just returning to the golf course after his wife had a baby. If McIlroy continues to hammer 350-yard drives and keep the ball in the fairway, we could have the makings of a two-person fight for player of the year.

Jeff Ritter, SI Golf Managing Director: Through nearly five months, we’re right on the cusp of witnessing a historic season, and Scottie Scheffler has a chance to win again, which would send this conversation into a new stratosphere and put the world on Grand Slam Watch. I like him to fend off two LIV guys, Koepka and Rahm, to win the Wanamaker.

John Schwarb, SI Golf Senior Editor: Max Homa is trending in the big ones: T10 at last year’s British Open, T3 last month at the Masters. He’s had the game but needed the self-belief. There has been a first-time major champion in each of the last nine years, so why not make it 10 and make it Max?

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John Schwarb

JOHN SCHWARB

John Schwarb is the Senior Editor of SI Golf. He has covered golf for the St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), PGATour.com and Visit Florida; and has also written for ESPN.com, The Golfers Journal and several magazines. He lives in Indianapolis and graduated from Indiana University.

Bob Harig

BOB HARIG

Bob Harig is a golf writer for SI.com and the author of the book "DRIVE: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods," which publishes in March and can be ordered here. 

Jeff Ritter

JEFF RITTER

Jeff Ritter is the Managing Director of SI Golf. He spent more than a decade at Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine, and in 2020 joined Morning Read to help spark its growth and eventual acquisition by Arena Group, the publisher of Sports Illustrated. He has covered more than 25 major championships, and previously helped launch SI Golf Plus Digital, Golf Magazine’s first original, weekly e-magazine, and served as its top editor. He also launched Golf's “Films” division, the magazine’s first long-form video storytelling franchise, and his debut documentary received an Edward R. Murrow Award for sports reporting. His writing has earned first-place awards from the Society of American Travel Writers, the MIN Magazine Awards, and the Golf Writers Association of America, among others. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. A native Michigander, he remains a diehard Wolverine fan and will defend Jim Harbaugh until the bitter end.

John Pluym

JOHN PLUYM

Pat Forde

PAT FORDE

Pat Forde covers college sports, the Olympics and horse racing for Sports Illustrated. Pat wrote two books and was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. In addition to his work at SI, Pat is also the co-host of the College Football Enquirer podcast. He is an analyst for the Big Ten Network and contributes to national radio shows. In a career spanning more than three decades, Pat has worked at Yahoo! Sports, ESPN and the Louisville Courier-Journal.