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PGA Championship 2019: The field at Bethpage Black accomplished something no tournament has in golf history
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The Players Championship annually boasts the best field in golf. But the list of competitors at the 2019 PGA Championship is formidable in its own right, to the point of making a bit of history this week.
For the first time at a major, or any golf tournament for that matter, every player in the Official Golf World Ranking top 100 will tee it up at Bethpage Black.
The field, totaling 156 players, features 34 major champions (who own a combined 67 major championships) and 69 international players representing 27 countries. It also has 12 players who have been ranked No. 1 in the world, a distinction currently held by Dustin Johnson. Brooks Koepka, who won the Wanamaker Trophy at Bellerive last summer, sits at No. 3.
As of Monday morning, only Sam Ryder, ranked No. 175 in the OWGR, has dropped out of the proceedings. He has been replaced by Richy Werenski, who will be making his major championship debut.
The PGA Championship field also includes 20 PGA club professionals, highlighted by reigning PGA professional champion Alex Beach, who currently serves as an assistant at Westchester C.C. in Rye, New York, about 45 minutes from Bethpage.
The betting favorite remains Tiger Woods. The 43-year-old, who won his 15th major at the Masters a month back, is a previous winner at Bethpage, capturing the 2002 U.S. Open at the egalitarian Long Island venue. Woods, who has four PGA wins in his career, begins the week at 9/1, followed by Johnson and Koepka at 10/1. Rory McIlroy, a two-time winner at this event, is listed at 12/1.