PGA Championship 2019: What you need to know for Thursday at the PGA Championship

The 2019 PGA Championship finally begins on Thursday morning at Long Island’s Bethpage Black, and storylines are abound. Can Tiger Woods claim his fifth PGA and 16th career major? Can Brooks Koepka defend his title? And how tough will the famously difficult Black Course end up being? Here’s what you need to know for Thursday.

1. The best PGA Championship groupings

There are plenty of good ones on Thursday. Here are our five favorites (ET).

1. Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari, Tiger Woods (8:24 a.m., Tee No. 10)
2. Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day (1:38 p.m., Tee No. 1)
3. Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose (8:02 a.m., Tee No. 10)
4. Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth (1:16 p.m., Tee No. 1)
5. Sergio Garcia, Kelly Kraft, Adam Scott (7:40 a.m., Tee No. 10)

2. Club pro Rob Labritz will hit the opening tee shot

It’s fitting that six-time PGA Championship qualifier Rob Labritz will be hitting the opening tee shot at No. 1 on Thursday. The GlenArbor club pro is a three-time New York State Open champ, which is always played at the Black. He tees off at 6:45 a.m. ET alongside Beau Hossler and J.J. Spaun.

3. How to watch the PGA Championship Thursday

Streaming options will be available on PGA.com beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET, where you can watch featured groups from both the morning and afternoon waves. The TV broadcast is on TNT from 1-7:00 p.m. ET.

4. PGA Championship weather

Temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s when the first group tees off at 6:45 a.m. ET, but it should be a fantastic day overall at Bethpage Black. Bright sunshine through the morning hours will give way to partly cloudy skies in the afternoon. No rain is in the forecast, and the temperature is expected to reach a high of 66 degrees, with wind speed maxing out at 10 mph.

5. Tiger Woods PGA Championship Watch

Every time Tiger tees it up on Tour, he becomes the star of the show, and this week is no different. Though he hasn’t played competitively since his epic Masters victory in April, the Big Cat is still the betting favorite at Bethpage. Will he live up to the hype?

6. The PGA Championship Round 1 storyline to be…

No doubt there will be plenty to choose from. But a hot one is sure to be whether or not the course shows its considerable teeth now that it has been softened by rain for a few days. Brooks’ and Tiger’s first rounds are sure to dominate headlines too, as well as John Daly’s cart-assisted spin.

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