The year's first major comes with plenty of questions, and not only because it's the first one in 13 months and the first one without fans. We go through each and give some answers.
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If you’ve been watching other return sports of late, you know from the mistakes and other oddities that what the CBS golf team has pulled off in a time of pandemic has been nothing short of astounding.
This week they bring more extras, goodies and personnel to Harding Park for the first major, though they are still working with teams in different parts of the world to bring everyone the PGA Championship.
Ad sales have been brisk, according to CBS Sports head Sean McManus. So, with a new deal starting this year, it seems the PGA of America may have negotiated a package that may make for a cleaner broadcast than with the past (awful) contract.
Dave Shedloski reports for GolfDigest.com:
Regardless, ad sales for the network have been strong, and McManus was proud to point out that only a few units remain unsold, and, more importantly for viewers, 50 percent of the national inventory is of the “two-box” variety, also known as the “Eye On The Course” feature that keeps half the screen on the action.
There wasn’t much from Tiger’s press conference/Zoom Tuesday at Harding Park. He was sharp, all smiles and sounding confident in a quest to win major No. 16.
Bob Harig at ESPN.com covered the most pertinent details, including the lower back talk.
And with temperatures hovering in the 50s in the mornings and likely to not reach 70 for most of the week, the ability to get loose will be part of the struggle for Woods.
"I think that for me when it's cooler like this it's just make sure that my core stays warm, layering up properly," he said. "I know I won't have the same range of motion as I would back home in Florida, where it's 95 [degrees] every day. That's just the way it is.
"Talking to some of the guys yesterday, they were laughing at their TrackMan [a measuring device] numbers already. They don't have the swing speed or ball speed they did last week. It's just the way it is. It's going to be playing longer. It's heavy air weather and whether the wind blows or not, it's still going to be heavy. The ball doesn't fly very far here."
A shorter PGA Tour season because of the pandemic has led the PGA of America to modify its two major awards for tour players.
Bryson DeChambeau’s disruption of the pro game with his launch angle attack—a rekindling of early 2000’s Bomb and Gouge—meets its first real threat in the form of a major.
We got Bryson’s answer via a Golf Channel interview with Todd Lewis (I could not find it online but will post if it’s linked.)
Dylan Dethier summarized here on Twitter:
Interesting hearing Bryson break down TPC Harding Park:
-Says the course "suits a bomber"
-Says the setup is straightforward: "Not really too much to it"
-Says he'll be hitting driver as far as he can everywhere, because the rough is playable enough to still hit the green
Tony Finau, another top player with abnormal length off the tee and a desire to try more aggressive approach, said this in his Tuesday press conference at Harding Park.
Jordan Spieth said his "No. 1 goal in the game of golf right now" is to complete the career Grand Slam, which he can accomplish by winning the PGA Championship.
Despite his lack of tournament preparation of late, Tiger Woods made it clear that the majors like this week's PGA Championship have been his focus. "This is what I've been gearing up for," he said.
Brooks Koepka begins his quest for a third straight PGA Championship alongside two major champs.
Here are the featured groups and tee times for the first two rounds of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.
