Morikawa enjoys PGA course edge
Golf ’s strangest season continues this week with the year’s first major, but don’t expect the tension and drama normally found at the PGA Championship. anybody’s in the field.
Morikawa admits he’s never seen Harding Park in the shape it will be this week, with greens running at top speed and rough at penalizing length. But he does understand how to manage his way around the course.
And with a victory at Muirfield Village in July, a playoff loss at Colonial in June and a world ranking of No. 12, there’s arguably been nobody hotter since the restart.
If it’s not Morikawa’s week, here are a few other players to consider — keeping in mind the PGA Championship regularly brings us champions as obscure as Shaun Micheel, Rich Beem and Y.E. Yang:
Brooks Koepka is looking to three-peat, having won in 2018 at Bellerive and 2019 at Bethpage Black. He’s played two months of mediocre golf until last week’s tie for second in Memphis. But big events bring out his best, with four of his seven PGA Tour wins coming in majors.
Rory Mcilroy, like Koepka, also hasn’t played particularly well since the restart. But there isn’t a more talented all-around player in golf. He has four majors to his credit and did win the 2015 match-play event at Harding Park.
Justin Thomas is this season’s only three-time winner. He won last week in Memphis and regained the No. 1 spot in the world rankings. But winning back-to-back weeks is a difficult proposition.
Phil Mickelson, 50, could become the oldest winner of a major, but victories are few and far between in recent years. Still, he tied for second last week and has won 14 times in California during his career.
Tiger Woods must always be considered, but it would be a miracle this week. He’s 44 with a body that rarely cooperates for four rounds these days. He only played three events since January. And if anybody will be missing the energy of the crowds, it’s Woods.
However it unfolds, it’s just nice to actually have a major championship to watch.
Chip shots
Kenny Ebalo cruised to his second Nevada State Mid-amateur title Sunday at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson. Ebalo shot rounds of 72-71-70 to finish at 3-under 213, good for a seven-stroke victory over Craig Erickson. Eric Hansen and Todd Roberts tied for third. Ebalo, who also won the title in 2014, plays out of Southern Highlands GC.
Jason Buckholz needed 20 holes to defeat Trevor Coss in the championship match at the Nevada State Net Amateur on Sunday at Rio Secco. Buckholz, who plays out of Wolf
Run GC, was the last player to qualify for the eight-player match play bracket after 36 holes of stroke play on Friday and Saturday.
Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang won the LPGA’S first tournament back from the Covid-19 break, taking the title at the Drive On Championship. The win vaulted her to No. 2 in the world rankings behind Jin Young Ko and gives her victories in four consecutive seasons.
Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com.