Category: PGA Championship

Math whiz Corey Conners figures out Ocean Course, takes lead in PGA Championship

“Played with a lot of freedom,” said Conners of his six birdie, one bogey opening round.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Corey Conners had a backup plan if he didn’t make his hay in the world of golf.

The Canadian was likely going to be an actuary, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Mathematics from Kent State University. This came after he switched majors after leaving the Biochemistry program because the chemistry labs were nearly five hours long and cut into his practice time on the golf course.

Yes, Conners has some skills between the ears.

Has some talent on the golf course, too. His decision-making and analysis worked just fine on Thursday as he figured out his way around the Pete Dye brute known as the Ocean Course at Kiawah in just 67 strokes to take the first round lead of the 103rd PGA Championship.

“I’d say it’s impossible to be stress-free around this golf course. You can’t fall asleep out there on any holes. It’s very challenging,” Conners said. “I was fortunate to have a good day. Made it as least stressful as possible on myself. I hit a lot of really good shots and holed some nice putts early in the round, and that really helped boost the confidence. Played with a lot of freedom.”

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At 5 under, Conners is two shots clear of the field, with a group of players at 69, including four-time major champion and two-time PGA winner Brooks Koepka, 2011 PGA champ Keegan Bradley and Viktor Hovland. Defending champion Collin Morikawa came home with a 70.

On the other end of the leaderboard were a few of the game’s best players, including Rory McIlroy, who won the Wells Fargo Championship in his last start. He and 2017 PGA winner and 2021 Players champion Justin Thomas each shot 75. Sergio Garcia turned in a 77, Adam Scott turned a 78.

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson shot 76.

The Ocean Course is just the latest big stage in golf that Conners has performed well on. He finished third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, seventh in the Players Championship and tied for eighth in the Masters.

He’s been a regular on the first page of leaderboards for a few months now as he seeks his first major title and second PGA Tour victory. He’s been on a steady rise up the world rankings, climbing from No. 196 when he won the 2019 Valero Texas Open to No. 39 heading into this week.

“I have a lot of belief in myself, and I’ve been playing well for quite a while,” Conner said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to play against the best players in the world and put my game to the test. I have a lot of confidence in my game and I’m excited for the rest of the weekend.

“Didn’t try to force it to happen but definitely saw myself having a good day today and hopefully can keep that up the rest of the weekend.”

Heading into the week much of the chatter was about the course being a haven for ball-strikers, and Conners is one of the best in the game. But Conners learned another part of the game is just as crucial, if not more crucial.

“I think one of most important things is the short game around this place,” he said. “A lot of major championships you can’t ball-strike your way to good rounds. You need to have a good short game. You need to get the ball up-and-down and you need to roll in birdie putts. Good ball-striking definitely helps. The wind and difficulty of the golf course, hitting it solid is very important.

“But you’re going to get in spots where you need to get the ball up-and-down and hole a putt or two, and you need to be able to do that, as well.”

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Phil Mickelson lights up Kiawah’s back nine in 32, sits 3 back at PGA Championship

Phil Mickelson raved about the course and setup: “The thing about this course is it’s very fair even though it’s tough.”

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – When Phil Mickelson opened with four bogeys in his first six holes at the PGA Championship, it looked as if he was headed for another forgettable week.

Mickelson hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour since August and finished 69th after holding the first-round lead two weeks ago at the Wells Fargo Championship.

But he overcame a rough start Thursday and played his next 10 holes in 5 under to shoot 2-under 70 at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, three strokes behind leader Corey Conners.

“I’ve been having trouble staying present on every shot for the entire round,” Mickelson told ESPN in an interview after the round. “I thought I did a pretty good job today.”

Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Championship winner, got off to an inauspicious start at the 103rd PGA Championship with a bogey at the first. He got back to level par by wedging to 4 feet at the third hole, but then made three bogeys in a row beginning at the fourth.

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From there, Mickelson took advantage of some of the downwind holes, making birdies on three of the four par 5s at the Pete Dye layout (Nos. 7, 11, 16), and, as he put it, “snuck one in on 10,” after blasting a 344-yard drive and wedging to 5 feet.

“What I did do well was putt extremely solid inside 6-7 feet,” he said. “I didn’t make anything outside of that, but I did make everything inside of it.”

Mickelson saved his best work for the grueling five-hole stretch coming home. He played those holes in 2 under, carding back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16 and getting up and down for pars on the final two holes. His 32 on the second nine was nearly six strokes better than the field average. Still, Mickelson said he didn’t like the way he struck the ball on Thursday and rushed from his post-round interview with ESPN to the range to clean up his swing.

While others found reason to complain about the windy conditions or bad luck, Mickelson raved about the course and setup: “The thing about this course is it’s very fair even though it’s tough.”

