Tomorrow marks the 101st PGA championship , which will be played in Farmingdale, New York.
Golf is a funny game, an individual sport designed to test your mental toughness as well as physical capabilities. The modern day golfers are hitting further than ever, with technology so advanced, ways to combat it are being thought of. However, some venues bring down technology and place the skill back to equal measures.
The Black Course – Bethpage
Bethpage state park is situated about an hour East of Manhattan, on Long Island, and is home to 5 (18 hole) golf courses, named in order of difficulty – yellow, green, blue, red and black. The PGA Championship is traditionally played in August, but has been brought forward this year to be the second Major after the Masters. The meteorologist among you will know the temperatures are cooler in May, which will see less familiar course conditions to add another dimension to the way it plays. As can be seen in the above image, this course is considered “Extremely Difficult” and is for golfers of an ability a couple of light-years away from mine. Although some day I might have the ability to hit the fairways. Unlike most professional tournaments, this years PGA Championship will take place on a public golf course.
Measuring at 7426 yards, The Black course is an absolute slog! The par 71 has three Par 3’s over 200 yards, one par 5 which clocks over 600 yards added to by numerous long par 4’s. Its a far cry away from your local pitch and putt, that is for sure.
The black course has previously hosted the US Open twice and two FedEx cup playoff tournaments.
Who could win it?
156 players will take to the tee for the first round with most just hoping to make the cut on Saturday. There will be the usual big names in and around the top, and as always, big names will fail to make the weekend. The field will consist of former PGA champions including Jason Day, Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson. The last 5 Masters champions including Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, and Danny Willett. Last 5 US Open and Open Champions as well as the last 3 Players Champions which includes; Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari and Henrik Stenson. A star studded field of big name golfers, as well as some you’ve never heard of! One of which one will take home the winners prize of $1.98million.
Players of note
- Tiger Woods – Looked nearly back to his best at The Masters, can he follow it up the second Major of the year?
- Rory McIlroy – The Northern Irishman has enjoyed previous success at the PGA and was in decent form at the Masters. This combined with a good display at the Wells Fargo Championship last week puts him in contention.
- Justin Rose – Ranked second in the world at the moment, his solid masters performance tailed off towards the later stages on the Sunday. Last week he was again sniffing around the top 5.
- Brooks Koepka – Defending champion who was tied 2nd at the first major of the year. He’s in good form with a 4th place finish at last weeks Byron Nelson.
- Rickie Fowler – The one everyone wants to see with a major. Even the rest of his fellow pros wouldn’t envy this guy taking top spot on Sunday. Having finished 2nd twice in 3 of the 4 majors, and 3rd in the other one, it can’t be long before he breaks this streak.
An outside slice
- Xander Schauffele – A name for the Scrabble enthusiast but this guy can hit a golf ball. Tied 2nd at the Masters and been ranked in the top 10 in the world all year.
- Tony Finau – World number 15 has finished in the top 10 in the last 5 majors. Always seems to start strong on Thursday and Friday. Has to be worth a watch!
- Tommy Fleetwood – Tommy is yet to win a major but playing solid golf with a top 10 at the British Masters. Can he find his Ryder Cup form again?
- Patrick Cantlay – He has finished in the top 10 in three of his last four tournaments. Cantlay finished Tied 9th at the Masters, Tied 3rd for the RBC Heritage and Tied 6th at the World Golf Championship Mexico. He has made the cut in nine of 11 tournaments.
- Jon Rahm – The Spaniard has only finished outside the top 10 twice this year, a well worthy bet if bookies are paying out top 10!*
*Please note. I take no responsibility for losing bets, but will take all the credit for any winners.
Enjoy the 4 days of Golf, hopefully some of my predictions turn up!
Cheers!
Post Match Pints 