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The 2024 PGA Championship is being held at the Valhalla Golf Club, Kentucky. The course last hosted the PGA Championship in 2015, and has since then undergone many changes. The evolution of the course thus presents a tough challenge for golfers this weekend.
The course has been lengthened by 151 yards. It is now 7,609 yards long and has a par of 71. The first hole is expected to play 50 yards longer, and golfers like Max Homa can already feel the need to hit longer shots.
Speaking at the press conference, Homa spoke about the new standard that has arisen for golfers hitting long shots:
"It's very long. Looks kind of familiar, just from all the highlights on TV. But it's good. It feels like kind of the new stock standard of a PGA Championship. Need to drive the ball well and hit your mid to long irons really good. But it's in awesome shape. So it should be a fun week."
Justin Thomas too, felt the need to hit his drivers really far to cover the course. He said that while the course has not changed much, the general theme of Valhalla seems to be to hit long.
"It's all very right in front of you. You just hit a driver really far and really straight and hit your irons well. That seems to be the theme here."
The course, paired with the unstable weather conditions, will definitely prove to be a challenge for golfers this week.
Justin Thomas talks about his experience at the 2024 PGA Championship course
For Justin Thomas, playing at the Valhalla Golf Club was a big deal when he was younger. He has played on this course when he was an amateur, and a few years after he turned pro. However, Thomas still feels like he does not have enough experience on the course.
"I haven't played here that many times. I've probably played 10, maybe 15. I think when I played last Sunday I was saying to my dad, I don't think I've been out here in eight or ten years; it had been a while," he said at the PGA Championship press conference.
Justin Thomas currently holds odds of +4000 going into the 2024 PGA Championship. The two-time PGA Championship winner will be hoping to win the event for the third time this year.
