PGA Championship – Page 13 – Syndication Server

‘It’s going to shape the future of professional golf one way or another’: Rory McIlroy gives latest take on Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Invitational

“I’m just so sick of talking about it,” Rory McIlroy said Tuesday at the PGA Championship.

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TULSA, Okla. – Back in February following the final round of the Genesis Invitational north of Los Angeles, Rory McIlroy gave his take on the upstart Saudi Arabia-backed golf league that was trying to lure some of the game’s biggest stars with outrageous sums of money.

“It’s dead in the water in my opinion,” McIlroy said.

Well, the league led by Greg “The Great White Shark” Norman is still afloat. The inaugural tournament of the LIV Golf Invitational Series will be played June 9-11 at London’s Centurion Club, the first of eight events featuring a total of $255 million in prize money. The tournaments feature individual and team play, 54-hole no-cut events and shotgun starts.

“I might have been a little presumptuous at that point,” McIlroy said about his February remarks. The four-time major winner and two-time PGA Champion met with the media Tuesday at the 104^th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. “It seems like it’s still going. Greg [Norman] and everyone behind it are very determined. I think we’re just going to have to see how it plays out. Guys are going to make decisions.

“Honestly it’s going to shape the future of professional golf one way or another, so I think we’re just going to have to see how it all shakes out.”

Southern Hills: Yardage book | ESPN+ streaming | How to watch info

The rival league wasn’t shaking out well back in February, as many of the games top players pledged their allegiance to the PGA Tour’s flag, including McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm.

Still, nearly 75-80 players requested releases from the PGA Tour to be allowed to play in the London tournament. The PGA Tour denied all of them. If players who were denied a release still decide to play in London – which features a $20 million purse, with $4 million to the winner – they could face disciplinary action, including suspension or banishment from the PGA Tour.

The second event of the series will be held July 1-3 in Oregon. The PGA Tour does not grant releases to any tournament held domestically that is opposite of PGA Tour event. So expect more noise to erupt – perhaps threats of lawsuits – when the series reaches Oregon.

“Honestly I’m rooting for it all to be over. I’m just so sick of talking about it,” McIlroy said. “I’ve made my decision, and I know where I want to play, and I’m not standing in anyone’s way, and I’m not saying that they shouldn’t go over there and play if that’s what they feel is right for them, then 100 percent they should go and do it.

“I’m certainly not wanting to stand in anyone’s way, but I think the sooner it all happens and the sooner everything shakes out, I think we can all just go back to not talking about it and doing what we want to do.”

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Bryson DeChambeau shows up at Southern Hills, still day-to-day on whether he plays 2022 PGA Championship

“Everybody’s going to say I’m coming back too early, but I’m being very careful.”

TULSA, Okla. – Bryson DeChambeau hasn’t played since he missed the cut in the Masters, posting 76-80, with the 80 being his highest score in a major championship in his career.

The 2020 U.S. Open champion has dealt with numerous injuries for nearly a year, among them a torn left hip labrum. And on April 14, he posted on Instagram a picture of himself in a hospital bed following left wrist surgery on the fractured hook of the hamate. He wrote he hoped to return within in two months.

Well, it could be a whole lot sooner.

DeChambeau, who registered to play this week, showed up at Southern Hills Country Club late Monday and, on what he called a recovery day, had a long practice session consisting of just chipping and putting.

What happens the three days leading into Thursday’s first round will determine if he plays.

Southern Hills: Yardage book | Restored to greatness

“All is going well,” DeChambeau told Golfweek as he opened his left hand that revealed just a hint of a scar from the surgery. “Everybody’s going to say I’m coming back too early, but I’m being very careful.”

On May 14, DeChambeau posted a six-second video on social media ripping a driver into a net. A snapshot of the launch monitor showed 192 mph ball speed. DeChambeau, the winner of eight PGA Tour titles who has fallen to No. 22 in the world, said he hit balls all day in Dallas on Sunday.

“It’s a day-to-day thing,” DeChambeau said. “If I can’t go this week, I’ll play next week. If I can’t play next week, it will be a week-to-week thing.

“But I feel good and we’ll see.”

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Rickie Fowler undecided about LIV Golf, working with mental coach to get him back on track

Said Fowler: “do I currently think that the PGA Tour is the best place to play? I do. Do I think it can be better? Yes.”

