GOLF SHOWS IT’S WORTHY OF MAJOR APPLAUSE
PGA Championship marks biggest moment in return to play
Celebrations at major championships are usually saved for Sundays, but you’ll be excused if you want to pop the cork early this week.
Eight tournaments into golf’s restart — and three weeks after the final major of the year was supposed to be played over in England — 2020’s first major, the PGA Championship, finally has arrived. After the season was shut down one round into the Players Championship in March, it was anyone’s guess when, or if, this week would arrive. There have been bumps along the way (the latest being South African Branden Grace having to withdraw from last week’s opposite-field Barracuda Championship while tied for second place after testing positive for COVID -19), but on a whole golf has done an admirable job with its travelling hub, especially compared to (cough, cough) baseball.
Last week’s WGC Fedex St. Jude Invitational started a frenzied eight-week stretch of tournaments that, barring another stoppage, will include the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, a WGC, and three PGA Tour playoff events. After all that, we still have the pumpkin-spiced Masters to look forward to in November.
“It’s really exciting that we’re going to be able to compete in three majors,” Phil Mickelson said. “It’s exciting that I’m starting to play well as we head into them and exciting that golf has been able to do this in a safe environment. I really think the Tour’s done a great job of having us come back, get golf on TV that I think people are enjoying watching.”
Mickelson, 50, finished tied for second behind Justin Thomas on Sunday in Memphis.
With no fans in attendance this week at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, and players using a cavernous merchandise tent as their social-distancing locker-room, it will be anything but a normal PGA Championship. But a PGA Championship it will be, and this Sunday somebody will be lifting the 27-pound Wanamaker Trophy.
Tiger Woods has played just once during the tour’s restart and skipped last week’s WGC, but the 15-time major champ arrived to Harding Park early and was spotted out on the course practising on the weekend. This will be the first major championship the public course in San Fran has hosted, but golf fans likely remember it as the site of the club twirl to end all club twirls. During the Presidents Cup in 2009, playing Saturday foursomes versus our man Mike Weir and Tim Clark, Woods hit a perfect 3-iron approach shot at the par-5 18th to win, capping it off with quick twirl before raising his arms like a Jedi Master using the force to ensure a soft bounce onto the green.
He went 5-0 that week and there has since been a stop-action Lego video made recreating the twirl.
Thomas, last week’s winner, comes to the championship after knocking off Jon Rahm to reclaim the world No. 1 ranking. Two-time defending PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka is looking for a three-peat and, coming off a tie for second.
Then there’s Rory Mcilroy who will be trying to shake off his slow restart. And there’s Bryson Dechambeau, who’s bringing his new body, swing, and mood to a major for the first time.
Somebody get me a glass. Here’s to the season’s first major.
It’s really exciting that we’re going to be able to compete in three majors.