PGA Tour: PGA Championship - Where were You on 9/11? - Notes from the Ballwasher

1).I know where I was, but the leading golfers of the day were at Bellerive Country Club, outside St.Louis, preparing for the WGC-Amex Championship. A dozen or so of the pros who were there that day are back for more, Mickelson and Woods for two, and young pups like Poulter and Adam Scott for two more.
The Tour rightly cancelled the event, but it is somewhat surprising that it took the Tour seven years to return, for Camilo Villegas's BMW Championship win, and (technically anyway) haven't been back to Bellerive since, with this year's PGA Championship's course selection being under the purview of the PGA of America.

2).Bellerive is a Robert Trent Jones, Par-70, design, re-done by Rees Jones and plays to a length of about 7,300 yards. Although the forecast is for fine weather, at least for the first couple of rounds, the course is wet and greens are likely to be on the slower side. With conventional wisdom otherwise suggesting "fairways and greens" practitioners would be favoured, perhaps conditions will now balance that with balls not running out and high-ball, long hitters now having some advantage. Either way, hit the fairways.  

3).Gary Player completed his major Grand Slam here at the 1965 US Open and Nick Price was the 1994 PGA winner, but very few of this week's field have competed here with a motley crew on the 2008 BMW leaderboard.
Camilo won, from Dudley Hart, with Jim Furyk and Anthony Kim tied for 3rd. Other "notables" who are playing Thursday:
13th: Brian Gay
17th: Phil
20th: Sergio
22nd: Streelman (who has replaced Thomas Bjorn)
28th: Bubba
33rd: Holmes & Reavie
50th: Scott
55th: Sneedeker

4).Don't suppose many golf-watchers were sorry to see the back of Firestone CC last Sunday, but difficult to see how they can spice up "TPC Southwind" in Memphis to make next year's equivalent WGC-FedEx any more attractive. It's a demanding, ball-strikers' course but scenic or telegenic it's not.

5).It wasn't just the course that was boring last week, the tournament was too. Rory, Poulter and Fleetwood fell away, and Jason Day got into contention only to disappear quickly.
So, well done Justin Thomas. Apparently he's been using a fractionally shorter driver and it appears to have done the trick, from the moment he poked his nose in front he never looked likely to be beaten. Tough to think he won't be in contention again this week, Dustin too.

6).Not happy that those three Europeans stumbled on Sunday, is that becoming too much of a habit? Fleetwood especially seems to be in the form of his life but not winning on the biggest stages.
Not yet? Or not ever??
Westwood & Montgomerie had spells where they played as well as anyone, but always found someone to beat them. Perhaps this week for Tommy?

7).And: What of Woods? Lots in the press about his body tiring (stiffening?) as the season wears on. It seems his swing speed is down quite a bit from earlier in the season, and his driver certainly went awol on him last weekend. Is he wearing down and, if so, what value will (seems will rather than would) he be in the Ryder Cup? Of course, he could give the FedEx Play-Offs a miss and give his body a breather, but can't see him sitting out more than one of those; probably wishes there were just three Play-Off tournaments, as there will be next year.
Imagine he's already a burden for Furyk.
(Like Garcia might be for Bjorn?)

8).Davis Love plays his 100th Major Championship this week. The top ten appearances were all by players now well into their sixties or beyond:
Nicklaus (164), Player, Watson, Palmer, Floyd, Snead, Crenshaw, Sarazen, O'Meara, Kite (109). Followed by a few who may have more to play:
106: Langer
104: Mickelson
102: Els
Faldo notched his century and seems to have called it a day, but doesn't sound as if Love is done yet.
Imagine Vijay & Furyk are next on the list, possibly followed by Woods - Sergio just about to go ahead of Westwood as he contests his 81st.

9).Shane Lowry fizzled just when it looked like he might challenge for last week's "Barracuda Championshp", and Seamus Power missed a great opportunity to secure his card for next season. Lowry's in the PGA field but Power has earned this week off. Just Greensboro left as a safety net for them.

10).Who do you fancy this week? And, especially, who do you see to beat Thomas & Johnson?? Loads of ifs for me, especially where Europeans are concerned:
If Rose is fit, you'd think he'd be in the shake-up.
If Tommy Fleet can put four rounds together.
If Noren & Stenson can find their fairways and greens game.
If Rory can fit his driver into the fairway. (Tip, Otherwise use your 3-wood, you still hit it far enough.)
If Olesen can continue his summer form.
And ditto: If Molinari can recapture his summer form.
You could make a case for all of them to make the top ten, but I can't see past the Dustin and Justin show.
Can't even see a dark horse, not to win anyway, though could easily see Zach Johnson being good each way value @ about 80's.

