Jordan Spieth will complete career grand slam

Here are Mark Cannizzaro’s PGA Championship picks:

The sixth time will be the charm: Spieth completing the career grand slam with a Wannamaker Trophy, the only one he’s missing. Spieth enters the week in terrific form, having won at Hilton Head and nearly winning last week at the Byron Nelson.

If he putts like he did when he was at his best, Spieth will win.

Since winning his third major at the 2017 British Open, Spieth’s five previous PGA attempts were a tie for 28th in 2017, T12 in 2018, T3 in 2019, T71 in 2020 and T30 last year. This is the year.

Viktor Hovland

If he can improve his chipping, which will be key on Southern Hills, Hovland, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, has a great chance to win because he’s got local ties having gone to Oklahoma State. He’s a great ball-striker, leading the field in strokes gained ball-striking in his past 20 rounds.

Hottest player on the planet comes in with great mojo, having won four of his past seven starts (not including New Orleans, which was a team event). The Masters champion once called Southern Hills one of his favorite courses of all time. Combine that and his No. 1 world ranking and … look out.

Cameron Smith

Few are paying any attention to the Aussie, but perhaps they’ve forgotten about his win at The Players. Scheffler’s remarkable run has overshadowed what Smith has done, becoming one of the top players in the world.

Talor Gooch

He’s the only player in the field who was born and raised in Oklahoma. His hometown is less than two hours away from Southern Hills, which he said is one of his favorite courses. He won his first career PGA Tour tournament last fall, and home-field advantage will help.