2010 PGA Championship Preview

On Thursday the season’s final major will tee off, giving the world’s best players one last chance for glory. Here are some prominent stories in the golfing world as the week begins at Whistling Straits:

• Tiger Woods just finished the worst four round performance of his career this past weekend, with a tied for 78th finish at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (out of 80 players). The event didn’t have a cut, which gave Woods the chance to shoot four rounds over par in the tournament. At times on the weekend, he virtually gave up on some of the holes by taking no time between shots. What is even more ludicrous than his sheer performance this week, is how much he dominated this event in his prior visits. During his first 10 appearances at Firestone, his record was 7-3, with his worst finish being fourth. A 7-3 record at a golf tournament is ridiculous, given that he isn’t playing one-on-one with another player, instead he was beating the top 50 players in the world over that period.
• Believe it or not, there is still some good news for Tiger:

1. He is still the No. 1 player in the world.
2. He will start this week at even par.
3. Phil shot a 78 on Sunday. (Tiger shot a 77.)
4. He has performed his best at the majors this year, with two top five finishes and no missed cuts.
5. He has reached the absolute rock bottom. It can’t possibly get worse for him unless he shoots 80-80 or worse and misses the cut. So things should move in a positive direction for Tiger.

• Would you pick Tiger for the Ryder Cup team if he doesn’t make it by the point standings? At the moment Tiger is in 10th place in the U.S. Ryder Cup Rankings with this week being the last tournament before the team is set. The top eight make it automatically on the team but Corey Pavin will get two captain’s picks. If Tiger doesn’t earn a spot by points, I wouldn’t take him. Here’s why:

1. He obviously isn’t at the top of his game, or anywhere in the same atmosphere.
2. At the most recent Ryder Cup, in 2008, Tiger was out due to injury and the Americans won in decisive fashion. It may not have been because of him but in the previous three Ryder Cups, U.S.A. has lost, including two Euro beat downs.
3. He is more of an individual player than a team-oriented player.
4. His Ryder Cup record is 10-13-2. That doesn’t need any explaining.
5. He needs some time off from the game following the FedEx Cup (even though he might not make it past the first playoff event). Tiger must get his personal life back in order and spend some time away from it all, so we can all go back to seeing the Tiger that we are used to.

• On the topic of the Ryder Cup, here are some of my thoughts, from the U.S. point of view:

1. The Europeans have definitely had a successful year on the PGA Tour circuit. Five of the top 10 players in the world are from Europe, which is scary.
2. Hunter Mahan clinched a spot on the team with his impressive win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. I love this young gun’s game and he had a successful showing two years ago at Valhalla.
3. Phil is No. 1 in the rankings and he has had an up-and-down experience as a Ryder Cupper. He is playing very well this year, but having Tiger on the team could prove to be a distraction, like when they were paired together in 2004.
4. Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker (as well as Phil) will provide some of the veteran leadership on the team, which is always needed to succeed. But the rookies are also needed to complete the team. If the standings were to stand through next week, Jeff Overton and Matt Kuchar would make the team (and also Lucas Glover). You never know what to expect from these guys, and while Overton has had some high finishes this year, his hot head could get to him in the heat of competition.
5. The Euros have the homefield advantage this year at the new Celtic Manor Resort. It’s always a taller task to try to win on the opponent’s soil, especially when they will be angry about losing the previous Ryder Cup. I’m not sure how many Americans have seen the course but my guess is very few. More bad news: Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland won there earlier this year with a 62, and his nerves are in check with a U.S. Open win at Pebble Beach.
6. Captain’s picks (given that the standings stay the same): Dustin Johnson is currently ninth in the standings and I love that his length could be a huge factor for the U.S. (similar to J.B. Holmes in ’08) but I don’t know how much the debacle at Pebble Beach will affect his mental game under Ryder Cup pressure. Ricky Barnes is another name I like. He has played well in major championships these past couple years and could prove to be trouble for the Euros. He is in 11th at the moment. Three more names that pop out at me are Sean O’Hair (15th), Rickie Fowler (17th) and Bubba Watson (18th). O’Hair has some great talent that could be vital for the Americans. Also Fowler is a young gun with no fear that would be a tough competitor. As for Watson, he absolutely bombs the ball and had a decent performance at Firestone. But whoever Corey Pavin chooses, here’s my advice: listen to Paul Azinger.

• Phil Mickelson had yet another chance to become the No. 1 player in the world slip away from him on the weekend, ballooning to a 78 on Sunday. He says that it isn’t a big deal to him but he is playing so good this year, that 78s aren’t normal. I think the reporters asking him about it at every tournament is getting to his head about how close he is to taking over Tiger’s spot. Despite this, I expect a solid performance from Lefty this week at Whistling Straits.
• Lee Westwood withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Friday with an ankle injury and dropped out of this week’s PGA Championship. Arguably the best player without a major, Westwood had runner-up finishes at the Masters and British Open. I don’t know if he will heal in time for the Ryder Cup but he’ll have to wait until 2011 for another crack at a major.
• Anthony Kim made his return after a three-month absence from thumb surgery at Firestone last week. He had a disappointing tied for 76th finish but still beat Tiger. I think it will take Kim some time before he gets back to where he was when he left, but eventually (maybe at the Ryder Cup or FedEx Cup) he will get it back.
• 2010 has truly been the year of the 59. Twice in four weeks, players have shot 59. (Not to mention Ryo Ishikawa fired a 58 in Japan earlier this season.) Paul Goydos finished his gem at the John Deere Classic, in the first round, before falling to Steve Stricker, who shot an opening round 60. Then at the Greenbrier Classic, Stuart Appleby birdied his way to 11-under on Sunday to surge for a one-shot victory. Only five 59s have ever been recorded on the PGA Tour and two have been from this season. (The previous one was shot by David Duval in 1999.) I guess the new grooves aren’t bothering them that bad. But are these sub-60 rounds as well as other low scores bad for the game? I think it’s fun to watch players get in the zone and play well but I think 59s should be rare occurrences. Similar to the perfect game in baseball, it was a rare happening until this year which has made them less special. The PGA Tour is the major league of golf and the players should play in the most difficult setups, leading to higher scores. Congrats to Goydos and Appleby (and Ishikawa) but next year the Tour needs to take some lessons from the USGA.
• Last time the PGA Championship was at Whistling Straits was in 2004. A lot has changed since then, when Vijay Singh won in a playoff over Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard. The PGA is supposed to be the easiest major of the year but 8-under won that year, which is no walk in the park. In this year’s edition, I expect the young guns to play well. I don’t think there is an absolute favorite heading into this week but I also like the Americans’ chances and a player that can hit the ball far. I’ll release my picks on Wednesday for the 92nd PGA Championship.

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