Countdown to the 2015 PGA Championship
By Andrew Prezioso, PGA.com
Published: Saturday, July 25, 2015 | 12:24 p.m.
Let the countdown to the PGA Championship begin (if it hasn't already).
The first group tees off at Whistling Straits in just 18 days, a very familiar number to golfers. In honor of that, we present to you 18 facts to keep in mind for when play gets started in Kohler, Wis.
Oh, and to add a special twist to this preview, all the numbers reflect how many days we are until the start of the first round. Feel free to read this however you want -- whether you want to binge-read it, or save it as a page-a-day calendar. We won't judge.
18: The lowest score under par in PGA Championship history is 18-under par. It has happened three times in event history -- twice by Tiger Woods -- yet one of those times it wasn't enough to win. In 2000, both Woods and Bob May reached that mark, but Woods won in a three-hole playoff.
Related: Facts about Whistling Straits
17: The last time the PGA Championship was held at Whistling Straits was in 2010. Martin Kaymer won it in a playoff after finishing the four rounds and playoff with 17 birdies on his scorecard.
16: In a thrilling finish to last year's event, Rory McIlroy won at Valhalla with a score of 16-under.
15: It has been 15 years since a golfer has won three majors in one year (Tiger Woods, 2000). Jordan Spieth would tie that mark if he can win the PGA Championship.
14: There are 14 water hazards at Whistling Straits.
13: The PGA Championship has gone to a playoff 13 times since stroke play was introduced in 1958. The last time this happened was in 2011 when Keegan Bradley beat Jason Dufner.
12: There are 12 months until the 2016 PGA Championship. The date of the event is moved up to July 28-31 to accomodate for golf's return to the Olympics.
11: The last time the Championship was held at Whistling Straits, Kaymer and Bubba Watson went to a playoff after posting a score of 11-under after 72 holes. Kaymer ended up winning the three-hole playoff with an even-par score.
10: Golfers from 10 different countries have won the PGA Championship. The U.S. leads the way with 78; Australia is next with four; England, South Africa, ZImbabwe, Fiji and Northern Ireland each have two; Ireland, South Korea and Germany have one.
More PGA Championship: Field list | Video preview | Course tour
9: There are nine PGA Professionals in the field this year (out of 20 who have qualified) that have played in a PGA Championship before.
8: The largest margin of victory in stroke play is eight shots, which happened in 2012 when McIlroy topped David Lynn.
7: There have been seven different winners in the past eight years. The only golfer to repeat as champion is McIlroy.
6: Spieth, who will enter the PGA Championship as one of the favorites, missed the cut at Valhalla last year after going 71-77 and finishing the two rounds at 6-over.
5: No golfer has ever won the PGA Championship more than five times. Walter Hagen did it that many times when it was match play, while Jack Nicklaus won five titles in stroke competition.
4: Four times in the past six years, the winner of the PGA Championship had not won a major before.
3: McIlroy trailed the leaders by three strokes as he entered the back nine during the fourth round last year. He made up that gap and beat Phil Mickelson by a shot.
2: Whistling Straits has hosted a PGA Championship twice before. Both of the previous Championships -- 2004 and 2010 -- were decided in a playoff and were won by Vijay Singh and Kaymer.
1: Only one golfer has won the PGA Championship in back-to-back years since the event moved to stroke play. Tiger accomplished the feat twice, winning in 1999 and 2000, and then again in 2006 and 2007.