August 4, 2020
PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park: The Players
As this week’s PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park gets set to tee off, we thought we’d take a look at some of the facts and figures heading into the championship, courtesy of Elias Sports
Brooks Koepka is seeking a third consecutive PGA Championship title. The only player to win the Wanamaker Trophy three years in a row was Walter Hagen, who won four consecutive PGA Championship titles from 1924 to 1927 – back when the event followed a match-play format. Here are the other players to win a particular major tournament three times in a row: Young Tom Morris (Open Championship, 1868-1872, four straight, with no event held in 1871), Jaime Anderson (Open Championship, 1877-1879), Bob Ferguson (Open Championship, 1880-1882), Willie Anderson (U.S. Open, 1903-1905) and Peter Thomson (Open Championship, 1954-56). In addition, Ben Hogan won the US Open in 1948, 1950 and 1951, but did not compete in the 1949 event as he recovered from his automobile accident.Koepka has finished among the top 10 in each of the last five majors in which he has competed. It’s the longest such streak since Jason Day had five consecutive top-10 finishes in majors starts, bookended by the 2015 and 2016 US Opens. No player has had six or more consecutive top-10 major finishes since Vijay Singh had seven straight, from 2004 to 2006.Koepka has won four major championships, bookended by the 2017 U.S. Open and the 2019 PGA Championships – a span over which he competed in eight majors. Since WWII, only three other players won four majors over a span of eight attempts: Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, most recently from 2006-2008. A win at this week’s event would give him five major victories over a span of 11 attempts. Over the last 100 years, only five men have accomplished that feat: Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods, most recently from 2000-2003. Note that Jack Nicklaus is not on that list.The last official stroke-play PGA TOUR event held at TPC Harding Park was the 2005 WGC-American Express in 2005. That event was won by Tiger Woods, ultimately in a two-hole playoff over John Daly after both players finished 72 holes at 270 strokes (-10). Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie and Henrik Stenson finished two strokes back. Tiger started the final round two strokes back of third-round leader Daly, but charged to the top of the leaderboard after birdieing the 10th, 11th and 12th holes on Sunday. No other player birdied each of those three holes in the final round.Tiger Woods is the only player with more than one major victory played in the state of California (2000 and 2008 U.S. Opens, at Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines, respectively). Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club) and Graeme McDowell (2010 U.S Open at Pebble Beach) are the only players in the field this week who could join him on that list.Tiger, who won at least one major in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, could become the first golfer to win a major in each of four decades.Eight of the last 10 PGA Championships were won by players under 30 years old. That’s the highest such total among the four majors, ahead of the U.S. Open (six of last 10 winners were under 30), the Masters (four of last 10) and Open Championship (three of last 10).Justin Thomas will be playing his first major tournament as the OWGR #1. He did not compete in a major during the four weeks he was ranked first overall from May 13 to June 9, 2018. Over the last 10 years, here’s how other #1s fared in their first major championship played as the top-ranked golfer in the world: Martin Kaymer (2011 Masters, CUT), Luke Donald (2011 US Open, t-45th), Adam Scott (2014 US Open, t-9th), Rory McIlroy (2014 PGA Championship, Won), Jason Day (2016 Masters, t-10th), Dustin Johnson (2017 US Open, CUT), Justin Rose (2019 Masters, CUT), Brooks Koepka (2019 US Open, 2nd). Note that following recent former #1s never started a major with that distinction: Lee Westwood, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm. Most Top-10 finishes at major tournaments without a victory, among those players who are currently under 50 years old: Lee Westwood (19 Top 10s, 47 years old), Matt Kuchar (12, 42 years old), Rickie Fowler (11, 31 years old), Brandt Snedeker (9, 39 years old) and Paul Casey (9, 43 years old).
Not to spoil the plot, but I’m not actually suggesting that anyone should take their pitching wedge out of the bag. I click-baited you. Don’t expect an apology. A dubious ploy, perhaps, but I’m hoping I can persuade you to think differently about a spot in your bag for which you may never have realized that you have options.
Have you ever considered ditching your set-matching pitching wedge for a specialty alternative?
What Is a Specialty Wedge?
Before we get too deep into this, let’s define specialty wedge. I’m not suggesting it’s time to take the Square Strike plunge. For our purposes, a specialty wedge is any legitimate wedge that isn’t sold as part of an iron set. Legitimate is subjective but what I’m talking about are familiar names like SM8, T20, Mack Daddy, MG2, RTX, etc.. You get the gist.
Almost all of you carry at least one specialty wedge. For many of you, both your sand and lob wedges are specialty wedges.
There are plenty of choices, given the variety of players who have looked strong since golf came back from the coronavirus-forced shutdown. So our experts had a lot of options.
He has won the last two PGA Championships. And even when his game wasn't its best, he was never worried. And just like that, his game reappeared in time for the big stage.
The 54-year-old, who won the event in 1991, is one of several well-known players to announce that they will not take part in the tournament.
I filed this top 20 heading into the PGA yesterday, though after seeing Tiger late Monday and sleeping on it, he may need to move up into the top 5. Oh well, he’s played once since February.
Please check out the list I filed for The Athletic making my case for various players. There are a few names mentioned who may not getting enough attention. And remember, it’s currently 40% off to subscribe, so the cost alone will help make you some money in states where gambling is legal!
Besides my list, you can run it up against Daniel Rapoport’s field ranking at GolfDigest.com.
