3 reasons to expect drama at the PGA Championship

While the PGA Championship is often considered the lesser of the four major championships, it's been the most dramatic of golf's biggest events in the last few years.

Featuring decorated champions and nail-biting finishes, the PGA Championship has risen to the occasion time and again to deliver an enthralling product for viewers.

Here are three reasons to expect that to continue this week at Oak Hill.

Deepest field in major golf

The PGA Championship fancies itself the deepest field in major championship golf, and it's tough to argue that when looking at the tee sheet for Oak Hill.

While there are a handful of PGA club professionals in the 156-player roster, 99 of the top 100 golfers in the world are entered, with only Will Zalatoris missing out due to injury. There are no amateurs in the field this week, either, as this is the only major restricted to professionals.

Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler enter the tournament blazing hot and a cut above the rest, while Rory McIlroy will look to rebound after missing cuts at both The Players and the Masters earlier this season.

Despite Phil Mickelson's hopes that Cameron Tringale would be in the field, the LIV Tour player did not receive an invite. Still, the rival circuit is well represented at Oak Hill, with 17 other players joining Mickelson on the tee sheet. Two-time champion Brooks Koepka headlines that list, alongside Open Champion Cameron Smith, two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, and Bryson DeChambeau.

Mickelson's outstanding Sunday at this year's Masters saw the 52-year-old vault into a tie for second alongside Koepka. Add Reed's fourth-place finish, and it was an impressive week for LIV. Another strong showing from that contingent would further assuage doubts about LIV's level of competition compared to the PGA TOUR.

Here's a full list of the 50 golfers every fan needs to watch this week.

Top-flight winners only

Kyle Porter of CBS Sports reminded everybody Monday just how strong the list of recent PGA Championship winners has been.

While Porter should have probably labeled Collin Morikawa the "least accomplished" golfer instead of "worst," the point stands that this event has enjoyed a murderer's row of champions since 2017. Justin Thomas and Koepka have both won twice in that span, with Mickelson and Morikawa claiming the 2020 and 2021 tournaments, respectively.

From 2009-16, the list of champions featured names like Y.E. Yang, Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, and Jimmy Walker. Since then, four men with a combined 14 majors and 73 PGA TOUR wins have hoisted the trophy.

Incredible finishes

Almost every recent edition of the PGA Championship has offered intense Sunday drama. Thomas came from seven strokes back to win in Tulsa last year thanks largely to Mito Pereira's double-bogey on the 72nd hole. The year before saw Mickelson battle Koepka down the stretch at Kiawah to become the oldest major winner ever.

Morikawa's incredible eagle on the 70th hole at Harding Park sealed the victory for him in 2020, while Koepka outlasted a charging Tiger Woods at Bellerive to claim his second PGA Championship in 2018.

The last Masters that featured drama on the 72nd hole was in 2019 when Woods secured an improbable victory. The two most recent iterations of the U.S. Open saw outstanding Sunday finishes, but only after very comfortable wins by Gary Woodland and DeChambeau. And while Smith's Sunday charge at St. Andrews last July was thrilling, it was the Open Championship's only one-stroke victory since 2016.

Combine the PGA Championship's setup with the difficult closing stretch at Oak Hill, and Sunday could be another day for the history books.