Alex Elias Oak Hill Country Club - East Course Designed by Golden Age architect Donald Ross, and recently, superbly restored by Andrew Green, Oak Hill Country Club has quite the championship pedigree. Having hosted three PGA Championships, the Ryder Cup, three U.S. Opens, two U.S. Amateurs, the U.S. Senior Open, and two Senior PGA Championships, Oak Hill's East Course is the only course in America that has hosted all six rotating men's major golf championship. The 2023 PGA Championship marks Oak Hill's fourth PGA Championship. Andrew Blatnik, Director of Retail Operations at Oak Hill Country Club, responded, "Since the restoration by Andrew Green in 2020, the course has changed dramatically. The back nine is going to be where the players will score. There's a few very tough holes, but there's a lot more birdie opportunities. The front nine will be tougher, as much of it plays into a prevailing wind. Particularly, the Par 4 6th, which has been lengthened about forty yards. I think if the players can keep their head pretty level through the early part, then they can make the turn and have some great birdie opportunities." The World No. 1 & No. 2 Last Six Majors: Rahm - Five Top-10 finishes in majors since 2021 (Two Wins) Scheffler - Six Top-10 finishes in majors since 2021 (One Win) As Rahm ranks 1st in the OWGR and Scoring Average, Scheffler ranks 2nd in the OWGR and Scoring Average. If Rahm hoists the Wanamaker Trophy at Oak Hill on Sunday, he would become the first player to win the Masters and the PGA Championship in the same year since Nicklaus in 1975. Jordan Spieth Eyes Career Grand Slam Last year, at Southern Hills, Jordan Spieth said, "It's certainly at this point, given having won the other three, it's an elephant in the room for me. It's a goal of mine. If you just told me I was going to win one tournament the rest of my life, I'd say I want to win this one, given where things are at." If Spieth remains in the field (pulled out of last week's AT&T Byron Nelson because of a left wrist injury), he would be making a seventh attempt at completing the career Grand Slam. Spieth currently ranks 10th in the OWGR, 20th in the FedEx Cup Standings, and has recorded 5 Top 10s in 13 Events. In a recent interview with Golf.com, Justin Thomas said, "The only thing that upsets me about turning 30 is that I haven’t accomplished nearly as much as I would have liked or wanted. When it comes to accomplishments at that age, I mean, you only get one chance. It’s not like I’ll have another chance in a couple years to get a certain amount of wins before I turn 30. Obviously, a lot of people would take my career, but I don’t know. I’m not that pleased with it." As Thomas eyes future accomplishments, defending the PGA Championship might be the spark he is looking for. Speaking of last week's Wells Fargo Championship, Thomas said, "I felt like I showed a lot of really good signs in Charlotte. I think Saturday was a great example. It just was a round where I didn't really have very much. I felt like I left a couple shots out there putting-wise and just wasn't sharp. I was hitting a lot of very poor wedges and irons. I birdied two of the last four holes and salvaged an under-par round on a tough golf course. Bones and I said on [the] 18 green, 'This is the stuff that we haven't been doing this year.'" LIV Golf There are 18 players from the LIV Golf League in the PGA Championship field, including past champions Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, and Martin Kaymer. As Koepka and Mickelson both finished T2 at the Masters, the two have each won the Wanamaker Trophy twice (Koepka: 2018, 2019, Mickelson: 2005, 2021). In addition to the past champions, Dustin Johnson recorded a win at last week in Tulsa and Cameron Smith seems to be on the verge of returning to his old form. Under The Radar
Even following 9-under 62 for a one-shot victory over Austin Eckroat and Si Woo Kim at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Jason Day seems to still be flying under the radar. In a resurgence year, Day has recorded 7 Top 10s in 16 Events. Currently, Day ranks 7th in SG: Total. Similarly to Day, Patrick Cantlay hasn't been discussed nearly enough. In his last seven events, Cantlay has finished T21-3-T14-T9-T19-T4-3 and ranks 6th in SG: Total. In his last three majors, Cantlay has finished T14-T8-T14.
0 Comments
|
Proudly powered by Weebly