The PGA Championship, being played this week at Bellerive Country Club outside of St. Louis, is making its final run in August before moving to…
The PGA Championship, being played this week at Bellerive Country Club outside of St. Louis, is making its final run in August before moving to May next year when it will become the second major championship of the year instead of the familiar fourth.
Based on the unpredictable way in which this golf season has unfolded, picking a clear favorite to win this year’s final major is as easy as pulling off one of those Phil Mickelson flop shots from a hard-packed lie with a 64-degree wedge.
This season in golf has been one marked by a variety of storylines and distractions rather than any sort of distinct and consistent theme. The year has featured two first-time major championship winners — Patrick Reed at the Masters and Francesco Molinari at the British Open — and an unlikely, under-the-radar repeat winner of the U. S. Open in Brooks Koepka.
Add to that Tiger Woods’ comeback, which finally feels like a real comeback rather than one of the several aborted attempts he has made in recent years from back ailments and off-the-course issues, and what we have entering this week at Bellerive is the potential for a riveting PGA Championship.
Lost in that maze of intriguing storylines this week is the fact that Jordan Spieth will be the third player this year with a chance to complete the career Grand Slam. Rory McIlroy failed to close the deal at the Masters and Mickelson came up short at the U. S. Open.
Spieth has had a curious year. He finished third at the Masters and tied for ninth after holding a share of the lead after the third round in his British Open title defense last month. Yet his game has lacked consistency, particularly on the greens, where he has done some of his best work en route to winning three majors.
His last win came at the 2016 British Open and his ranking has slipped to No. 8. Still, Spieth comes to St. Louis with the chance to join the elite list of players who have won all four majors — Jack Nicklaus, Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player, who actually completed his career Slam at Bellerive in 1965.
Spieth insisted he’s not putting too much pressure on himself, but acknowledged: “When you have an opportunity to do that, certainly it weighs on you a little bit.
“All I can do is embrace the challenge.”
Then there’s what to make of Dustin Johnson, who remains ranked No. 1 in the world. Johnson missed the cut at the British Open and conceded afterward, “The only thing I could come up with was I really wasn’t focused on the shots and what I was trying to do.”
Almost forgotten entering this week is Justin Thomas, who happens to be the defending PGA champion, having won his first major last August at Quail Hollow. All the 25-year-old Thomas, ranked second in the world, has done is win seven tournaments since 2017.
Even more forgotten perhaps is Molinari, who stared down Woods on the back nine at Carnoustie last month and captured his first career major championship. Few players worldwide are having a better year than the understated Italian, who’s won three times.