RIP Jarrod Lyle.

Brandel Chamblee on Jarrod's GoFundMePage wrote:Your smile brightened up this world, your story broke our hearts. I am thinking of you and your family.

Nick Price won at Bellerive in 1992 (not 1994 where he won in another Swamp A$$ venue, Southern Hills in Tulsa)

Bellerive is a yawner on a golf course, typical RTJ Sr. Played it a couple times about 15-20 yrs ago. Think it will be mostly bombers come Sunday afternoon.

Very sorry to read the Jarrod Lyle news. I see BDeC came up trumps on that subject today
And a note about Robert Allenby's support and mutual inspiration with Jarrod, just in case all anyone can remember is his later somewhat more intemperate issues.

But thanks for the Bellerive correction, GPB. Anything else?
Most RTJ courses are boring, though one of my absolute faves is one of his efforts.

Will it be all bombers? That's not necessarily the history, but we'll see soon enough.

So, so sad about Jarrod Lyle.

A nice touch from BDeC after winning the long drive contest.

Tragic news about Jarrod Lyle!

Sad to hear about Lyle.

Re. Bellerive. Here's what I picked up over the last few days.

-Slowish soft greens, even irons from the rough hardly roll on the greens. Will yield many birdies.
-Soft fws - Normally it should benfit bombers? But also shorter straight hitters could be in play as long irons will be easier to control onto the green. (Zach?)
-Some say that you have to be good T2G on Bellerive. Not so sure this week as drives won't roll off the fairways easily. This again speaks for the bombers.
-Many dogleg lefts - normally it would benefit those playing with a natural draw (Rory) or the lefties (Bubba, Phil)? But again, with the soft conditions it has to be seen.

There's been some talk about Rory and as I see conditions should favour him. I don't know what his wedge probelm is, whether it's spin control or length control. If it's the former the Bellerive greens should suit him. But as you never know which Rory will show up, it's hard to look past the other bombers , DJ, Brooks, Day, Rahmbo and of course Thomas. Finau could be a dark horse, so could Rose due to his questionable fitness. Tommy will of course also be around.
And from an European perspective the slower greens must be an advantage. So wouldn't be surprised to see players like Noren and Olesen in the mix as well.
Otherwise I have no idea..

I'm thinking of changing my name to that of Dustin Johnson or Justin Thomas, signing up for the PGA Tour and see what drops through my letterbox. CLICK HERE for the reason.

I'm never wrong wrote:I'm thinking of changing my name to that of Dustin Johnson or Justin Thomas, signing up for the PGA Tour and see what drops through my letterbox. CLICK HERE for the reason.

Apparantly some other guy also got his hairdresser appointment.

Reports say the PGA Championship web-site has been hacked. Says Stewart Cink is in the lead. Be careful!

Facebook coverage on Eleven Sports also affected. Rory just hit fairway and green in regulation.

Good round from Rickie Three Rounds.

I wonder if he can hold it together.

Usual story for Rory...might as well copy and paste round descriptions for him....booming drive...average approach...2 putt. Rinse and repeat

Cracking start from Mr 'has to win a major' Fowler. Day and Poulter also putting together under the radar and rounds and JT expelling any fears of burn out after last week's win. Rescue mission should be complete by Tiger barring any last hole collapses.

Stenson has had a miserable day with just about every club in the bag and Finaus hot major season looks to have come to an end....was a very leggy performance from him today.

Can anyone put Fowlers lead under pressure tonight? What will the clubhouse lead be come close of play? Think -5 will do it.....6 under maybe but can't see it myself.

Louis Oosthuizen a late withdrawal!

Niemann justifying his invite.

Steph Curry shoots a 71 (+1) on the Webbie Tour.

Watched a bit of the PGA last night. I have to agree with GPB that the course looks a bit boring. Still it's a step up from Firestone though.

Many of the bombers are doing well but also shorther T2G players like Zach and Francesco are in it.

Quite enjoyed the bits I watched last night, though having difficulty in finding a device that fast-forwards every time Verne Lundquist is about to (mis)speak.