TULSA, Okla. — Rickie Fowler has been approached by the LIV Golf Invitational Series and remains undecided if he will play on the start-up circuit that is set to debut in June and funded by the Saudi Arabian-financed Public Investment Fund.

“To be straightforward with you guys, I haven’t necessarily made a decision one way or the other,” he said during a press conference ahead of the 104^th PGA Championship. “I’ve mentioned in the past, do I currently think that the PGA Tour is the best place to play? I do. Do I think it can be better? Yes.

“So I think it’s an interesting position. Obviously, there’s the LIV and Premier (Golf League), as well. These tours or leagues or whatever – however you want to classify or call them – they wouldn’t really be coming up if they didn’t see that there was more opportunity out there. I’ve always looked at competition being a good thing. It’s the driving force of our game. You know, being able to have games with guys at home, that’s how I always grew up is competing. I think competition ultimately makes people better, whether it’s business, sport.”

Southern Hills: Yardage book | Restored to greatness

Last week, the PGA Tour denied releases to its members to compete in the debut LIV event at Centurion Golf Club outside of London, June 9-11. Fowler said he thought players would like to know what the consequences would be if they defied the Tour.

“Because if you’re trying to make a decision one way or the other, I know there’s some guys that are probably in a position where the consequence may not matter. They may just be ready to go play and not look back type of thing and see how things come full circle,” he said. “Like I said, it’s an interesting time.”

Fowler, who has slipped to No. 146 in the world and missed the Masters last month for the second straight year, qualified for the PGA Championship at Southern Hills thanks to finishing T-8 at Kiawah a year ago. Fowler, who played his college golf at Oklahoma State, considers this week a homecoming of sorts despite only playing here he figured 15 times.

“This is a special place. We used to come over and play every once in a while, and the membership has always been great to us here. I played the 2009 U.S. Am, but first time back since then,” he said. “Anytime I get to be in Oklahoma, I feel at home.”

Fowler, 33, is making his 13^th appearance at the PGA with a career-best of T-3 in 2014. This week marks his 70^th career start in a major. Fowler has nine top-10 finishes and for a long time wore the badge of Best Player Never to Win a Major. But he has just one top 10 since Kiawah a year ago (T-3 at the CJ Cup in October). Of being mired in a slump, Fowler said, “it’s been a lot longer road than we’ve wanted it to be.”

“Going through it, it’s never fun,” he added. “ I’ve actually enjoyed it as much as it sucked. I’ve definitely found myself, not that I ever fell out of love with the game or anything like that, but I’ve embraced the grind and the aspect of just taking every day and going out and enjoying it, even though we have been in tough spots.”

The grind he conceded has been taxing mentally, noting it’s been a challenge to build momentum.

“Momentum is really what builds confidence and you can kind of start riding that wave,” he said. “There’s been no swell. I haven’t been able to ride anything.”

Fowler recently started working on the mental side of the game with a third-party expert.

“Instead of it being myself or talking to people on my team or friends, kind of to have a point person and to be able to talk through some things and ultimately simplify the process,” he explained.

But Fowler stopped short of saying who had joined “the team” as his head doctor.

“I don’t know if I should throw names out there or not,” he said. “I won’t mention names yet.”

Was he working with multiple mental coaches?

“I mean, I’m not that messed up,” he said with a smile.

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World No. 6 Viktor Hovland on schedule to contend in 2022 PGA Championship despite three week absence from PGA Tour

“I wouldn’t be surprised if I get off to a nice start and play well this week.”

TULSA, Okla. – Viktor Hovland is relying on an interesting prep schedule ahead of this week’s 104^th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club.

He didn’t play a PGA Tour event the past three weeks.

The World No. 6 has played just once since tying for 27^th in the Masters, as he teamed with Collin Morikawa to finish in a tie for 29^th in the Zurich Classic. Hovland decided he needed time away from the PGA Tour to get his game right.

“I spent the last three weeks really well,” Hovland said Monday at Southern Hills. “I was not very happy with my game the last few weeks. Not that it was that far off, but I was just doing a few more dumb mistakes than I normally do.

