Defending champion Phil Mickelson and 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods have been named in the 156-man field for the PGA Championship, which gets underway on May 19.
Mickelson, a six-time Major champion, hasn’t played since February after apologising for comments regarding a proposed breakaway league, where he accused the PGA Tour of being “manipulative and coercive” before ironically going on to admit he was using the threat of a breakaway to “reshape” how the Tour operates, and also revealing he’d recruited three other players to the league and that he and other players paid attorneys to construct the proposed league’s operating agreement.
He now looks set to make his return to competitive golf at the tournament that witnessed his historic achievement at Kiawah Island last year. Lefty became the oldest man to win a Major title amid extraordinary scenes as thousands of fans swarmed on to the final fairway to witness the winning moment. It was arguably one of the greatest ever moments the game has witnessed.
Tiger Woods will join his old nemesis at Southern Hills Country Club after making his own return to to competitive golf at the Masters in April, 14 months after suffering life-threatening injuries in a car crash. The former World No.1 was in visible pain during the final round at Augusta National after he had dragged himself up and down and all around the hilly course, but he looks set to compete in the second Major of the year at at a place that holds many dear memories for him.
Southern Hills, which was only named host of the tournament last year after Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster was pulled from the schedule, last hosted the tournament in 2007, when Woods captured his fourth Wanamaker Trophy with a two-stroke triumph over Woody Austin.