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How popular is PGA Championship contender Viktor Hovland back in Norway? ‘Even grandmothers stay up to watch him’

The 23-year-old Norway native is sparking a surge in golf interest in a country little-known for its golfers.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Viktor Hovland isn’t sure how big a deal winning a major championship would be back home in Norway, but he knows this: “I can’t remember the last time I felt as good as I did today on the golf course,” he said, after shooting 3-under 69 at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

That was good enough for an early share of the first-round lead at the 103rd PGA Championship with a gaggle of players, including Brooks Koepka.

Hovland, 23, made birdies on three of Kiawah’s four par 5s and canned an 11-foot birdie putt at the par-3 eighth hole. His lone blemish was a bogey at the first hole, his 10thof the day. For Hovland, the ocean breeze didn’t give him too much trouble. Hovland played college golf at Oklahoma State and still calls Stillwater home and while there isn’t any oceanfront property to be had in his neck of the woods, Hovland explained, “it blows like this every single day.”

Hovland’s game has been clicking on nearly all cylinders this season. Winner of the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December, he entered this week with back-to-back T-3 finishes, but he was fighting an “overdraw,” which just required a change in his setup and all of a sudden he’s able to work it both ways on command.

“Now I really feel like there’s not really a hole in my game,” he said.

Just last month, Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama became a national hero when he became the first male Japanese player to win a major. With his U.S. Amateur title and two victories on the PGA Tour in his fledgling professional career, Hovland is beginning to emerge as a popular figure back in his native Norway. How would winning the PGA Championship be received back in his homeland?

“It’s hard to say. Golf doesn’t really have a very rich tradition back home,” Hovland explained. “We have a very rich Olympic tradition, and now with golf being an Olympic sport, I think it would be great for people back home to just get into the sport. I really have no idea. We’ll have to get there first.”

Asked if he’s ever been on the front page of Oslo’s biggest newspaper, Hovland smiled that boyish grin of his and said, “Could not tell you.”

Turns out he’s not much of a newspaper reader.

“Typical millennial,” he said, his smile growing wider.

But that may be a bit of modesty on Hovland’s part when it comes to his star power back home. His father, Harald, an engineer who picked up the game during business trips to the United States, recently spent five weeks in America watching Viktor play and summed up his growing popularity at home this way: “Even grandmothers stay up to watch him.”

He said golf is growing in popularity due to the recognition Hovland has brought to the sport. There’s no telling what a victory at Kiawah would do to grow the game back home, but as Hovland so perfectly put it, “We’ll have to get there first.”

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Pay attention — Brooks Koepka is circling at Kiawah and loves ‘when it’s difficult’

After his first-round 69, Brooks Koepka said: “It’s a major. I’m going to show up. I’m ready to play.”

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – On Tuesday, Brooks Koepka was asked about the timeline surgeons gave him to recover from a March procedure on his right knee. “Like 100 percent? We’re talking probably another six months,” he said.

What’s your timeline?

“Ahead of that,” he replied.

About six months ahead, based on his performance Thursday in the first round of the PGA Championship. The two-time former champion toured Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course in 69 shots to grab a share of the early lead.

“It’s a major. I’m going to show up. I’m ready to play,” Koepka said. “I feel so much better now. I don’t need to be 100 percent to be able to play good.”

It was the Minor Koepka of the last few months who began his round on the 10th hole — carding an ugly double-bogey — but it was the more familiar Major Koepka who took over, adding six birdies to yet again position himself atop the leaderboard in one of golf’s four more important championships.

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After winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open and finishing second at the WGC-Workday Championship in February, Koepka had to withdraw from the Players Championship with his knee injury. Despite that lengthy surgeon’s timeframe, he returned just weeks later at the Masters, where he missed the cut. A month after that — three weeks of which he didn’t touch a club while having daily rehab — he played the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas, where he also missed the cut.

Yet on Thursday Koepka dismissed that disappointing stretch with the cocky insouciance of a man who considers himself built for major championships that matter. “I felt like I already had confidence. In my mind, it’s just a major week,” he said. “Just show up. That’s all you’ve got to do.”

Over the last four years, Koepka has shown up for majors more reliably than any of golf’s elite players. He’s won four of them since 2017, including the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019. But a series of speed-bumps—knee, hip and neck ailments, plus a split with his longtime coach Claude Harmon III—have slowed his charge more recently. His opening 69 is the first time he has put himself into the frame in a major in almost two years.

Koepka’s 69 was not owed to accuracy off the tee. He found only 5 of 14 fairways in blustery conditions on the Ocean Course but hit 13 of 18 greens, good enough to rank 1st in Strokes Gained Approach as the afternoon wave began. The former world No. 1 clipped his two playing partners by six strokes—both Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas shot 75—but he admitted that his errant driver needs to improve if he is to win a fifth major title.