“So I was pretty motivated to get to work, and the last three weeks have been really good. I feel like my game is in a way better place. But at the same time, there’s always stuff to work on, but I feel like my game is good enough to really contend. I wouldn’t be surprised if I get off to a nice start and play well this week.”

Southern Hills: Yardage book | Restored to greatness

The winner of six worldwide tournaments also isn’t concerned about his record in the majors. In seven starts as a professional, the 24-year-old has a career-best tie for 12^th in last year’s British Open.

“It’s all about just trying to get better, and I feel like I’m on a very good trajectory,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot better since I first turned pro, and if I just keep doing the things that I need to do and get better, I’m going to hopefully win some events. Sometimes you can play great and not win a tournament. So there’s a little bit of luck involved as well and I just try to control the things that I can control.”

He should feel in control at Southern Hills, having first played here as a sophomore for Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship. Since, he’s played the course a little more than a handful of times.

“I think it’s good. I remember there being a lot more trees the first time I came here. They have added a bunch of length and they have made it a little bit more open, but at the same time you still have to drive it really well out here. So from that aspect, I feel like it fits me really well. There’s no real faking it,” he said. “But you have to have a lot of good short game shots around greens because it’s all fairway around the green. It’s not just like rough if you miss the greens. So I think that kind of allows you to use some creativity around the greens.”

Hovland has played the course a few times in the past three weeks.

“One thing that’s kind of been the biggest difference is the last few weeks when I have been here, they have kind of top-dressed the greens and they have been very soft just to protect the greens headed into this week,” he said. “I think that’s the thing that I have to get used to the most, just seeing the ball bounce a little bit firmer, roll off some of the greens that it didn’t the last couple times I was here. I think that’s kind of the biggest difference.”

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2022 PGA Championship: Equipment spotted at Southern Hills

See what golf clubs and gear the top players at Southern Hills are using to win the 2022 PGA Championship.

TULSA, Okla. — The PGA Championship has returned to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the first time since 2007 when Tiger Woods won in blistering conditions to take home his 13th major title.

At 7,365 yards and playing to a par of 70 over rolling terrain, with several elevated tee shots and green complexes lined with sharp slopes and collection areas, it is going to test every club in each player’s bag.

This week in Oklahoma, most golfers will not be making significant changes to their equipment. A major championship is not the place to search for lightning in a bottle, but many players will have the lofts and lie angles of their irons checked, and some may have their clubs regripped.

Below are photos that show the equipment that many notable golfers in the field at the 2022 PGA Championship are currently using.

‘Good thing I don’t drink a lot’: $18 beers and $16 salads await fans at 2022 PGA Championship

Fans are finding that food prices are steep at the 2022 PGA Championship.

TULSA, Okla. – Talk about inflation.

Spectators of this week’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club might want to drink up before passing through the gates. For if you are parched shortly after arriving at the second men’s major of the year, your wallet better be fat.

The following are not typos. A Michelob Ultra is $18, a Stella Artois $19. A glass of wine is $13, souvenir and signature cocktails are $19.

It should be noted, however, the beers come in 25 oz. cans, which equates to $9 per 12.5 ounces of Ultra. Not quite the sticker shock, but still steep.

“Good thing I don’t drink a lot,” Keith Coleman of Tulsa said Monday as he sized up what he was going to buy.

As for non-alcoholic beverages, a good-sized bottle of water comes in at $6, a Gatorade will set you back $7.

For food, a chicken Caesar Salad is running $16, the all-beef hot dog $8. The Butcher’s Grind Cheeseburger is $14, the Beyond Burger $15.

A small bag of chips? $3.

“Well, it’s only for one day,” Samantha Ripken of Oklahoma City said. “And I get to eat my salad watching Tiger Woods.”

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Could the 104th PGA Championship be decided on Friday? History at Southern Hills says ‘yes!’

Leading after 36 holes is the place to be in a major at Southern Hills.

It never hurts to get off to a fast start at a major championship, but it really matters at Southern Hills in Tulsa, site of the 104^th PGA Championship, if history teaches us anything.

In a Q&A for the golf newsletter The Quadrilateral, Southern Hills club historian Clyde Chrisman noted that in all seven of the major championships the club has hosted as well as its two Tour Championships and last year’s Senior PGA Championship, the 36-hole leader has gone on to hoist the winner’s trophy.

