A MINOR MAJOR? NOT THIS SEASON
Tiger win has made Bethpage must see
WHOEVER came up with the idea to move this week’s US PGA Championship to an earlier slot in the golf calendar must be in for a hefty pay rise.
For scarcely has the ugly sister of golf ’s four Majors seemed more relevant and anticipated thanks to Tiger Woods’ fairytale return to winning ways.
From the moment the resurgent hero holed his winning putt at the US Masters last month, the next Major couldn’t come quick enough to see if he truly is back on the trail of Jack Nicklaus’ record.
Fortunately for the PGA of America that next Major is theirs thanks to the inspired decision to overhaul an annual schedule that was doing the event no favours.
Its previous slot tucked away in the middle of August had put the PGA last in the queue in every sense.
Crammed amid a packed tail-end dominated by the FedEx Cup tournaments, the Ryder Cup and notoriously the Olympics in 2016 it struggled to find breathing space.
Not quite teetering on obscurity but finding interest levels diminishing with every passing year. But not this time.
This week’s staging on one of the most demanding courses in the world – Bethpage Black on the outer fringes of New York – promises to be stuffed with more sub-plots than a Netflix mini-series.
Top of the bill is Woods. Not seen in competition since his return to Major glory at Augusta, will he be rested enough to claim back-to-back success at the course where he won the US Open in 2002?
Cautionary words from Sir Nick Faldo suggested not, as the challenge of thicker rough and cooler damp weather will pose a different physical challenge for a man who has endured four back surgeries.
But that doesn’t stop golf lovers, this column included, from entertaining wild notions Tiger might add the PGA and US Open at Pebble Beach – courses where he’s triumphed before – to arrive at The Open seeking to equal Nicklaus’ record haul of 18 Major titles. What a story that would be at Royal Portrush in July but realistic reasoning suggests the winner will come from one of three contenders.
Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy or defending champ Brooks Koepka. Why? Because their booming, laser-sighted long game will be a particularly effective weapon on a long, relentlessly demanding golf course so brutal it comes with its own health warning.
The infamous sign perched by the first tee says it all: “WARNING. The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly-skilled golfers.”
This week 156 of the most highly skilled roll up and even they are in for a shock.
When Woods won in 2002 he was the only player in the field to break par, his one under score three shots better off than Phil Mickelson.
All the big names are in good form for the toughest course they’ll play all season – the stage couldn’t be better set and US PGA organisers couldn’t be more relieved.