Helped by Tiger Woods’ win last month at Augusta National and the move to May, there has never been a PGA Championship with a buildup like this one
A month has passed since Tiger Woods’ victory at the Masters, and the cheers that reverberated around Augusta National on that Sunday afternoon are just starting to die down.
Woods has made only cursory appearances since then, including receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House last Monday. This week at Bethpage Black, however, he’ll make his return to the golf course for what might be the most anticipated PGA Championship ever.
Woods’ triumph at Augusta to complete his career comeback was a godsend to the PGA Championship. Long regarded as “Glory’s Last Shot” when played in August, the prestige of the tournament paled in comparison to the Masters, U.S. Open and, in Europe at least, the Open Championship. With the new schedule, though, the PGA Championship moved to May and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for tournament organizers.
The excitement generated by Woods’ fifth Green Jacket and first major in 11 years is still being felt as the top players assemble on Long Island this week for the year’s second major. For the first time in major championship history, every one of the top 100 players in the world is in the field this week. Included in that group, and paired with Woods in the traditional grouping of the last three major champions, is defending champion Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari.
Last August at Bellerive, Koepka held off Woods to win his third major. Molinari charged past Woods at Carnoustie in July. Both of them were in contention at the Masters as well, but on that day they succumbed to what a previous generation of golfers knew all too well; when Woods is in contention on Sunday at a major, he’s tough to beat.
A new flock of golfers who didn’t have experience dealing with the pressure of combatting Woods down the stretch in a major is ready to prove they can succeed where their predecessors failed. Dustin Johnson can hit it as far as Woods. Rory McIlroy has been arguably the best player on the planet so far in 2019.
Then there is Jordan Spieth, who is chasing a little bit of history himself. Spieth needs only the PGA Championship to become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam. His form of late, though, shows while that goal is within reach it’s still far away. Spieth has played in 13 events this year without a top 20 finish. He hasn’t won in nearly two years and doesn’t have a top 10 since last summer. For all the times he insists he’s close to getting his game back, another disappointing finish follows.
Having a big role in the theatrics that will play out this week is the venue itself. Bethpage made it’s own history in 2002 when it became the first publicly owned golf course to host a U.S. Open. That tournament is remembered for three things: Woods’ dominance, Phil Mickelson finishing second again despite boisterous support from the New York crowd, and the same crowd heckling Sergio Garcia. This won’t be a tame crowd, content simply to applaud after a shot. They will be heard throughout the week, raucously cheering the players who capture their support while jeering those who don’t. The excitement felt over this year’s tournament, helped by Woods’ comeback, revealed itself at the box office. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday sold out weeks ago.
The schedule change will give players with experience at Bethpage (the course also hosted the U.S. Open in 2009, and the Barclays in 2012 and 2016) a different look. While in the summer the grass is starting to die out, May is right in the middle of the growing season. The weather will also be cooler. That will make for long, treacherous rough and difficult conditions.
There’s plenty of question marks going into the 101st PGA Championship. Is Woods back, or was the Masters an aberration? Can Koepka and Molinari, not to mention Johnson and McIlroy, beat him? Will Spieth find his form in time to join golf’s most elusive club? And, finally, how will players react to the crowd reaction they are sure to find on Long Island?
Those questions will begin to be answered on Thursday. Until then, golf fans will continue to eagerly await the tournament, just like they’ve been doing since Woods’ last putt dropped at Augusta National a month ago.