Weekly Read: The Crawl to the PGA Championship Finally Picking Up Steam
The run-up to the PGA Championship and the second major of 2022 has seemingly crawled to this point, although it promises to move a bit faster this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship, where one of the event’s strongest fields has assembled.
This is, perhaps, inevitable – more so since the PGA Championship moved from August to this slot in May, leading to a very condensed and intense schedule over the next three months.
Of course, the Masters has something to do with this, too.
The year’s first major is always met with considerable hype, in part due to the long time from the last major of the prior year. We are seemingly counting down to the arrival of the tournament at Augusta National from the beginning of the year.
Afterward, there is understandably a Masters hangover.
Rory McIlroy, for example, didn’t play again until the Wells Fargo Championship, where he finished fifth, four strokes back of winner Max Homa. The 20-time PGA Tour winner admitted he was a bit rusty in his first round back.
He wasn’t concerned. He wasn’t looking at the tournament as a tune-up for a major, even though the week prior to the Masters, McIlroy played in San Antonio for exactly that reason.
The PGA Championship begins May 19 at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I've always found it very difficult to think about anything but the tournament that you're playing in and the week that you're at because that's all — I mean, for me, that's all I can do,’’ McIlroy said. “All I'm in control of is what I'm doing right now. I've never seen Southern Hills before, so I don't really know what to expect there. So this is its own week and its own tournament and I'm just focused on that.’’
McIlroy this week will have the opportunity to get focused on Southern Hills as he is not playing the Byron Nelson. But Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is, as are several others from the top 15 in the world including Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson.
But then, Collin Morikawa will head to the PGA next week not having played since the team event in New Orleans. Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Smith and Viktor Hovland are skipping the start in Dallas after not playing this past week, either.
Why less hype leading into the PGA?
Some of it has to do with the fallout from the schedule change which in 2019 saw the Players Championship moved from May back to its original date in March. When the PGA moved from August to May, it allowed the PGA Tour to end its FedEx Cup season nearly a month early.
That means the end of the season is much closer, with a lot of big golf to be played. Starting with the PGA Championship, a top player might then play the Memorial, U.S. Open, Scottish Open (a co-sponsored event with the DP World Tour), the British Open and the three FedEx Cup playoff events. That’s eight tournaments in 15 weeks.
But it also doesn’t include the possibility of many who play the Travelers Championship the week following the U.S. Open or those who might want an event between The Open and the first playoff event at the FedEx St. Jude. That number then increases to nine events in 15 weeks, including three majors and three playoff events.
So that means this has been a period of rest.
And that’s not to suggest the tournaments have not produced plenty. Spieth won for the first time in more than a year at the RBC Heritage; Cantlay and Xander Schauffele were credited with PGA Tour victories for their team triumph at the Zurich Classic. Rahm won for the first time since the U.S. Open at the Mexico Open. And Homa won for the third time in 30 events at the Wells Fargo.
Still, McIlroy was the only top-10 player to compete at TPC Potomac, and Rahm was the only top-15 player in Mexico.
It’s been a bit quiet in that regard, but things are about to get much noisier.
Keegan’s putting
It is no secret that Keegan Bradley has not been the same player since the anchored putting stroke was banned on Jan. 1, 2016. The 2011 PGA Championship winner twice played on U.S. Ryder Cup teams prior to that time, and just one of his four victories has come since – and that was in 2018.
Bradley, now 35, had a two-shot lead heading into the final round over Max Homa, but two double bogeys cost him a chance as he finished two strokes back, in a tie for second. But putting was not the issue. His strokes-gained putting stats were at the top of the field all week, and when that happens, Bradley is going to give himself more chances.
Late last year, Bradley began working with putting guru Phil Kenyon, and he said the results are showing.
“He’s helped me so much,’’ Bradley said. “Really all we focused on is reading the greens and I've been doing a little AimPoint and, jeez, my stats have really improved. I'm happy with where that is. It's the best it's been since I've had the belly putter and it's not even close. So I feel like I can be even better than I was with that now with what I'm doing here.’’
Bradley was disappointed he was unable to get it done Sunday. An early double bogey meant a tough day, and he twice rallied to get close, unable to pull it off. A final-hole bogey dropped him into a three-way tie for second.
