10 hottest golfers heading into 2016 PGA Championship

While many of the world’s top golfers are still recovering from Royal Troon’s links design, a new challenge awaits for the 2016 PGA Championship.

The Lower Course at Baltusrol in Springfield, N.J, is the venue on display this upcoming weekend for the final major of the season. It features teeth of a different kind waiting to chew up any golfers who do not bring their A-games.

This intimidating course has hosted this championship once before, with the leaders posting scores at or just below par. Phil Mickelson, who is one of the hottest golfers in the world heading into the 2016 PGA Championship, won in 2005 with a score of four-under par.

So which golfers have the most momentum heading into the fourth major of the 2016 season?

1 . Henrik Stenson

Already one of the hotter golfers before The Open Championship, Stenson is molten right now after his record-tying performance in the final round going head-to-head against Mickelson.

Aside from having to withdraw from the U.S. Open, he’s been highly competitive in the other to majors, posting a 24th place finish at the Masters and obviously winning The Open. Furthermore, Stenson won the BMW International Open last month and has six other top-five finishes this season on the PGA and European Tours.

Truly, his finale to cap off the win at Royal Troon was one of the more magnificent displays of championship golf in the history of the game.

There isn’t another golfer in the world as hot as Stenson is right now. Will it carry him to his second career major victory? Only time will tell.

2. Dustin Johnson

Though his steady performance at Troon wasn’t nearly as impressive as Stenson and Mickelson’s virtuoso performances, Johnson posted yet another top finish in a huge tournament, tying for ninth place. It was his 10th top-10 finish this season.

Then, in his tune-up for the 2016 PGA Championship, Johnson tied for second place this past weekend at the RBC Canadian Open. He shot 11-under par and missed out on the third win in his last four starts by just one stroke, thanks to an outstanding eight-under-par final round by Jhonattan Vegas.

Johnson’s game is at a ridiculous level right now.

If he can continue to put the ball in the fairway and hit greens at this rate, he’s going to be tough to beat this weekend.

3. Sergio Garcia

If Garcia ends up winning the PGA Championship, it would be one of the biggest golf stories of the past decade. Since entering the pro golf world as a teenage sensation back in the mid-1990s, he’s long headlined the list of best golfers to never win a major.

But if ever there was a moment for the Spaniard to break this maddening streak, it’s now.

Garcia has been outstanding of late, posting five top-five finishes in a row, including a win in May at the Byron Nelson Classic. Included in this streak are ties for fifth place at both the U.S. Open and the British Open — two of the toughest tests in golf.

Despite never winning a major, Garcia maintains a positive attitude heading into the PGA Championship.

4. Rory McIlroy

Overshadowed by Stenson and Mickelson at the British Open, McIlroy’s fifth-place finish was darn impressive. With two rounds in the 60s, including a final-round 67, he played well under extreme pressure to win.

Though, it must be pointed out the pressure did get to him at one point when he smashed his three-wood into the turf, breaking it to bits (watch here).

With one win and eight other top-10 finishes this year on the European and PGA Tours, he’s been a steady force on leaderboards since the start of the 2016 calendar year. More importantly as it relates to this list, McIlroy has six top-five finishes (including his win) since March.

So, while some have wondered why McIlroy hasn’t been a huge winner this year, that’s just not fair. He’s been highly competitive.

Of further note for the PGA Championship is the fact that McIlroy is a two-time winner at this tournament — 2012 at Kiawah Island and 2014 at Valhalla. Perhaps he’s geared up for another even-year victory in 2016.

5. Jason Day

Truly, looking at the overall scope of the season, Day is in a class all by himself. With three wins, including a win at THE PLAYERS Championship, a third place finish and eight top-10s, he is the front-runner at this point to win the PGA’s Player of the Year award.

That said, he isn’t content to rest on his laurels.

. “I know that I’m currently ranked the best player in the world but I need to work hard. I need to work harder than I ever have before to keep that spot. I need to work harder than I ever have before to win tournaments, because it’s only getting tougher.”

Though Day was nowhere near the leaderboard at Troon, the fact that he landed a top-25 finish in a week in which his A-game was laughing at him from the other side of the planet is quite impressive.

The ability to grind under such circumstances is critical to sustained success. Day proved he has it, and he should be one of the favorites to win this weekend.

6. Phil Mickelson

The Lefty of old emerged two weekends ago when Mickelson scorched Royal Troon, finishing the British Open with a score of 17-under par.

The performance capped off what has been a terrific season thus far, though certainly filled with ups and downs.

Mickelson now has six top-five finishes on the season, though he has yet to finish off a tournament with a victory. He should be considered one of the favorites this weekend, based on his victory here in 2005 and his outstanding play two weeks ago.

That said, based on the fact that Lefty missed the cut at both the Masters and the U.S. Open, we shouldn’t be shocked if he falls flat again.

7. Jordan Spieth

The 2016 season hasn’t been the encore Spieth hoped for following his memorable 2015 campaign, but he hasn’t been irrelevant, either.

With two wins under his belt and three top-fours (including a tie for second at the Masters), last year’s best golfer has done plenty to feel good about. Perhaps this is why he bristled so badly when reporters asked him about his struggles during The Open Championship (more on that here).

Mediocre showings at the U.S. Open (T37) and The Open Championship (T30) have cooled our expectations for Spieth heading into this weekend at Baltusrol.

However, his overall play in major championships the past couple of years has been stellar. With this in mind, nobody should be surprised if he shrugs off his recent frustrations with an outstanding performance.

8. Andy Sullivan

One of the young golfers we have our eye on right now, Sullivan is learning how to compete in majors. After missing the cut at the Masters in April, he finished in a tie for 23rd at the U.S. Open and impressed with a tie for 12th at the British Open.

In between the past couple of majors, Sullivan claimed a fifth-place finish at the French Open and a sixth-place finish at the Scottish Open. Needless to say, he has reason to feel excited about his play of late.

,” Sullivan said after the British Open, via the Nuneaton News. “It started at the US Open and I’m hoping to take that forward now into the PGA.”

Though he has yet to win in 2016, the Englishman won three times in 2015. He missed the cut last year at Whistling Straights, but it would be a shock if he failed to contribute to the weekend’s excitement this time around at Baltusrol.

9. J.B. Holmes

It’s been a season of ups and downs for Holmes, who is either really on or really off his game.

With missed cuts at THE PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open recently, it may seem a stretch to include him on this list of hottest golfers heading into the PGA Championship.

However, Holmes most recently earned a solo third-place finish at Royal Troon behind Mickelson and Stenson. He also tied for fourth place at Jack’s Memorial Tournament in May and at the Masters in April.

Given his track record in 2016 — earning two top-four finishes in majors this year — it would be foolish to count out Holmes this weekend.

10. Jhonattan Vegas

Winning the RBC Canadian Open earned Vegas a trip to the 2016 PGA Championship.

He hasn’t had a spectacular overall campaign, posting just three other top-10 finishes in 22 events. However, one of those came while most of the world’s top golfers were playing Troon. Vegas tied for fourth place at the Barbasol Championship, thanks to a couple of blazing hot rounds (65, 60) to open the tournament.

Getting hot at the right time can often vault lesser golfers to overcome top players in big tournaments. It’s going to be fun to see if Vegas can parlay his recent success into a major championship.