RORY CAN DRIVE FOR FIVE AT THE USPGA
Elite may now be hoovering up the majors between them but pressure’s on for Rory at USPGA Championship
THE naked, lifeless body was found in a shallow pool of icy water; trussed hand and foot by rope, with disfiguring bruising to his throat. The final moments for the hard-working New Jersey farmer must have been terrifying. Lured from his bed on the night of February 22, 1831, he refused to reveal to his assailants the whereabouts of his fortune, and paid a horrible price.
To this day, the murder of Baltus Roll remains unsolved, although one of the suspects took his own life soon after.
And it is on this rolling land, between the towns of Springfield and Summit, where Roll oversaw a small holding, where the world’s finest golfers, including 38 Europeans, will converge for the 98th USPGA Championship.
Some of them may know the story of Baltus Roll, some may not, but all will be aware of the special place which Baltusrol, the golf course, holds in history.
It has staged seven US Opens, two of which were won by Jack Nicklaus, four US Amateur Championships, and also the US Women’s Open (twice) and US Women’s Amateur (twice).
It is a blue-blood bastion of the America Country Club set, a private 36-hole enclave where members can invite guests to play for chicken feed of $150 a round.
It is also tailor-made to stage the USPGA Championships, traditionally a preserve of Eastern states – the last West side story was in 1999, while the next is in 2020.
As the last man standing when Baltusrol hosted its most recent USPGA, in 2005, there was always going to be a Phil Mickelson angle to the final major of the year; even more so after events in Troon last weekend.
Mickelson will never play as well again and not win as he did when running into Henrik Stenson at the Open. Second place in a major has become a familiar position to the American, who has 11 runner-up finishes on his CV, including one in each of the last four years – 2013 US Open, 2014 USPGA, 2015 Masters and now 2016 Open.
Can he recharge his batteries in time for a tilt at glory’s last shot, as the USPGA is known?
It will be difficult as leafy treelined Baltusrol presents a contrasting challenge to the windswept links of Ayrshire.
For starters, it measures 300 yards longer, plays to a strict par 70 and boasts seven par fours in excess of 450 yards.
Curiously, there are just two par fives, the 17th and 18th, and there is nothing to compare to the Postage Stamp as Balturol’s shortest par three measures a stout 196 yards.
In 2005, the course put a premium on length as bursts of heavy rain softened the fairways.
MICKELSON was on the 14th hole on Sunday evening, leading by one, when play was suspended and returned the following morning to complete his round in style, with a title clinching flop shot for birdie four at the last, to edge out Thomas Bjorn and Steve Elkington.
Tiger Woods, who tied fourth on two under par, was leader in the clubhouse on Sunday and flew home to Florida after his round, which drew criticism.
Woods won’t be hanging about at all this week as he revealed on Tuesday his season is over. It will be the first time in his career Woods has missed a year’s four majors.
At 40, six years younger than Mickelson and the same age as Stenson, Woods should have time on his side to add to his 14 majors, but his record since his last major win in 2008 suggests his time at the top has come and gone.
Since that US Open play-off success against Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines, Woods has missed 10 majors out of 34 played. Of the immediate 34 before, he had won 12.
Woods’ absence is immense as his major record is second only to Nicklaus, and he would have given everything to follow the Golden Bear’s trail as a major winner at Baltusrol.
Who will win this week? More likely a top golfer than not.
Of the last eight majors, the current leading five players in the world rankings have hoovered up six of them – Jason Day (one), Jordan Spieth (two), Dustin Johnson (one), Rory McIlroy (one) and Stenson (one).
With reigning Masters champion Danny Willett ninth and 2015 Open winner Zach Johnson 20th, it suggests there is less likelihood of a left-field long shot muscling in on a major.
Indeed, so good are the world’s elite these days that one-off fluke USPGA champions such as Shaun Micheel (2003) and Rich Beem (2002) are becoming unheard of.
Of the Fab Four, McIlroy’s case is a strong one. Driving remains his forte as he is almost as long as Day and Johnson off the tee, but is more accurate.
He is also the finest executer of mid to long iron approaches, of which there will be plenty at Baltusrol.
With McIlroy, it all comes down to the putting. Following him for nine holes at Troon last Sunday, he missed three times from inside six feet, including once from a yard. He might easily have turned in 29 shots, instead of 32. His top-five finish was stronger than any of the Fab Four, even if it came without the pressure of being in contention. Not that it would matter to McIlroy as he plays at his best when under the gun. At Valhalla two years ago, he stared down Mickelson and Stenson to complete a wire-to-wire victory, his second in the USPGA. He hasn’t won a major since but should he prove a hit among the Jersey boys this week, he would draw level with Mickelson and Seve Ballesteros on five majors. He could then put his feet up and follow the diving at the Olympics, and other sports that he feels matters at the Games. Either way, it’s time for McIlroy to get on a roll.