PGA Championship 2018: Predictions, picks and upsets

A quick look at Bellerive Country Club

While you’re going to be hearing St. Louis a lot this week, Bellerive Country Club is actually located to the west of the city in Town and Country, Missouri. But that doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?

Bellerive Country Club was first opened in 1897 to the northwest of St. Louis with a nine-hole course called The Field Club but was moved to Normandy in 1910, at which time the Bellerive name was added. It most notably hosted the Western Amateur in 1949 and the Western Open in 1953 before moving to its current location in 1959. Famed course designer Robert Trent Jones designed the layout that opened in 1960 and five years later, Bellerive hosted its first major championship as Gary Player won the 1965 U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam.

It would take 27 years before Bellerive hosted another major with Nick Price winning the first of his two PGA Championship titles. Since then, the club has hosted a number of big events, including a couple of senior majors and the 2008 BMW Championship as part of the FedExCup Playoffs. Another little piece of trivia is that Bellerive was set to host its first World Golf Championship event back in September of 2001 but was cancelled due to the events of Sept. 11.

This golf course is going to look much different than it did the last time it hosted that PGA Championship back in 1992. Under the direction of Rees Jones, the course underwent a nearly $10 million redesign and renovation back in 2005-2006 and will play differently. Not only is the course longer at more than 7,300 yards, but it will also play as a par-70 as opposed to the 71 it did 26 years ago. Back then, the fourth hole played as a 556-yard par-5 but will now play as a 521-yard par-4. Fairways and bunkers were moved around, greens were expanded and water was both removed and added in certain spots to create an excellent test for the top players in the world this week.

Only eight players finished under par in 1992, with Price finishing at six-under for a three-shot win, but I wouldn’t expect that this week as conditions should be prime for scoring. Since the PGA Championship moved to stroke play in 1958, the winner has finished at par or worse on just five occasions and with the talent level of today’s players and a course that won’t play nearly as difficult as a venue like Shinnecock Hills, there will be opportunities to go low, even with just two par-5s on the course this week.

The winner has finished in double digits under par six of the last 10 times this championship has been played and it wouldn’t be a shock to see that again at Bellerive. There are tough stretches out there, most notably the 14th through 16th, a stretch known as “The Ridge,” and the finishing hole should be fun to watch on Sunday, but there are also some risk-reward holes out there that could keep numbers down.

Here’s a quick look at what the players will be dealing with this week at Bellerive Country Club.

1. Par 4 — 438 yards
2. Par 4 — 410 yards
3. Par 3 — 143 yards
4. Par 4 — 521 yards
5. Par 4 — 471 yards
6. Par 3 — 213 yards
7. Par 4 — 394 yards
8. Par 5 — 610 yards
9. Par 4 — 433 yards
10. Par 4 — 508 yards
11. Par 4 — 355 yards
12. Par 4 — 452 yards
13. Par 3 — 180 yards
14. Par 4 — 410 yards
15. Par 4 — 495 yards
16. Par 3 — 237 yards
17. Par 5 — 597 yards
18. Par 4 — 457 yards

With a quick look at Bellerive, let’s get into the top 10 players in the world and a few other stories that could make Sunday afternoon at the PGA Championship a lot of fun.