Tour News
Last chance for major glory
By Pete Pappas
GolfWRX Staff Writer
The PGA Championship is thought to be the least prestigious of the four majors on Tour. But it has something The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship all do not have – combined.
One last chance.
When the iconic Wanamaker Trophy is raised triumphantly at the conclusion of the 94th PGA Championship by one of the 150-plus competitors, the strongest field of the season – the 2012 majors will all be in the books. And that heightens the pressure with each consecutive day, with each consecutive hole — until everyone just runs out of holes to play.
Last call for drinks … bar closing down … gettin’ the shakes now. Uh-oh. One last chance for major glory at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
One last chance for redemption.
For Phil Mickelson, who cost himself the Masters and chance at history with a disastrous final day triple-bogey on the 4th hole at Augusta National earlier this year (highlighted by ill-advised decision making, sloppy execution, and two shots played right-handed with his iron upside-down).
“Phil being Phil” isn’t fun when it costs you a major. “Lefty” has a chance to redeem himself for the one he left behind on hallowed grounds.
One last chance to get the monkey off your back.
For Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the World Golf Rankings much of last year and back atop this year, who missed three cuts in the last nine majors. Donald knows there’s one glaring hole in his resume – winless on the sport’s biggest stages. That “elephant in his trophy room” belligerently grows bigger, more disruptive, and more hostile with each major he doesn’t win. Donald can make the barbaric bulldozing beast disappear – in the blink of an eye – with just one victory, this week.
One last chance to erase recent painful memories.
For Jim Furyk, who surrendered his 54-hole U.S. Open lead in June, and tumbled from poised to poisoned in “a San Francisco minute” with two bogeys over the final three holes at Olympic to complete his agonizing collapse. Furyk barely had time to stand before he suffered the backhand of cruel fate again at WGC-Bridgestone last week when his five foot playoff-forcing putt at No. 18 slid right, handing victory to Keegan Bradley.
“I’ve known it’s a cruel game for a long time,” Furyk said, suppressing his devastation afterwards.
But a Furyk victory this week at Kiawah Island would (hand over fist) take the image of a battered and broken man – who appeared to contemplate thrusting himself upon his “Fang” putter after that impaling double-bogey on the 18th green and release it gently into intemperate Atlantic winds.
Also, for Adam Scott, who let a four-shot lead in the Open Championship with four holes to play vanish faster than innocence. Scott drew infamous comparisons to fellow Australian Greg Norman and his own ill-famed 1996 Masters demise for Scott’s final round performance at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
Scott lipped out his three-foot par putt on No. 16, lost his approach shot in the wind (after a perfect drive) on No. 17, and then on No. 18 managed to find the single worst place to hit the ball on that hole – into foreboding 18-inch rough. With his ball, and alongside his dreams of becoming a Claret Jug champion – Scott was rudely buried right there.
But no more parallels to “The Shark.” Scott’s injuries and torments will heal in an instant, his confidence emerge unscathed. If only Scott can manage this week to pull victory from the “jaws” of defeat – rather than defeat from the “jaws” of victory.
And of course one last chance to inch tantalizingly closer to this sport’s ultimate prize.
For Tiger Woods, who by his own admission knows breaking Jack Nicklaus’ pinnacle record for most major victories is a career endeavor. Woods needs to haul one major victory every two years to overtake Nicklaus by the same age the 46-year old Jack was when he won that legendary, final, 18th major.
Woods is the odds on favorite to win his fifth PGA Championship this week at Kiawah. And he’s the only player on Tour to notch three victories this season, probably good enough for “Player of the Year” (and certainly “Comeback Player of the Year”) honors when all is said and done.
But no matter how cool and collected the “Talented Mr. Woods” appears while talking about Jack’s record, he knows the window is closing on breaking it. And Woods’ name again on the Wanamaker Trophy would go a long ways toward making the likelihood of him becoming the most proficient golfer in history more much realistic.
The field this week is a virtual “Who’s Who” of golf royalty, and includes the Top-10 players in each of the FedEx Cup standings, the Tour Money List, and the Official World Golf Rankings. Teeing it up for this final major will be 28 winners on Tour this season, and 32 major winners.
Defending champion Keegan Bradley, as well as Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, to name just a few, are all in South Carolina looking to put their names on the Wanamaker Trophy as well. And it would be foolish to look past any of them.
“It’s just catching the right guy at the right week and things can happen,” 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson said of winning majors.
This year’s British Open champion, Ernie Els, added, “A lot more players have chances to win major championships.”
And 2011 U.S. Open Champion Rory McIlory said that it’s basically the whole field now that has a chance to win on Tour.
The PGA Championship offers one last chance to make the season a successful one, on the strength of just this victory alone. However that also means one last chance to fall flat, to meltdown, to throw one away – again. For those players who’ve been on the 54-hole lead merry-go-round of misery this season, that means at best, the sky will stop falling for only one of them.
And for any one of the world’s greatest players in the field this week – at least some will be mocked by the growling winds of Kiawah Island, boisterously vanquished one by one – as they all journey through the bowels of this Pete Dye leviathan – looking for the season’s last chance for major glory.
Click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum.
You can follow Pete on Twitter @TheGreekGrind and GolfWRX @GolfWRX
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- LIKE4
- LEGIT3
- WOW1
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
- LIKE10
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL2
- IDHT0
- FLOP1
- OB0
- SHANK0
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
- LIKE16
- LEGIT3
- WOW6
- LOL2
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
-
19th Hole3 days ago
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
-
19th Hole3 days ago
‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Neal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Brandel Chamblee has ‘no doubt’ who started the McIlroy/LIV rumor and why
TheGreekGrind
Aug 9, 2012 at 4:37 am
Troy you’re right. There have been 16 different winners the past 16 majors, and 13 of them were first time winners. Bill Haas is an interesting pick.
Despite Phil Mickelson’s struggles of late, he plays Pete Dye courses as well as anyone. And look out for Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar, who do as well
I think we’re going to see a European winner.
Troy Vayanos
Aug 9, 2012 at 4:22 am
Very tough to pick up winner in the final major of the season. So many players have a good shot at victory. I’m thinking another 1st time winner of a major as such has been the trend in recent years.
I’ll go for Dustin Johnson, Jason Dufner, Bill Haas or Adam Scott.