Everything you need to know about the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah’s Ocean Course
The 103rd PGA Championship will be contested Thursday through Sunday on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort.
Here is what you need to know about the tournament:
How to watch: PGA TV coverage, where to stream
There will be television coverage on either ESPN, ESPN+ online or CBS from the first tee shot Thursday through the last putt on Sunday.
ESPN+ has live coverage of the opening two rounds from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday and Friday, leading into on-TV ESPN coverage from 1-7 p.m. both days — longer if play goes later.
On Saturday and Sunday, ESPN+ has live coverage from 8-10 a.m., ESPN is live from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and CBS has the conclusions of the third and fourth rounds from 1-7 p.m. both days — along with live streaming broadcast coverage on the Paramount+ subscription service.
ESPN and ESPN+ will have more than 229 hours of live play over the four days, up from 134 hours last year, including either eight (Thurs-Fri) or six (Sat-Sun) featured groups from start to finish and three featured holes each day. CBS will air additional coverage on CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports HQ and CBSSports.com.
Where is Kiawah? What’s special about the Ocean Course?
Pete Dye built the Ocean Course to host the 1991 Ryder Cup that became known as the “War by the Shore,” in part because of the course’s difficulty and shot casualties it forced.
The course is about 30 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina on the easternmost point of Kiawah Island and has since hosted the 1997 and 2003 World Cup of Golf, 2005 PGA (Club) Professional Championship, 2007 Senior PGA Championship and 2012 PGA Championship.
Playing up to 7,876 yards this week, it’s the longest major championship host course in history, measuring 200 yards longer than it played in 2012, when it initially set the record for the longest major course. It’s 135 yards longer than what is now the second longest course, Erin Hills for the 2017 U.S. Open.
The course winds through marsh, lagoons and sand dunes, with 10 holes hugging the Atlantic Ocean coastline and the other eight holes running parallel to them with views of the ocean.
The incessant wind can create havoc, as it did in the second round in 2012 when the scoring average was 78.
Kiawah Island Golf Resort Ocean Course map
How many spectators will there be?
Because of COVID restrictions, the PGA of America will limit on-site spectators to approximately 10,000 a day rather than the 30,000 or so that were there each day in 2012.
Pandemic-induced policies for spectators include no paper tickets and no cash, so tickets will have to be displayed on phones and spectators will need credit or debit cards to make purchases.
A complete spectator guide explaining tickets, admission, on-site experiences, schedule of events, COVID-19 health and wellness protocols, inclement weather plans, prohibited items, parking and transportation, frequently asked questions, and more can be viewed online at pgachampionship.com/spectatorguide.
Picks to win PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy is the betting favorite as of Tuesday afternoon, according to William Hill Sportsbook, followed by Justin Thomas at 12-1, Jon Ram and Jordan Spieth at 13-1, and Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele at 17-1.
Columbia native and Coastal Carolina alumnus Dustin Johnson, who won the Masters in November but missed the cut at the Masters in April and withdrew prior to last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson citing “knee discomfort,” is 18-1.
McIlroy won in his last start two weeks ago in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club and in the PGA Championship’s last visit to the Ocean Course in 2012. He’s seeking his fifth major title, but first since the 2014 PGA Championship.
Spieth can become the sixth player to capture the career Grand Slam, joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen. His win in early April at the Valero Texas Open was his first on the PGA Tour since 2017, and he has a pair of top-10s since, including a tie for third at the Masters.
Who else is in the PGA Championship field this week?
The 156-player field features 99 of the top 100 players in the current Official World Golf Rankings, including 35 major champions and 70 international players representing 25 countries.
It also includes 20 PGA of America club professionals, led by reigning PGA Professional champion Omar Uresti of Austin, Texas. Danny Balin of Rockville, Maryland, and Rob Labritz of Pound Ridge, New York are the most experienced of the 20 club pros, both competing in their eighth career PGA Championship.
What are Thursday’s best pairings?
On Thursday morning, Lee Westwood, Viktor Hovland and Schauffele will tee off at 8:22, McIlroy; Thomas and Brooks Koepka follow at 8:33; and defending champion Collin Morikawa, DeChambeau and reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama will go off at 8:44.
On Thursday afternoon, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed and Rahm are scheduled for 1:25; Gary Woodland, Justin Rose and Cameron Smith tee off at 1:36; Webb Simpson, Will Zalatoris and Spieth go off at 1:58; and Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry have a 2:09 tee time.
What is the winner’s share of the purse?
The total purse is $11 million with the winner earning $1.98 million, the runner-up claiming nearly $1.2 million and the third-place finisher collecting $759,000.
Kiawah Island weather forecast
It is expected to be a pleasant week on Kiawah Island.
According to weather.com, high temperatures Thursday through Sunday are forecast to be between 78 and 85 degrees with lows between 61 and 69. The chance of rain is 6% or less each day, and consistent wind speeds are expected to be between 9 and 16 mph.
Why is there so much pro golf in SC?
The PGA Tour has one annual stop in the Palmetto State — the RBC Heritage presented by Boeing in Hilton Head Island, which traditionally follows the Masters Tournament.
This year there are three events over a span of two months. This week’s PGA Championship added a rare second event to the state, and border complications caused by the coronavirus led to a third event being played in the state.
The RBC Canadian Open is relocating for one year to Congaree Golf Club near Beaufort and will be played June 10-13 as the Palmetto Championship at Congaree. The state of South Carolina is spending $6 million to host the event.
PGA Round 2 Friday tee times
Starting on 10th hole
7:05 a.m. — Frank Bensel Jr., United States; Robert Streb, United States; Kurt Kitayama, United States.
