Xander Schauffele will launch his PGA Championship title defence on Thursday at Quail Hollow Club alongside Masters champion Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, a high-profile group featuring the world's top three players.

Few details of the upcoming PGA Championship will have as much impact on the final result as what the players can do on the so-called "Green Mile."

While the PGA Championship lacks the historical gravitas of the professional golf world's other three major championships, it has provided some of the most entertaining finishes and storylines over the past few seasons.

The Tiger Woods of 1999 and 2000 won 17 PGA Tour events in his early 20s and suddenly, explosively, was the dominant force in golf. He had fully burst into the spotlight with his eye-popping performance at the 1997 Masters,