“I’ve got to figure it out because if I don’t figure it out, I won’t be there Sunday or have a chance,” he said. After his round, Koepka went back to the practice range to work with his swing instructor Pete Cowen.

The winds raking across this South Carolina barrier island made for tricky playing conditions Thursday and the first round scoring average when Koepka signed his card was 74.54. The forecast is similar for the remainder of the week, which suits the 31-year-old Floridian just fine.

“I love it when it’s difficult. I think that’s why I do so well in the majors,” he said. “I just know mentally I can grind it out. You’ve just got to accept it and move on.”

Koepka’s name on a major leaderboard gets noticed about as quickly as a shark in a swimming pool, his presence registered by everyone in the vicinity. Asked if he felt he had arrived at Kiawah Island flying under the radar, Koepka insisted he was just focused on his knee rehab and nothing else.

“I haven’t paid attention,” he said of the tournament chatter.

Perhaps he hasn’t, but he surely knows he’s everyone else in the field is paying attention to him now.

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Sebastián Muñoz hit his ball into a trash bag, then gave it to a fan at the PGA Championship

What could’ve been a smelly situation became a funny moment during Thursday’s opening round of the 103rd PGA Championship.

What could’ve been a smelly situation became a funny moment during Thursday’s opening round of the 103rd PGA Championship.

Playing the par-4 18th hole on Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course, Sebastián Muñoz hit a wayward drive that was flirting with the gallery of fans and grandstands down the left side of the fairway. The shot cleared the fans but found its way to the bottom of a trash bag.

Muñoz was in good spirits as he approached the errant shot. After hearing his options, he reached in, grabbed the ball and then gave it away to a (lucky?) fan.

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He took his free drop, made the green in regulation and saved par.

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Bryson DeChambeau ‘out of sorts’ at PGA Championship after opening-round 72, calls Kiawah ‘diabolical’

In the battle between the longest hitter on Tour and the longest course in major championship history, round 1 went to the Ocean Course.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – In the battle between the longest hitter on the PGA Tour and the longest course in major championship history, round 1 went to the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

Bryson DeChambeau returned an even-par 72 on Thursday (leading one of the judges to score it a draw), but he looked bruised and battered afterwards and admitted as much.

“The wind just kicked my butt,” he said. “Just grinding out there, it takes a lot out of you.”

As a matter of fact, he struggled to remember many of the finer details of his up-and-down round, which began with two birdies in his first three holes, starting at No. 11, playing downwind before a sloppy 3-putt bogey at 13 and a string of four bogeys in a row when the wind flipped into his face. As he tried to remember where he had taken three putts – was it 12 or was it 13? It was 13! – an exasperated DeChambeau gave up and said, “I’m all out of sorts. It’s a lot of wind out there and heat.”

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In actuality, it was just a typical windy day at Kiawah, but for DeChambeau, who turns hitting every shot into a math equation, the wind put him through an assortment of mental exercises.

“This golf course takes it out of you. This is the most difficult golf course that I’ve played on Tour, and that is a straight-up fact for me,” he said. “That requires a lot of energy.”

Eventually, DeChambeau was told that if he looked behind him he could see his hole-by-hole scorecard in lights and that allowed him to gather himself and continue discussing his misadventures on his first nine holes where he was in danger of falling out of contention at the year’s second major on Thursday.

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“Three-putted 13, then 14 kind of came about from just not making a good first shot. 15, hit two good shots, just misaligned the drive on 15, hit it too far left, didn’t get it up and down. 16, misjudged the wind on the first shot, and there you go,” he said. “It’s a quick four bogeys and off and running after a good start.”

But DeChambeau played steady from there, making birdies on both of the par 5s (Nos. 2 and 7) and traded a bogey at No. 3 with a birdie at No. 8 when he drained a 20-foot birdie putt.

“For the most part, I stuck my head up high and kept it high and was able to finish strong on the front nine,” he said. “Played really well.”

That might be a stretch. His putter was cold (-1.385 SG: Putting), his driver was crooked (8 of 14 fairways) and his iron game was stymied by a breath of wind by Kiawah standards (11 of 18 greens in regulation). He’s going to have to do better at flighting his irons if he’s going to mount a charge for the title. As DeChambeau’s third shot from 97 yards got caught blowing in the wind, he seemed mystified.

“Oh my goodness,” he muttered as it hit short of the green and bounced into a deep bunker left of the green that led to a bogey on a par 5. Still, returning a score at level par is nothing to sniff at on a day when only four players broke 70 in the early wave.

“Getting to 4-over is really nothing out here either. It’s diabolical,” DeChambeau said. “You’ve got to be on point every single hole.”

Watching DeChambeau battle on Thursday was a reminder that golf is hard, even when you can hit it a country mile.

