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Five Things We Learned Friday At The PGA Championship
The hatchet man came a-calling on Friday evening in Tulsa. He set the cut at four over par, the equivalent of 144 strokes over two days at venerable Southern Hills. That meant that 70 golfers would remain for the weekend, each with a chance at hoisting the cherished (and heavy) Wannamaker trophy on Sunday evening. 77 golfers, including all 20 PGA professionals, would bid farewell to Perry Maxwell’s dust-bowl diamond, grateful for the time they spent in pursuit of the greatest reward the PGA of America has on offer. Santa Claus, aka the 1991 PGA Championship winner, will not be around for the weekend. Before we plunge into the hot-tub time machine of things we learned on Friday, let’s salute Long John Daly, one last time in Tulsa
John Daly kicks off his round with a birdie. ?#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/3hd0jSOUTz
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022
5. Bye-Bye For Now
We’ll miss massive shockers Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, and Scottie Scheffler. We’ll miss surprises Adam Scott, Sergio García, and Kevin Kisner. No offense to the others who missed the cut, but those are the names that we expected to make the weekend. Replacing them for the next two rounds are the likes of Rikuya Hoshino, Shaun Norris, Adam Schenk, Laurie Canter, Aaron Wise, and Seamus Power. Those later six are good, no doubt, but they don’t have the recognition of the first sextet. That’s how these things go, I guess. Hope that the stunned six return to form at Brookline, and that the stunning six parlay this made-major cut into a career bump. We’ll leave you with a bomb from Henrik Stenson, also a major champion and, regrettably, down the road this week.
Henrik Stenson drills the birdie putt from deep! ?@henrikstenson | #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/c3KT2Hv1rp
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022
4. You’re still here? Let’s GOOOOOOOOO!
It starts with Tiger. It continues with Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Reed, Joaquín Niemann, and a few fistfuls of others. There are so many good players around for Saturday and Sunday, and so many great opportunities at Southern Hills, that this PGA Championship might be the best major of 2022. If one of those Friday movers can also be a Saturday mover, he might find himself in Sunday’s final grouping. Being a mover on three consecutive days is asking a lot, but let’s pretend we are Prime and expect next-day delivery on our expectations.
Hear the roar. ?#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/98JXorp7Nb
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 20, 2022
3. Them’s Some Moves!
Speaking of moves, how about Bubba with 63 for 4th position? Or Brooks with 67, to move from gone to maybe? Jason Kokrak went from 74 to 68. Billy Horschel and Lucas Glover went from 75 to 69, to make the cut on the number. Big score drops are out there, and if they hang around for Saturday, this column will feature tomorrow’s Moving-Day mover. We’ll go out on a limb and pick the third-round king. His name is Kevin Na, and he’s going to drop a 64 and move inside the top five.
Bubba was in vintage form during Round 2. Tying the tournament record 63. ?#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/RHx6Ej18JR
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022
2. Guillermo Pereira becomes Mito to us all
From a Spanish teacher, here’s my probable source for the nickname Mito. Little Guillermo Pereira, way back in Chile, was known as Little Guillermo, or Guillermito. The first two syllables were dropped, the Mito stuck, and here we are. Snap me if I’m wrong. I like my odds. I like his odds.
Pereira has one-point-five bogeys per round through Friday night. His swing is powerful and tight. There’s nothing esoteric nor indefensible about his action. Pereira knows how to win, but does he know how to quiet la vocecita that speaks when the klieg lights snap on? Saturday will give us our first inkling.
Here’s the clincher. If Pereira can finish as low Chilean, outlasting Joaquín Niemann, he just might become the first man from the Thin Land to earn a major championship carve.
Mito Pereira is one off the lead after shooting an incredible 6-under, 64. Watch the highlights from his round.#PGAChamp | @ROLEX pic.twitter.com/bbNyRK97jA
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022
1. Will he?
He finished 2nd at the Masters in 2021. He tied for 6th at the US Open in 2020, and the Masters in 2022. Will Zalatoris has the game for majors. Does he have the game to win a major? He’ll have a fourth chance this weekend. The Zed from Texas and Wake Forest dropped one stroke from his opening 66, on the strength of five birdies and thirteen pars. He’s walking around Southern Hills with that familiar stride and face. It’s the one that says I belong and I can win this tournament. From round one to round two, the only holes that Zalatoris birdied both days, were 12 and 13. He has made birdie on half of the holes at Southern Hills through 36 holes. If that doesn’t spell confidence in all-caps, not much else will. Zalatoris and Pereira will face off in the final pairing on Saturday. Odds are that someone else will have the lead by that hour, and they’ll have to chase it down. We like his chances.
Solo ? leader. Will Zalatoris is hunting for his first major.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/cCN8vzhovf
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship
GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.
While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.
Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Michael Block – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Patrick Reed – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cam Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Josh Speight – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Takumi Kanaya – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kyle Mendoza – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Adrian Meronk – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jordan Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jeremy Wells – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jared Jones – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Somers – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Larkin Gross – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tracy Phillips – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jon Rahm – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Keita Nakajima – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kazuma Kobori – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- David Puig – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Ryan Van Velzen – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brad Marek – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rich Beem WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Phil Mickelson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Matt Dobyns – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jason Dufner – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Daly – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Taylor Gooch – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dean Burmester – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
Pullout Albums
- Ping putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Bettinardi covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cameron putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Max Homa – Titleist 2 wood – 2024 PGA Championship
- Scotty Cameron experimental putter shaft by UST – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – new Ping putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka’s new Cameron putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s Cobra bag and Aerojet driver – 2024 PGA Championship
- Super Stroke grip – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tiger Woods – 2024 PGA Championship
- Michael Block’s new TaylorMade “Proto” 7-iron, from address – 2024 PGA Championship
- Odyssey putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
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News
Morning 9: Is it Rory’s time? | Stricker WDs | Why Valhalla is a great major venue
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News
Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls
This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)
This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.
LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms
There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.
This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.
Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.
Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte
Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.
Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.
HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!
He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week
It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.
The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.
Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.
Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie
Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.
In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.
Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.
At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.
Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024
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