Still, the consolation is the result moved Bradley to 44th in the world, and should mean he will qualify for the U.S. Open, which takes the top 60 in the world in two weeks along with the week prior to the tournament.
Wolff’s Struggles
Before a 65 in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship, Matthew Wolff’s lone score in the 60s on the PGA Tour in 2022 came in January at the American Express Championship, where he missed the cut.
Since that time, Wolff shot in the 80s three times, including at the Players Championship and the Masters, where he missed the cut at both.
The former Oklahoma State star who won the 3M Championship within months of turning pro in 2019, remains open about the difficulty he’s had dealing with success and living up to expectations. He took considerable time off last year prior to the U.S. Open, started to show progress in the fall, then regressed again earlier this year.
Wolff took a break after the Masters and again tried to work on his attitude and accepting the difficulties that come with golf.
“I've kind of learned that you can't really make everyone happy,’’ said Wolff, who said being compared to Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa – players whom he turned pro with at the same time – made his plight more difficult.
“If you have a good attitude, most people don't even care how you play, they just kind of like to see that you're having a good time, and especially the people most important to me. That's kind of all I've been working on.’’
Wolff said he feared that his bad attitude might even wear on his playing partners, something he wanted to address.
“If I let it affect myself, that's one thing, but if I let it affect someone else, then that's unacceptable,’’ he said. “It's definitely just been learning experiences and growing and maturing a little bit.
“Like I said, I can't do anything about it now, but I'm just trying to be better for everyone and my peers. Those are the people I respect. I want to be able for them to look at me and not, you know, not want to play with me or something like that. I'm just trying to be better for them and for myself as well.’’
Wolff, 23, said after the first round that only a few days prior, he played a practice round at home and “lost every ball in my bag.’’ And yet, he opened the tournament with a 65, managed to endure some difficult weather conditions, but shot a final-round 73 to finish 25th. It’s his best result since a tie for sixth at the Saudi International in February.
Fore! Things
1. Winning is tough. Keegan Bradley has now finished runner-up at all four tournaments in which he has led or co-led through 54 holes. He shot a final-round 72 Sunday to finish in a tie for second, two back of winner Max Homa.
2. The third round of the Wells Fargo Championship was one of the toughest on the PGA Tour in recent years. The scoring average of 73.662 meant it played 3.662 strokes over par, the highest since the final round of the 2020 U.S. Open, which was 4.902 (and where Bryson DeChambeau won by six strokes). It was the highest for a non-major round since the final round of the 2020 Memorial, where it was 3.959 over par.
3. Justin Leonard is playing in the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship, his first start on the PGA Tour since the 2017 Valero Texas Open. The 1997 British Open champion, who has been doing television work for Golf Channel, is gearing up for the PGA Tour Champions; he turns 50 in June.
4. The R&A announced recently that it expects a record number of spectators at the Old Course for the 150th playing of the British Open, a celebration long in the making. The attendance estimate will exceed the previous best by some 60,000 for the week. The hope here is that a lot of that number is in attendance for practice rounds as The Old Course, for all that is great about it, is among the worst viewing experiences for spectators.
LIV Golf: How will we see it?
Martin Kaymer became the latest player to emerge as seeking a release to play in the first LIV Invitational Series event outside of London next month. The Telegraph reported that the two-time major winner from Germany has sought such permission from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, joining the likes of Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson and Robert Garrigus as the names that have so far emerged.
LIV officials have said they’ve had more than 100 players either enter or suggest they want to play the June 9-11 event at the Centurion Golf Club, where a 48-player field will compete over 54 holes for a $25 million purse – with $20 million paid out to the individuals and $4 million to the winner.
Still to be announced is how those not on site will view it. Sports Business Journal reported that NEP Group was close to signing a deal with LIV Golf to handle TV production for its eight events. What is interesting about that development is the company already has a similar role with the PGA Tour.
But that doesn’t mean the events will be carried in the United States on linear TV. The possibility exists that at least the first tournament will be available only via streaming – which could simply mean via the LIV Golf website.
About those releases ...