With lots of low scores being posted late in the day I expected to see the afternoon wave had an overall scoring advantage, but apparently the morning guys' scores overall were slightly lower.


Great comeback from Molinari.
Not sure about the European Ryder Cup wannabes so far.
Thumbs up for Poulter I suppose, and down for Casey, Stenson & Fitz. Hopefully one or two will make a definitive statement these next three rounds.
And happy to see Rose looking reasonably fit.

Early Round 2 scoring better overall than Round 1; Matt Wallace and Molinari among those off to a strong start, Hatton & Knox also going well.
Interested to know what you guys who see much more of Wallace what you think of him. Is he the real thing? Certainly on a relentlessly upward trajectory.

Rahm left his ball for a back-stop for Rose on #15.

GPB wrote:Rahm left his ball for a back-stop for Rose on #15.

They've spent too much time on the PGA Tour . . . . . .


Meanwhile, Casey (lousy form at a lousy time for Paul) & Noren will be hurrying to the airport. Imagine Sergio will stick around but he's right on the cut-line, Kuchar too - two blokes who badly needed to have a respectable tournament.

Great to see Pieters starting to put it together again....a few good signs recently....hopefully he puts the four rounds together!

Chances of a 61 this week must be quite high!

FWIW, Sergio booked a flight to Greensboro today.

kwinigolfer wrote:

GPB wrote:Rahm left his ball for a back-stop for Rose on #15.

They've spent too much time on the PGA Tour . . . . . .

Of course it is

To be fair, Rahm was on his way to mark when he noticed Rose was ready to play so he left it.  Anyway it wasn't like Rose used it to be aggressive, he left it about 15 feet short of the hole.

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:To be fair, Rahm was on his way to mark when he noticed Rose was ready to play so he left it.  Anyway it wasn't like Rose used it to be aggressive, he left it about 15 feet short of the hole.

I think we could formulate similar excuses every time it is done. Its not a PGATour thing. Its just as prevalent on the EuroTour and Asian Tour and the Sunshine Tour.

If you don't think it happens in Europe, you just are not paying attention.

GPB wrote:If you don't think it happens in Europe, you just are not paying attention.

I was going by what was said on the commentary for that specific incident. And it’s not that I don’t pay attention; I don’t watch pro golf. I only watch the majors.

The Pros would do themselves a big favour by getting it banned on the PGA Tour - other Tours would doubtless follow the lead of the BIG tour and the cheating would stop. Or be redirected.

Thomas Bjorn must feel Pieters is pulling his plonker, been terrible all season but finally seems to have found something. For two rounds or four?

Waited until the end of the footie and now look at what's happening . . . . . . . typical.

self deleted, because I accidentally deleted most of the post

GPB wrote:
If you don't think it happens in Europe, you just are not paying attention.

Nobody is paying attention to the Euro Tour...

Talking about the European Tour:
Past Champs Garcia & Stenson are confirmed in next week's Greensboro field, plus Rafa, Fitz, Harrington, Jaeger, Laird, Lowry, McDowell, Power, etc.

Plenty at stake for most of them.

What an underwhelming final major, maybe the lack of mainstream coverage in the uk meaning I've not seen anything.

I don't get the backstopping furore, fuss over nothing. But then I didn't get the fuss of different putters.

Regarding the lack of mainstream coverage in the UK, who is at fault?

Is the PGAofA asking exorbitant prices? Or is it Sky Sports?

You’d feel for any Brit who won it, about 20 people would be watching. Pathetic.

GPB wrote:Regarding the lack of mainstream coverage in the UK, who is at fault?

Is the PGAofA asking exorbitant prices?  Or is it Sky Sports?

Don't know how much the PGAofA wanted for it, but Sky deemed it too much.
EDIT: Just done a bit more searching. Cannot confirm this but an article in the Daily Telegraph states that the contract to distribute the rights to the PGA Championship is in the hands of IMG (until 2021) and that Eleven sports paid a 7 figure sum, for a one year deal.

PGAofA.....

By all accounts the package on offer from SKY was more than suitable and financial security was offered in the sense of it being a guaranteed offer over a 3 to 4 year period...the length was dependant upon a few things of which main one being an uptick in viewing figures..

PGA declined on the basis that they wanted to ...

Ultimately, one of the key things for us is scale of distribution and obviously with all the new platforms that consumers are engaging with, we want to make sure we reach all of them.