7:16 a.m — Alex Beach, United States; Daniel van Tonder, South Africa; Wyndham Clark, United States.
7:27 a.m. — Abraham Ancer, Mexico, Max Homa, United States; Sam Burns, United States.
7:38 a.m. — Tony Finau, United States; Matt Fitzpatrick, England; Corey Conners, Canada.
7:49 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, United States; Jason Day, Australia; Padraig Harrington, Ireland.
8 a.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, England; Jon Rahm, Spain; Patrick Reed, United States.
8:11 a.m. — Gary Woodland, United States; Justin Rose, England; Cameron Smith, Australia.
8:22 a.m. — Steve Stricker, United States; Billy Horschel, Unied States; Daniel Berger, United States.
8:33 a.m. — Webb Simpson, United States; Will Zalatoris, United States; Jordan Spieth, United States.
8:44 a.m — Dustin Johnson, United States; Shane Lowry, United States; Sergio Garcia, Spain.
8:55 a.m. — Thomas Pieters, Belgium; Patrick Cantlay, United States; Matt Kuchar, United States.
9:06 a.m. — Chris Kirk, United States; Pete Ballo, United States; Cameron Davis, Australia.
9:17 a.m. — Dean Burmester, South Africa; Greg Koch, United States; K.H. Lee, South Korea.
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12:25 p.m. — Patrick Rada, United States; Adam Long, United States; Cameron Tringale, United States.
12:36 p.m. — Dylan Frittelli, South Africa; Larkin Gross, United States; Matt Jones, Australia.
12:47 p.m. — Byeong Hun An, South Korea; Derek Holmes, United States; George Coetzee, South Africa.
12:58 p.m. — Bernd Wiesberger, Austria; Tom Hoge, United States; Joel Dahmen, United States.
1:09 p.m. — John Daly, United States; Jimmy Walker, United States; Jason Dufner, United States.
1:20 p.m. — Kevin Kisner, United States; Martin Laird, Scotland; Hudson Swafford, United States.
1:31 p.m. — Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Danny Willett, England; Bubba Watson, United States.
1:42 p.m. — Keegan Bradley, United States; Martin Kaymer, Germany; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa.
1:53 p.m. — Harris English, United States; Stewart Cink, United States; Alex Noren, Sweden.
2:04 p.m. — Kevin Na, United States; Tom Lewis, England; Jason Kokrak, United States.
2:15 p.m. — Jason Scrivener, Australia; Stuart Smith, United States; Emiliano Grillo, Argentina.
2:26 p.m. — Brad Marek, United States; Peter Malnati, United States; Lanto Griffin, United States.
2:37 p.m. — Mark Geddes, England; Denny McCarthy, United States; Rikuya Hoshino, Japan.
Starting on first hole
7 a.m. — Si Woo Kim, South Korea; Danny Balin, United States; Jim Herman, United States.
7:11 a.m. — Sami Valimaki, Finland; Joe Summerhays, United States; Richy Werenski, United States.
7:22 a.m. — Sebastian Munoz, Colombia; Tim Pearce, United States; Sam Horsfield, England.
7:33 a.m — Y.E. Yang, South Korea; Shaun Micheel, United States; Rich Beem, United States.
7:44 a.m. — Joaquin Niemann, Chile; J.T. Poston, United States; Aaron Rai, England.
7:55 a.m. — Branden Grace, South Africa; Adam Hadwin, Canada; Rasmus Hojgaard, Denmark.
8:06 a.m. — Russell Henley, United States; Jazz Janewattananond, Thailand; Carlos Ortiz, Mexico.
8:17 a.m. — Andy Sullivan, England; Christiaan Bezuidenhuit, South Africa; Kevin Streelman, United States.
8:28 a.m. — Ian Poulter, England; Brian Harman, United States; Sungjae Im, South Korea.
8:39 a.m. — Antoine Rozner, France; Chez Reavie, United States; Brandon Stone, South Africa.
8:50 a.m. — Victor Perez, France; Omar Uresti, United States; Maverick McNealy, United States.
9:01 a.m. — Tyler Collet, United States; Brendon Todd, United States; Lucas Herbert, Australia.
9:12 a.m. — Ben Cook, United States; Mackenzie Hughes, Canada; Takumi Kanaya, Japan.
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12:30 p.m. — Ben Polland, United States; Talor Gooch, United States; Harry Higgs, United States.
12:41 p.m. — Rob Labritz, United States; Brendan Steele, United States; Harold Varner III, United States.
12:52 p.m. — Paul Casey, England; Garrick Higgo, South Africa; Marc Leishman, Australia.
1:03 p.m. — Rickie Fowler, United States; Adam Scott, Australia; Tyrrell Hatton, England.
1:14 p.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Scotland; Cameron Champ, United States; John Catlin, United States.
1:25 p.m. — Zach Johnson, United States; Francesco Molinari, Italy; Scottie Scheffler, United States.
1:36 p.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Ryan Palmer, United States; Thomas Detry, Belgium.
1:47 p.m. — Lee Westwood, England; Viktor Hovland, Norway; Xander Schauffele, United States.
1:58 p.m. — Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Justin Thomas, United States; Brooks Koepka, United States.
2:09 p.m. — Colin Morikawa, United States; Bryson DeChambeau, United States; Hideki Matsuyama, Japan.
2:20 p.m. — Charley Hoffman, United States; Matt Wallace, England; Erik van Rooyen, South Africa.
2:31 p.m. — Chan Kim, United States; Brett Walker, United States; Brian Gay, United States.
2:42 p.m. — Aaron Wise, United States; Sonny Skinner, United States; Kalle Samooja, Finland.
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
