The reason the PGA Championship is strongest golf major of the lot
It is viewed as the fourth Major but the fields stack up every year with 99 of the top 100 playing at Quail Hollow
The PGA Championship is often harshly noted as the least special of golf's four Majors.
But, with 99 of the world's Top 100 playing this week at Quail Hollow, it is the one with the strongest-assembled fields of the lot. Billy Horschel's need for hip surgery means he is the only one of the elite hundred among the 156 starters not teeing it up in North Carolina.
The PGA Championship usually features the most highly ranked players of any major because its qualification criteria helps to build the field around the world rankings. All majors have differing qualification rules.
The Masters, won this year by Rory McIlroy, has the Top 50 with a smaller field gathering at Augusta including ex-Green Jacket winners, while the Open, held by Xander Schauffele, and US Open, currently the title of Bryson DeChambeau, have the Top 60 before the variety of exemptions and qualifications which are available to make the tournament, including the special opportunity for regional events which open doors for all players to have a go at making the big stage.
One other notable aspect of the PGA Championship which draws sneers from observers is that it is played on a variety of courses, some which don't meet the approval of critics.
The fabulous Augusta National hosts the Masters every year, while The Open Championship venue is chosen for a select few illustrious tracks on their rotation.
The US Open moves around, but the styles of golf needed for those venues are noted by most professionals to be similar.
Jon Rahm explained the potential differences with the various PGA venues as he said: 'When you go to Augusta, you know what you're getting. Same course every year.
"The US Open, nine out of ten times, you know what you're getting, depending on the weather. And same at the Open, right?
"It will be firmer or less, but you know what you're getting. It's this championship that will change venues and drastically change the way they set it up.
'Like the way Southern Hills might play, to the way this week might play, to the way Bethpage might play, they're all drastically different.
"So it's possibly the difference, which is more about your game needs to be a very high level as opposed to possibly the other three that you can adjust a little bit more, knowing what's coming.
'You get different things every time you come. It's very difficult to say that two of them were the same.
You can have some where you go into a play-off at five-under and then last year with 21-under wins it.
"So it's quite interesting. It definitely has a character of having that different character each time you come.'
First round tee-times [Thursday, May 15] - in full
12.00pm. Hole 1: Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer
12.05pm Hole 10: John Parry, Justin Hicks, Ryan Fox.
12.11pm Hole 1: John Somers, Taylor Moore, David Puig
12.16pm Hole 10: Andre Chi, Patrick Fishburn, Seamus Power.
12:22pm Hole 1: Kurt Kitayama, Nic Ishee, Alex Noren
12:27pm Hole 10: Max McGreevy, Sahith Theegala, Sepp Straka.
12:33pm Hole 1: J.T. Poston, Ryo Hisatsune, Tom Johnson
12:38pm Hole 10: Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry
12:44pm Hole 1: Davis Thompson, Bud Cauley, Nico Echavarria
12:49pm Hole 10: Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Day
12:55pm Hole 1: Harris English, Michael Kim, Thomas Detry.
1:00pm Hole 10: Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick
1.11pm Hole 10: Corey Conners, Min Woo Lee, Rasmus Højgaard
1:17pm Hole 1: Thorbjørn Olesen, Karl Vilips, Laurie Canter
1:22pm Hole 10: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler
1:28pm Hole 1: S i Woo Kim, Sam Stevens, Rico Hoey
1:44pm Hole 10: Andrew Novak, Keegan Bradley, Maverick McNealy
1:50pm: Hole 1: Thriston Lawrence, Nick Dunlap, Harry Hall
1:55pm Hole 10: Akshay Bhatia, Denny McCarthy, Sam BurnsF
2:01pm Hole 1: Greg Koch, Marco Penge, Ryan Gerard
2:06pm Hole 10: John Catlin, Garrick Higgo, Jesse Droemer
2:12pm Hole 1: Dylan Newman, Daniel van Tonder, Victor Perez
2:17pm Hole 10: Eugenio Chacarra, Rupe Taylor, Justin Lower
5:25pm Hole 10: Keith Mitchell, Bob Sowards, Adam HadwinF
5:30pm Hole 1: Michael Kartrude, Sami Valimaki, Jake Knapp
5:36pm Hole 10: Eric Cole, Eric Steger, Cam Davis
5:41pm Hole 1: Erik van Rooyen, Michael Block, Mackenzie Hughes
5:47pm Hole 10: Austin Eckroat, Brian Bergstol, Jacob Bridgeman
5:52pm Hole 1: Lucas Glover, Max Homa, Joaquin Niemann
5:58pm Hole 10: Niklas Norgaard, Byeong Hun An, J.J. Spaun
6:03pm Hole 1: Tyrrell Hatton, Will Zalatoris, Adam Scott
6:09pm Hole 10: Patrick Rodgers, Nick Taylor, Dean Burmester
6:14pm Hole 1: Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa
6:20pm Hole 10: Joe Highsmith, Cameron Young, Aaron Rai
6:25pm Hole 1: Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Ludvig Aberg
6:31pm Hole 10: Tom Hoge, Matthieu Pavon, Taylor Pendrith
6:42pm Hole 10: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Patton Kizzire, Matt McCarty
6:47pm Hole 1: Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Gary Woodland
7:04pm Hole 10: Jason Dufner, Michael Thorbjornsen, Shaun Micheel
7:09pm Hole 1: Justin Rose, Cameron Smith, Brian Harman
7:15pm: Hole 10: Rafael Campos, Ryan Lenahan, Matt Wallace
7:31pm Hole 1: Takumi Kanaya, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Tom McKibbin
7:37pm Hole 10: Kevin Yu, Larkin Gross, John Keefer
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