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Chasing Glory In Wisconsin – The 92nd PGA Championship

Published

16 years ago

Aug 10, 2010

There are beasts to tame every week on the PGA Tour. Some come from within while a few times a year, most likely in a major championship; the golf courses themselves rear up in stern defense.

This week, in Wisconsin of all places, demons of all kinds will be on display for the PGA Championship is upon us, and in a setting that is equally tranquil, beguiling, and treacherous at the same time one man will be left standing with the Wannamaker trophy come Sunday. He might be feted less a victor, and more of a survivor. It is certainly not a place where you can “find your game”, you best be prepared when you arrive to give it your all.

When Pete Dye unveiled Whistling Straits (Straights Course) in 1998 he knew that another beast had been borne from his mind. Built along two miles of Lake Michigan Shoreline, just down the road from Kohler, Wisconsin, the end result was a dramatic, tumbling flurry of golf holes unlike what had ever been seen in America to that time.

Proof of its greatness came in the form of its selection to host the 2004 PGA Championship just a couple years into its infancy. It has been a staple of many Top 100 Golf Course lists since. In 2015 it will serve as the host for the PGA Championship again and will once more be on the world’s stage in 2020 when the Ryder Cup comes its way.

Working with Herbert V. Kohler, Jr., chairman and president of Kohler Co. (owner of Whistling Straits), Dye came up with a 7500 yard beauty with touches of Irish Seaside Links running throughout. Straits has fescue fairways and massive sand dune bunkers. The course layout weaves fourteen holes in nearly uninterrupted sequence along two miles of lakefront. Eight holes hug the shoreline where the Straits Course plays from just above beach level, then rises nearly 80-feet to bluffs and elevated berms that provide panoramic views of the watery horizon.

Dye, who knows a thing or two about dramatic coastline courses, having built the Ocean Course at Kiawah, South Carolina, and Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, loved what he saw in the site for The Straights. “This is as dramatic a site as anything I’ve ever encountered,” Dye said. “I’ve never seen anything that resembles this.”

In the 2004 PGA Championship Vijay Singh prevailed in a three hole playoff with Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco. The winning score of 8 under par was much lower than what was expected but then again, Mother Nature cooperated quite nicely that week. As we have already seen this year from previous “waterside” majors at Pebble Beach and St. Andrews, the blending of land and water can lead to unexpected results. The winners of those majors, Graeme McDowell and Louis Ousthuizen have to be taken into account this week as those with a chance to win.

Singh and Leonard are in the field this week but only Leonard is showing any type of decent game of late. If you look a little further down the list from that 86^th PGA a few other names are of certain interest as possible contenders this week. Ernie Els tied for 4^th in 2004 and with his return to form in 2010 he has to be considered among the top picks.

Great ball strikers seem to do well at The Straights course so keep an eye on guys like Stephen Ames, Wisconsin’s own Steve Stricker, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, and even Zach Johnson. This could be the place where they ascend to Major Champion status or in Johnson’s case, build his career grand slam portfolio.

The monstrous par fives will likely yield little advantage to the big bangers but a guy like Bubba Watson could be a step up with his length when facing the punishing par fours at the 92^nd PGA Championship while the par three holes might just be the breaking point for every player in the field.

Starting fairly easily with hole #3, “O’Man” the one shotters progress in drama and toughness leading to hole #17, “Pinched Nerve,” that is sure to cause a few in its time.

Players will need to tread wisely as this will be no course that gives up a 59. 65 was the low round shot in the 2004 and if the winds whips up this week along Lake Michigan that may be a hard score to achieve.

If the wind stays down this week this championship will be all about pretty vistas and a slew of players with a chance to win. If the hearty breezes arrive and the course reveals its plentiful teeth then it could be a whole lot of fun – for the spectators, not the players.

This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

18 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

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Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

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News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase