The 2018 PGA Championship pick
This is a tough one because I know who I really want to pick but refuse to. In my preview for The Open Championship, I promised that I would not pick Rory McIlroy if he didn’t win at Carnoustie. He came so close but just couldn’t finish it and I’m not going to be a liar this week so I have to go in another direction. I really like him this week though. As I mentioned, his game is getting so close to being back where it was a few years ago and this might be the week that it all comes together for major championship number five. So if he wins, I’m not going to be upset as I’m a big fan of Rory’s but I can’t make him the official pick.
Honestly, though, there are so many options to choose from this week. Anybody from the top 10 in the world could easily walk away with the Wanamaker Trophy. I’m going to go ahead and eliminate Justin Thomas right now, simply because of the history going back-to-back. Of course, there was some of that working against Brooks Koepka at the U.S. Open and look what happened there. I like Koepka a lot this week and I think he cracks the top 10 or 15 but doesn’t get the win.
It’s tough to win two majors in a row these days, even if you’re as hot as Francesco Molinari. I’m not saying it’s impossible but it’s going to be very difficult. I think the pressure is going to be on Jordan Spieth to get this career Grand Slam and I don’t think he’s going to get it done. And it’s almost too easy to pick the favorite in Dustin Johnson, right? That’s just not any fun. Justin Rose would be a fantastic pick and guys I didn’t go into detail about like Patrick Reed or Tommy Fleetwood or Henrik Stenson could easily win this tournament. I think Jason Day plays well but I’m going with the sentimental favorite here. No, not Tiger, although it would be great to see major number 15. So…the other sentimental favorite.
And the winner of the 2018 PGA Championship is . . .
Rickie Fowler.
Come on. It has to happen soon, right? And this is the last one before he turns 30 so I’m really hoping this happens for him. He’s so much fun to watch and has so much talent. He’s just in an era where there are so many great young players like Rory and Jordan and Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka that he just can’t get lucky, which is something you need in this game. This week, however, I think he goes out and puts himself in position to not need too much of it. I like his style of play on this golf course and he can put up a lot of birdies at Bellerive while hopefully keeping the damage to a minimum. Rickie Fowler at 10-under. Book it.
And he’s my twin daughters’ favorite player so there you go. Enjoy the 100th PGA Championship, everyone. It should be a very enjoyable four days of golf.
For more from the PGA Championship, make sure to follow FanSided and stay tuned to our golf hub for all the latest news and results.