“Broad distribution, multi-platform distribution is the key objective for us,” Price added. “I’m not in a position yet to share all the details, but we want the ability to engage golf fans of all ages across all platforms. We want the broadest distribution we can possibly have and are very excited about the plan we have in place.”

Turns out they have failed miserably. In a time where the golfing bodies of America are consistently being lambasted they continue show just how inept they truly are.

The PGA Championship has always been the black sheep of the majors...this year has basically seen it been put out to pasture.

Also....i know more people stream things in this day and age...but are sports providers aware that they usually do so illegally to ensure they don't pay the scandalous amounts charged for monthly subscriptions and PvP events....

TV is still where the majority go to watch sports on a Saturday and sunday afternoon...this idea that the majority of people are gathered around their mobiles to watch 8 hours of golf is ridiculous.

They'd've squinted to see Tony Finau in the house with ten birdies.

Shane Lowry having the best round of Team GB&I . . . . . hope he finishes it off in style, or at least with a par.

WOW! 64 from Lowry - level with Pieters as leading European after 36 holes. what price those two as a daily double?

Stenson joining Sergio on the bus to Greensboro - no-one seems to be making Bjorn's job any easier.

Spot on regarding the coverage Owen. The PGAoA have basically tried to be too clever by half, thinking they know a market better than those who actually operate in that market. They’ve either had their heads turned by some salesmen for the streaming services, or read a book on the subject and decided they’re now experts.

There’s big debates about whether the future of sports coverage is online, and whether Netflix and YouTube will kill off traditional TV. The more urgent issue that the PGAoA forgot is that their product is not nearly big enough in the UK to be a successful guinea pig. First, no one is that fussed about the PGA, it’s very much 4th of 4 amongst majors for UK fans. Second, their potential audience already has lots of alternative golf, i.e. buy sky and watch all the other majors. A niche sport (in the UK) with little or no TV coverage would suit the format better, NASCAR for example would be ideal for a streaming channel. It doesn’t have many fans over here but nearly all of them would search out an online stream. Golf has lots more fans, but they have plenty of content already.

BDeC will need a Furyk pick if he's to play the Ryder Cup as he joins Kuchar and Kyle Stanley (and Stenson, Garcia, Casey, Fitz) on their way outathere.

I reckon Kuchar needs a win in the Play-Offs to make the trip to Paris.

With a Woodland-Kisner exacta, they would both pass Simpson in the US RC Rankings.

Woodland goes up to #5 and Kisner to #9, knocking Simpson, BDC, Mickelson, Xander, Kuch down two spots apiece.

The only way Woodland makes the team on merit is by winning (same for Perez, Cantlay).

=============

Updated projected Spots #8, #9, #10 in the World Pts Rankings for Team Europe are

#8 Poulter 168.62 (12 way T25)
#9 Olesen 168.39 (12 way T37
#10 Casey 167.05 (Trunk slamming)

Garcia doesn't deserve a pick, but he will get one sadly.....If I had known all it would take for him to lose interest was to win a major, I'd have happily seen it a few years ago lol!

In Round 2, nobody made a bogey (or worse) on hole #3.

It happened at the Masters this year too, Hole #14 in Round 3.

I bit the bullet and signed up on ELEVEN SPORTS, not as slick as sky I have to say, by a long shot.

11 players made the cut in all 4 majors, here is their scores with 14 of 16 rounds completed.

981 … Rickie Fowler
983 … Justin Rose
986 … Tony Finau
986 … Tommy Fleetwood
989 … Francesco Molinari
990 … Webb Simpson
996 … Zach Johnson
996 … Xander Schauffele
1003 … Marc Leishman
1004 … Tyrrell Hatton
1014 … Rafael Cabrera Bello

Haven't seen Dominik Holyer in donkeys years!

Super pitch from Tiger, nice start on moving day...

I also bit the bullet and got 11sports but I have my TV linked up to my PC. Picture quality is good but not as good as TV HD.

Broadcast quality, hmmm poor at best. CBS commentators are fine but their own people, the disembodied voice behind the scorecard and the two kids on the ground scream straight out of media school.

And less interviews with teenage girls about Rickie Fowler’s haircut would be great thanks.

Woodland seems to be feeling the pressure; missing fairways and greens.  Whilst group member, and chaser, Koepka is now the leader.

Totally agree wire, let's be honest Sky is miles better...

Koepka definitely showing his experience Grumps.

Very scorable day today, good scoring, I'm enjoying this