Johnson the one to beat, again
World number one should have McIlroy and Spieth as his main rivals at the PGA Championship
THE United States PGA Championship, the fourth and final Major of the season, at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri this week holds promise of yet another fascinating and absorbing tournament.
Dustin Johnson, the world number one who won his 19th PGA Tour title when he captured the RBC Canadian Open for his third victory of the season, will start as the favourite.
For all his potential and dominance on Tour over the past two/three years, Johnson has only one Major to his credit – the 2016 US Open.
And despite him missing the cut at the British Open three weeks ago, where he began as joint favourite, the tall, swashbuckling American looks to be the man to beat at Bellerive.
The manner in which he strode to the comfortable three-stroke win in Canada reinforces the notion that he is primed to secure a second Major and go some way to closing out the season with the sort of form that makes him almost unbeatable.
Indeed, when Johnson is in full flight, as he was at the Canadian Open where he led from start to finish and in the first two rounds at the US Open in June when he led by four strokes at the halfway stage, only to fade away over the weekend because of a cold putter, he is difficult to put down and an absolute pleasure to watch.
That Johnson has only one Major is something that created much debate and with good reason. But one gets the feeling that he might change all that next Sunday.
In the very least, he should be among the contenders even if he doesn’t nail down a 20th PGA Tour title at the PGA Championship.
Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are likely to be Johnson’s key rivals for the huge Wannamaker Trophy.
Both were in with a decent chance of clinching the Open’s Claret Jug at Carnoustie last month, but both came up short on the last day.
Notwithstanding this, McIlroy’s joint second place finish was heartening in that it gave him renewed confidence. It was something he lacked, borne mainly from his putting. But he clearly showed that he can again battle it out in the last round as he continues his pursuit for a fifth major crown and a first one since the 2014 PGA Championship. He also won this tournament in 2012.
The Northern Irishman should also be among the front runners at Bellerive and his performance will no doubt be watched closely by many.
The same could be said of Spieth, who turned 25 last week. The young American, who many an expert believes has a long and distinguished career ahead of him, has had untold issues with his putting – the area of his game that propelled him to the top of the game as he won the Masters and US Open in 2015 and finished tied for fourth at the Open and runnerup at the PGA Championship in the same season.
He also won the Open last year and will be as keen as anybody to win again this week. But again, it is his putting that could determine whether he pulls it off or not.
This aside, Spieth is one of those players that people like to watch whether or not he wins. He comes across as a well-mannered player who enjoys his game and has a great passion for the sport itself.
He missed the cut at the US Open but was third at the Masters and was tied for ninth at the Open at Carnoustie. The Texan though will not have it easy in St Louis even if he does come with his A game.
Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and defending champion Justin Thomas are also in the field and are expected to throw their lots in and make their presence felt.
More than anyone else, Woods’ showing at the Open vividly illustrated that he can contend on Sundays. He shot an opening round four-under 66 at the WGCBridgestone Invitational on Thursday, further proving that he will have some good form when making the trip to Missouri.
The fact that he himself has said he has what it takes to win again on the PGA Tour is a strong indicator that the 14-time Major champion should be among the favourites this week
Now 42 and without a Major triumph since the 2008 US Open, Woods will be driven by a desire to capture another big one and that alone might just be enough to see him back in the winner’s circle.
Of the big-name players, Fowler is the only one who has yet to win a Major. He has claimed the Players Championship before but has narrowly missed out on a Major several time now. Perhaps this is his year when he breaks with a victory on the biggest stage and what would it mean to him to win?
One of the most popular players on Tour with a huge global following, a victory for Fowler would be seen as a massive boost for golf across several continents.
He certainly has the game for the big occasion and his top-five finishes in all four Majors in 2014 showed that rather clearly.
His runner-up finish at the Masters was overshadowed by Patrick Reed’s amazing finish that won him the Green Jacket.
World number 12 Reed will be making a claim of his own this week, trying to do a rare double in the Majors. He knows how to win, having snared six PGA Tour titles and a good run at Bellerive cannot be written off just yet.
Thomas has not quite matched his remarkable season of 2017 which was highlighted by his PGA Championship victory and capped with the PGA Tour Player of the Year award.
But if he too gets going this week, he could yet claim a second crown in the season’s fourth Major championship.
And if the first three of the year are anything to go by, we should be in for an exciting Major