It is expected that the PGA Tour will grant them to players seeking to play the first event in England. That is expected to come some time this week, as it will be 30 days out from the start of the event. After that, it will get interesting as the Tour’s policy has been to not grant releases for domestic events. And the next tournament, scheduled for July 1-3, is at Pumpkin Ridge outside of Portland. It will be interesting to see if any full-time Tour members defy a “no’’ and play anyway – and what happens after that.
Meanwhile, it is inevitable that – despite all the negativity surrounding the LIV Golf endeavor – that several players, many who are known, some of who have won majors, will test the waters.
Webb Simpson, who is firmly on the side of the PGA Tour, said he understands the allure but also understands why fallout could ensue. He pointed out that the week of the first event is the RBC Canadian Open – which will be played for the first time in three years due to the pandemic. And RBC, which also has the title at the Hilton Head event, is an important sponsor for the Tour.
“I’ve been with them I think four years now,’’ Simpson said. They’ve been very, very loyal to the PGA Tour. They’ve given us a lot of opportunity between RBC Heritage and RBC Canadian Open. So I think I’m a little biased because I love their relationship both with me and the PGA Tour.
“So I do think if guys with PGA Tour cards go play in London when there’s an opportunity to play for whatever it is, $8 million ($8.7 million), I don’t think that’s a great look for someone who maybe has played their entire career on the PGA Tour. But it’s going to happen. This has all been in theory for a bunch of years. We’re a few weeks away from guys going to do it, and we’ll see how it all shakes out.’’
And yet, here’s the hard reality of the situation and the reason LIV Golf has interest. The winner of the Canadian Open will receive $1.368 million, while the winner of the LIV event gets $4 million.
Perhaps more startling: if you finish 48th at the Canadian Open, the payout is approximately $20,000 and you have to make the 36-hole cut and beat a bunch of guys on the weekend to get it. Finishing 48th at the LIV event, which has no cut, is worth $120,000 – for beating no one.
PGA Championship Countdown
There are 10 days until the first round of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where typically one of the best fields of the year assembles.
Aside from the 20 PGA of America club professionals who qualified via the PGA Professional Championship, the tournament essentially takes all of the top 100 players in the world. It does not explicitly say so in its qualification criteria, but it often fills out its field by inviting those among the top 100 who have yet to qualify.
The tournament’s main qualification is the top 70 players from a running money list that began a week prior to last year’s PGA and concluded after the Wells Fargo Championship. Past major champions for five years as well as PGA champions for life are also invited.
The PGA of America on April 25 released the field to date with 125 players qualified, which is expected to be updated on Monday with those who qualified off the top 70 points list. Among those listed in the field are past champions Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Woods had made a scouting trip to Southern Hills, where he won the 2007 PGA for his 13th major championship. Mickelson has not competed since the final round of the Saudi International on Feb. 6 and skipped the Masters.
And a reminder on the U.S. Open
In addition to local qualifying taking place at numerous locations – which will lead to final qualifying later this month and into June – two key qualification dates via the OWGR are looming.
The top 60 in the world as of May 23 and June 13 will be exempt for the U.S. Open. The latter date is the weekend of the tournament at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Social Matters
> That was some finish for Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, who went eagle-birdie (as he did Saturday) to capture the British Masters, his first win in four years.
> Joe LaCava caddied for Fred Couples for the better part of two decades on the PGA; his son, Joseph, had the honors over the weekend at the PGA Tour Champions event.
> A week after his victory at the Mexico Open, Jon Rahm spent some time going at high speeds.
> The Premier Golf League made news last week, strongly urging PGA Tour players to seek more information about its plan to come under the umbrella of the organization while offering considerable guaranteed money.
> No commentary necessary.
Next Up
The AT&T Byron Nelson has produced one of its strongest fields in recent years and the best in the post-Masters run of events with four of the top 10 players in the world and seven of the top 15 who will play at TPC Craig Ranch in the week prior to the PGA Championship.
Masters champion and No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler heads the field and will be joined by Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Joaquin Niemann and Brooks Koepka.
This is the first individual start for Scheffler since the Masters; he played at the Zurich Classic three weeks ago with partner Ryan Palmer.
This will be the second playing of the event at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, following a two-year run at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas. (There was no tournament played in 2020 due to the pandemic.)
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