“In fact, the only two who didn’t lead or share the lead after the first round are Dave Stockton and Tiger Woods,” Chrisman told Geoff Shackelford. “It’s not a course where someone has gotten hot in the last round or two and made a late charge to win.”

That’s a staggering stat. Ten events, 10 36-hole leaders win? C’mon, that just doesn’t happen.

During a CBS Sports media conference call, Jim Nantz gave a shout out to Shackelford’s Q&A and called the stat “jaw dropping.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that in my life. We’re going to crown a champion, folks, on Friday night, OK?” he cracked.

But Southern Hills, a Perry Maxwell design and perennial top-100 course, underwent a renovation by Gil Hanse and his partner Jim Wagner in 2018, and Nick Faldo, who played in his first U.S. major at Southern Hills at the 1982 PGA when Ray Floyd went wire-to-wire, termed it a new course.

“I bet that you one will change, it will be different,” he said. “Unless Scottie Scheffler is leading by six, oh, boy.”

“But there’s something to be said, you’d better go out and make hay early,” Nantz said. “That’s a history for it there.”

A history that includes World Golf Hall of Famers Tommy Bolt, Floyd, Hubert Green, Nick Price, Retief Goosen and Woods.

Here’s a look at the winning history at Southern Hills:

Year	Tournament	Winner
1958	U.S. Open	Tommy Bolt
1970	PGA Championship	Dave Stockton
1977	U.S. Open	Hubert Green
1982	PGA Championship	Raymond Floyd
1994	PGA Championship	Nick Price
1985	Tour Championship	Billy Mayfair
1996	Tour Championship	Tom Lehman
2001	U.S. Open	Retief Goosen
2007	PGA Championship	Tiger Woods
2021	Senior PGA Championship	Alex Cejka
2022	PGA Championship	???

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Photos: Tiger Woods at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills

Take a scroll through photos of Tiger’s week at Southern Hills.

A “stronger” Tiger Woods was one of a few players to begin his preparation for the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sunday, and the 15-time major champion was back on Monday.

Woods, who won his first major as a father at the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, is making his second official start since his single-car accident last year in California this week. The 46-year-old made the cut in his return to competition at the Masters last month and ultimately finished 47th after consecutive rounds of 78 on Saturday and Sunday.

Take a scroll through some of the best images of the week as Woods competes at Southern Hills.

Southern Hills: Yardage book | Restored to greatness

Photos: Southern Hills Country Club for the PGA Championship

Check out the photos of a recently restored Southern Hills Country Club heading into the PGA Championship.

TULSA, Okla. – The PGA Championship visits Southern Hills Country Club for the fifth time this week, giving the club a chance to show off a recent restoration by architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.

Originally designed by Perry Maxwell and opened in 1936, Southern Hills is No. 1 among private courses in Oklahoma in Golfweek’s Best rankings, and it is No. 38 on Golfweek’s Best list of classic courses built before 1960 in the U.S. The rolling layout has been host to four PGA Championships (1970, ’82, ’94 and ’07) and three U.S. Opens (’58, ’77 and ’01), among many other elite competitions.

Check out the photos below, some provided by the PGA of America (Gary W. Kellner) and the rest by Golfweek’s Gabe Gudgel and Jason Lusk.

Check the yardage book: Southern Hills for the 2022 PGA Championship

Take a closer look at this week’s major championship host thanks to StrackaLine’s hole-by-hole maps.

TULSA, Okla. – Southern Hills Country Club, site of this week’s PGA Championship for a fifth time, was designed by Perry Maxwell and opened in 1936.

The course has been renovated multiple times by the likes of Robert Trent Jones and Keith Foster, and in 2019 Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner wrapped up work on a restoration that put much of Maxwell’s original intent back into the layout.

Southern Hills has been host to a slew of championships ranging from the U.S. Women’s Open to the Senior PGA Championship and counts among its men’s majors four past PGA Championships (1970, ’82, ’94 and ’07) and three U.S. Opens (’58, ’77 and ’01).

The layout is No. 1 among private courses in Oklahoma in Golfweek’s Best rankings, and it is No. 38 on Golfweek’s Best list of classic courses built before 1960 in the U.S.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.