Spieth seeks career slam
Three-time major winner Jordan Spieth can complete a career Grand Slam by winning the PGA Championship at Bellerive. He would join a select list of golf legends that have achieved the feat, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan. Spieth won the 2015 Masters and US Open and 2017 Open Championship. He finished second at the 2015 PGA, losing to Australian Jason Day but still climbing to world number one for the first time with the result. After taking third at this year's Masters and sharing ninth at the Open Championship last month at Carnoustie, the 25-year-old American has shown flashes of his once-formidable putting skills.
Can Tiger win a major?
Tiger Woods delivered his best major finish in five years by sharing sixth at the Open Championship at Carnoustie last month. The 14-time major winner shared second in March at the PGA Valspar Championship, his first top-five finish in five years, and enjoyed his best final round in six years to share fourth at the National. Battling back from back surgery that left the former world number one wondering if his career was over, Woods led at Carnoustie on the back nine on Sunday and has climbed to 50th in the world rankings. At age 42, time could be running out. And Woods hasn't had a top-10 at the PGA Championship since losing to South Korea's Yang Yong-eun in 2009.
No 1 Johnson fancied
World number one Dustin Johnson won his only major title at the 2016 US Open, but with a third-place showing at this year's US Open at Shinnecock and three PGA triumphs for a third consecutive season, there's little doubt the long-driving 34-year-old American deserves to be favored at the 100th PGA. He won the Tournament of Champions in January, added the St. Jude Classic in June and took the Canadian Open a week after missing the cut at the Open Championship. His best showing in eight PGA Championship starts has been a share of fifth in 2010, where a two-shot penalty for grounding his club in a bunker doomed what appeared to be a major triumph.
McIlroy's major drought
Rory McIlroy has not won a major title since outracing the darkness at Valhalla in the 2014 PGA Championship to edge Phil Mickelson by a stroke. But the 29-year-old from Northern Ireland has been playing well lately. He ended an 18-month US PGA win drought in March by winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He shared fifth at the Masters and second in July's Open Championship at Carnoustie, giving him eight top-10 finishes in 14 major starts since his 2014 PGA win. None of them came at a PGA but with his game rounding into form, he could be a solid candidate for his fifth major and third PGA title.
Will Rose bloom at PGA?
Britain's Justin Rose won his only major title at the 2013 US Open but last year's Masters runner-up was also in the second-place pack behind Italy's Francesco Molinari at last month's Open Championship. And he has PGA Tour titles this season at the WGC event in Shanghai as well the Fort Worth Invitational in May. He hasn't finished a US event outside the top 10 since the Players in May. But the 27-year-old Englishman's best PGA Championship result was a share of third in 2012 at Kiawah Island. He has missed the cut six times, including last year at Quail Hollow. But the world number two is on a solid run and another major would cap a strong year.
