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The second major of the season is underway down at Kiawah Island in South Carolina – the PGA Championship. 

This is the second year in which the PGA is being held in May, as opposed to its traditional August date.

“I would say even for the people that were here in 2012, it’s hard to know what to expect. First of all, you’re in a different time of year. I believe when they played back then, it was all Bermuda. Now it’s overseed for the most part. So it’s obviously going to play a little different. I think a player told me they had some rain that week and it was very soft. It’s incredibly firm out there right now, so the downwind holes, the ball bounces on the greens,” said Jon Rahm during his press conference on Tuesday.

Rahm was referring to the last time the PGA Championship was held at Kiawah, back in 2012, when Rory McIlroy ran away with it.

What will happen this week?

Here are 5 Things to Watch for: 

1. Jordan Spieth 

Another major and once again, all eyes will be on the resurgent Jordan Spieth. 

Spieth has played each of the last two weeks after taking nearly a month off after the Masters because he got Covid. 

“I’ve done a very poor job of getting ready for this one. I got COVID and was out 20, 21 days without practicing, and then came back for a week kind of slowly and then played last week,” said Spieth in his press conference on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, leading up to The Masters, Spieth won for the first time in nearly four years, and contended at numerous other tournaments.

The PGA Championship is the only major that Spieth needs to complete the career Grand Slam.

“I want to win this one as badly as I ever have. Once you move on to the U.S. Open, the same. Majors are — yeah, again, like you mentioned, that’s what we’re trying to peak for those. I feel like I’ll have a lot of chances at this tournament, and if I just focus on trying to take advantage of this golf course, play it the best I can and kind of stay in the same form tree to green I’ve been in, all I can ask for is a chance,” added Spieth. 

We will see what magic Spieth has up his sleeve this week.

2. Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson is the number one player in the world so by default is someone to watch. 

However, he has been completely irrelevant so far this season. 

His only win came overseas, and he missed the cut at The Masters, which was somewhat shocking. 

Last week, Johnson withdrew from the AT&T Byron Nelson siting a knee issue. 

“Health is good. I just want to spend more time on making sure I was feeling 100 percent for this week and done a lot of work at home, and yeah, I feel really good coming into this week,” said Johnson in his press conference on Wednesday. 

He added, “it just didn’t feel right. I got an MRI. Everything was fine. It was the one I had surgery on about a year and a half ago. Just got together with the doctor and physio down there that I use for my rehab and just put together a little bit of a plan to get a little bit stronger. Yeah, it feels good, though.” 

Perhaps this is the week for DJ, playing in his hometown. 

3. Rangefinders

One small aspect of this major that you might have forgotten about is that players will be allowed to use rangefinders during the tournament.

Back in February, the PGA of America made the decision to allow the distance measuring devices at their events.

“We’re always interested in methods that may help improve the flow of play during our Championships. The use of distance-measuring devices is already common within the game and is now a part of the Rules of Golf. Players and caddies have long used them during practice rounds to gather relevant yardages,” said Jim Richerson, President of the PGA of America at the time.

It has never been done before, so none of us know what it will look like or how it will affect the tournament.

Could range finders actually hurt the tournament?

“I have a hard time seeing it speed things up, unless you get it way offline or you’re out of contention,” said Jordan Spieth.

Adam Scott added, “I think if the book says one thing and the range finder says another thing, which one should you go with. I think you’ve got to go with one or the other, and unless John (his caddie) has changed all his routines in the last couple weeks to use the range finder, I think we’ll be out of the book.”

However, Bryson DeChambeau thinks the rangefinders will help a lot.

“It’s going to help me for when I hit it offline. We’re not going to have to go to a sprinkler head and walk 40, 50 yards away from a place to find a number,” he said.

It will be interesting to see how much they are used this week.

4. No Bunkers

Just like in 2012, there are NO BUNKERS in play at Kiawah Island. 

Instead, they will be treated as sandy areas, meaning that players are allowed to ground their club, take practice swings and anything else they would normally do. 

So that means, the famous Dustin Johnson incident from 2010 where he was assessed a penalty for touching the sand won’t happen again – thankfully.

2010 was not at Kiawah, but you get the point.

5. Club Pros/Peter Ballo

Peter Ballo is the Assistant Professional at Silvermine Golf Club in Norwalk Connecticut. 

This is his first PGA Championship and he is the only New England club professional playing. 

In total, there are 20 club pros playing in the tournament, all hoping for one magical weekend.