THREE TO KEEP AN EYE ON

1. Rickie Fowler

2014 PGA: 3rd Best PGA finish: 3rd in 2014

Reason to watch: Fowler finished top five in all four majors last year, but has not really been in contention this year. But he did win The Players in a threeway playoff and also claimed the Scottish Open, so he believes he still can win. One of golf's most recognized young players, he has yet to truly fulfill his promise, but at 26 he has time on his side and the kind of game that can win on any type of course. Will this be his week to get his name on the list of youthful major champions who are taking over golf?

2. David Lingmerth

2014 PGA finish: Did not play. Best PGA finish: Failed to make the cut in 2013

Reason to watch: Is this guy real or a mirage? Until he beat Justin Rose on the third extra hole to win the Memorial, Lingmerth was just another guy on Tour. But since that win, he's finished in the top 6 three times in his last five outings, including third at Quicken Loans National and T6 at both the Bridgestone and the Greenbrier. He did not qualify for either the Masters or U.S. Open and finished T74 at the British Open at St. Andrews, so logic says he shouldn't be a factor. But he's been hot lately. If the hot hand holds, the tiny Swede could be in it on Sunday.

3. Dan Venezio

2014 PGA finish: This is his first PGA Championship Best PGA finish: None.

Reason to watch: You always root for the local guy. Venezio is the assistant pro at Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton and finished T16 in this year's Club Professional National Championship. A year ago he finished T3 in the NEPGA Assistants Championship, and he once played 121 holes in the 2011 Ouimet Golf Marathon to raise college scholarship funds for Ouimet Award recipients. Obviously he's a long shot, but sometimes long shots come in. And even if they don't, it's fun to cheer them on.