Rob Bolton’s always-reliable PGATour.com Power Ranking included many of the same names and thoughts in my piece. Whew!
ESPN.com’s team also makes their picks here.
With Justin Thomas winning and returning to world No. 1 at the WGC FedEx St Jude, their gelling as a team on short notice, adds one more intriguing pre-PGA Championship story (Rex Hoggard on that for GolfChannel.com.)
I enjoyed Michael Bamberger’s thoughts, prompted by the win, on player-caddie relationships, how we overrate them and underrate them at the same time.
Some years later, Angelo summarized his work with Nicklaus thusly: “He asked me to do two things. When he’s not playing well, one, remind him that he’s the best golfer out there. And two, that there’s plenty of holes left.”
In his own way, that’s pretty much what Joe LaCava does for Tiger. It’s always interesting, watching two people interacting with some meaningful thing on the line. Caddie-player. Husband-wife. Doctor-patient. Pitcher-catcher. This is a big week for Bones and JT.
Despite the bizarre times, some pretty nice efforts have been made to enhance your connection to this true muni and its lore.
Do not miss Bill Nierkerken’s San Francisco Chronicle slideshow of various tournament and historic moments at Harding Park over the years.
PGATour.com’s Sean Martin files a really super and comprehensive look at Harding Park with a nice range of history and design change information.
I’m getting mixed predictions on one topic he touches upon: balls staying up in the flattop Cypress. It happened in the match play here, and while it used to be more prevalent before the trees received more care, still something to keep an eye on given the launch angle approach.
Harding Park’s curving fairways require players to choose how aggressive they want to be and to shape their tee shots. Players have to be careful to avoid the cypress trees, which are known to swallow golf balls, though.
“I've seen enough (balls) get stuck to where I'm going to try my hardest to avoid cutting off doglegs too much,” Jordan Spieth said before the 2015 Match Play.
Maybe we need This Is Major back? Or, the playoffs just mean that much.
Because Ryan Moore just played in the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California and is passing up the PGA Championship in San Francisco, reports GolfDigest.com’s Joel Beall.
Some Ricky Bobby in this one…
Moore's camp told Golf Digest's Brian Wacker that Moore didn't want to play both the Barracuda and PGA, and listed as ninth alternate for the PGA at the beginning of last week, decided to play in the Barracuda. When he ultimately got into the Harding Park field, Moore decided to pass, sticking to his original plan. Instead he is opting for rest in hopes for a FedEx Cup posteason run.
Oh, and of course, left unsaid, a late Wyndham Rewards run too. Majors, schmajors!
Not that I’m saying he’s come to some events unprepared, but there was definitely an urgency to the Monday proceedings at Harding Park. Getting comfortable on the green was the primary focus, particualrly given that his swing, ball-striking and body all appear ready to go.
—Short game consultant Matt Killen went nine holes with him and they discussed his putting at times.
—He played one of his approach shots as if a real putt, but with Joe LaCava giving his read first, then consulting the green reading charts, before putting.
—Woods practiced putting one-handed a few times
—Flexibility appeared excellent despite the cool conditions. No 80% swings as we’ve seen in run-ups or early week of majors.
August 3, 2020
PGA Championship: Architects Talk TPC Harding Park
In a recent article in the UK’s Golf Today, writer M. James Ward caught up with some Northern California golf architects Gary Roger Baird and Poppy Hills Golf Course co-designer Bruce Charlton to talk about TPC Harding Park, host of this week’s PGA Championship.
The following is part of the article’s Q & A session:
How significant is having public courses host the PGA Championship in back-to-back years with Bethpage Black in 2019 and this year at Harding Park and with The Ocean Course at Kiawah to follow in 2021?
Gary Roger Baird: I feel it brings all golfers closer to the game they play. It is tremendous for promoting golf and is significant for a means to increase visibility, which can result in a positive income for ongoing maintenance and golf course demands.
Cary Bickler: Very significant. It’s the right time in the history of prestigious golf tournaments for venues to be held on public courses 3 years in a row. These back-to-back PGA Championships on public golf courses creates another level of interest for a wider audience. Knowing these courses are accessible and open to the public brings an exciting and welcoming option for golf enthusiasts.
