PGA Championship Starts in August Heat for Last Time

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The 100th edition of the PGA Championship began Thursday for the last time in the stifling heat of summer.

Club pro Michael Block hit the opening tee shot down the middle at Bellerive Country Club. The course is playing long and soft because of rain on Tuesday and temperatures in the 90s that require PGA officials to keep water on the greens.

The PGA Championship moves to the middle of May next year.

Tiger Woods, defending champion Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy are getting most of the attention from the morning side of the draw.

Block is among 20 club pros who qualified for this major. He is the first club pro in six years to qualify for the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same year.