Six South Africans to tee it up at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow

Unlike at the Masters last month when South Africa had just three players in the field at Augusta National, the country will at least have six men teeing it up at the year’s second Major, the PGA Championship, from Thursday.

Xander Schauffele, who won his first Major trophy at the PGA Championship last year and later went on to win a second Major, the Open title, in July, will again be one of the favourites this week, but in a field of 156 players starting at Quail Hollow Club, in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday anyone could really lift the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday.

The six South Africans in the field are Christiaan Bezuidenhout, a regular now on the PGA Tour and in Major tournaments, Dean Burmester, the LIV Golf player who won the Miami tournament earlier this season, Garrick Higgo, who won his second PGA Tour title three weeks ago, Thriston Lawrence, who’s in his debut season on the PGA Tour, Erik van Rooyen, a two-time PGA Tour winner, and SA Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner, Daniel van Tonder.

All six men are in good form and have the hunger to be South Africa’s next Major winner; the last Major triumph coming back in 2012 when Ernie Els won the Open in England.

McIlroy and LIV Golf players the favourites

Somewhat surprisingly South African golfers have not enjoyed the PGA Championship like some of the other Majors over the years. Gary Player is the only South African to have won the title, in 1962 and 1972.

Nick Price of Zimbabwe also won it in 1992 and 1994.

While Rory McIlroy is a big favourite this week, following his win at the Masters in April to complete the Grand Slam, several other players besides Schauffele need to be taken seriously.

Scottie Scheffler, who won on the PGA Tour two weekends ago, Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry have all played solid golf in recent times, and then there are the players from the LIV Golf Tour.

Here one thinks of Joaquin Niemann, a three-time winner on that tour this season, Bryson DeChambeau, who was in contention for so long at the Masters, Brooks Koepka, three-time winner of the PGA, Jon Rahm, who’ll be desperate to win another Major, and Cameron Smith, the former Open winner. In total there are 16 LIV Golf players in the field.