The opening round of the PGA Championship had play suspended due to some unfavorable weather conditions. Lightning and rain kept the players off the course for over an hour late in the day for the first round. Twenty-four players had to complete their first round on Friday and the second round began as planned. This is the 90th PGA Championship and is being held at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
Thursday
Jay Haas shot a 73 in his opening round, making an eagle on the second hole, a par 5. Haas is present in the tournament by way of his win in the Senior PGA Championship in May. PGA head pro from Brooklake Country Club (Florham Park, NJ) Frank Esposito Jr. shot a 71 to be one over par and the leader among club professionals. He earned the right to be in the running from being one of the top sports in the 2008 PGA Professional National Championship back in June.
The course has proven challenging with 69 bogeys on the par-4 18th hole. The stroke average of the hole is at 4.612. The PGA of America also moved the tees up thirty yards at the par-3 ninth hole. This 227-yard hole still proved to be one of the toughest when play was called due to darkness. Even so, there were a total of 8 eagles in the opening round with six of them at the par-5 second hole. The other two were recorded at that par-5 12th hole.
Friday
With a 36-hole cut at eight-over-par 148, 73 players advanced to weekend play. The highest 36-hole cut record is 14-over at 154 that occurred back in 1958. Paul Azinger has the distinction of becoming the first standing U.S. Ryder Cup Captain to make the cut at the Championship since Tom Kite in 1997. Azinger came in with 72-76-148. He selects the final four Team players on September 2nd. Reigning British Open Champion Padraig Harrington is only six strokes from the lead at the midpoint of the 90th PGA Championship.
Frank Esposito Jr., PGA head professional at Brooklake Country Club in Florham, N.J., was near the finish line and needing a bogey on the 18th hole to become the only PGA Club Professional of 20 in the field to make the cut of 8-over-par 148. Unfortunately he did not make it. Esposito struggled to a double bogey 6 on the final hole and finished with a 78 and a 36-hole total of 149.
Some Championship trivia and tidbits:
The last player to win the Masters and PGA Championship in the same year was Jack Nicklaus. No doubt Trevor Immelman would like to duplicate this. On a side note, Immelman recently professed that he did not believe golf should be an Olympic sport at an interview earlier this week. (Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk believe otherwise.)
Three players have won the British open and PGA Championship in the same year: Walter Hagen, Nick Price, and Tiger Woods. Woods is the only player to accomplish this feat twice (in 2000 and 2006). Padraig Harrington will be trying to join this group.
Oakland Hills is the 4th course to host this Championship at least 3 times. Southern Hills has hosted the most with four. Other than Oakland Hills, Oakmont Country Club and Firestone Country Club have hosted the event 3 times.
The field has 26 players that have won a combined 35 major championships in the field this week.