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Is Rickie Fowler turning the corner at the PGA Championship? He thinks so.

Rickie Fowler was in good spirits after his first round at the PGA Championship and opened up on his recent struggles.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – I’m starting to feel pretty darn good.

Those were the words of Rickie Fowler on Thursday as he happily took to the stage in front of the media after his first round in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. He hasn’t said anything akin to that for some time now, his struggles inside the gallery ropes nosediving his world ranking and challenging his always sunny disposition.

His official world ranking is down to No. 128 – his lowest since 2009. The winner of nine titles worldwide – including five on the PGA Tour, his most recent coming in the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open – has missed 13 cuts in his last 29 starts on the PGA Tour. His last top-10 came in January 2020. His best finish this year is a tie for 17th in the Valero Texas Open. He didn’t qualify for the Masters, the first major he’s missed since 2010.

And all his struggles adapting to swing changes haven’t happened in the dark.

“It’s tough for anybody regardless, spotlight or not, because you deal with the personal and mental struggle on your own,” Fowler said. “It’s probably a little different, whether it’s answer questions or know that there are people talking about what’s going on or whatever it may be.

“When you’re going through anything, whether it be something personal with any of your lives or my golf game or whatever it may be, it’s hard. It doesn’t matter whether people are watching or not, but it adds a little bit if they are.”

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With his form in freefall, Fowler needed a sponsor’s exemption to get into the PGA Championship. He’s made the most of his opportunity so far with a 1-under-par 71 on the windswept Ocean Course to stand two shots out of the early lead among the early starters.

“It’s Thursday. As everyone says, you can’t win it, but you can take yourself out of it on Thursday,” Fowler said. “It’s all about getting off to a good start. So definitely happy about it. I feel like we managed our way around quite well. I missed one shortish putt for par coming in, but other than that, solid day.”

He’s had quite a few solid days of late, especially during prep work ahead of tournaments. He has reached the point where he doesn’t have to concentrate on the technical aspects of his swing changes. Instead, he’s focused on just figuring out a way to get the golf ball in the hole.

“The last few months, it’s been a lot more just go play golf and not play golf swing,” he said. “Put a lot of time in prior to the last few months of working on swing and doing the stuff we kind of needed to work on and accomplish. Now it’s just, go play golf.

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“Unfortunately, through that time, the putter has gone pretty cold, if not the coldest it’s ever been for me, and that’s been a club I’ve been able to rely on through my career from junior golf on up.

“With this golf course and the wind and what it kind of demands of you, you can’t try and go out there and be perfect. You’ve just got to go out there and hit golf shots and kind of play with what you have that day.”

As for his putter, his bread and butter over the years, it was working as he needed just 27 putts on the difficult greens. He put in extra hours on the greens this week ahead of the first round.

“Definitely happy with the time we spent to take it into today and get some positives out of it,” he said. “It’s nice to at least make some putts today.”

While at times it’s been tough to handle as the poor results mounted, Fowler has never lost sight of what he gets to do for a living.

“In a way, it’s just putting things into perspective and understanding that I get to do this for a living. And that’s awesome. I’ve had a great run so far out here. I definitely want more,” he said. “We have it pretty darn good out here.”

And one other thing that doesn’t have him feeling the blues.

“We’re on our way back now,” he said.

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John Daly hit the range for a major as only he can — with a McDonald’s diet soda

John Daly, who won the event back in 1991 at Crooked Stick Golf Club, is making his annual appearance at the PGA Championship.

The 2021 PGA Championship kicked off Thursday at the legendary Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, and for a very short time, a previous winner put his name atop the leaderboard.

John Daly, who won the event back in 1991 at Crooked Stick Golf Club, is making his annual appearance at the PGA Championship, wheeling a cart around the grounds. He was given permission to play with a cart before the 2019 tournament due to osteoarthritis in his right knee.

Daly, who is 55 years old and spends most of his time on the PGA Tour Champions, started his day on the range in typical JD style — rocking a McDonald’s diet soda.

Daly opened his round with a birdie, temporarily taking the lead, but then added doubles on Nos. 3, 11 and 13.

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No, those aren’t bunkers in the PGA Championship despite all the sand you see

Those are not bunkers you see on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in this week’s 103rd PGA Championship.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Attention all viewers.

Those are not bunkers you see on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in this week’s 103rd PGA Championship.

Yes, there is plenty of sand to see on the Pete Dye ocean-side course, and yes, they sure do look like bunkers. But PGA of America officials instituted a local rule this week stating that all areas on the course featuring sand are “sandy areas” and not bunkers.

“As we have in previous championships, the sandy areas will not be bunkers, and we’ve notified all the players of that. So players will be able to take practice swings out of the sand areas. It’s part of the general area,” Kerry Haigh, the championships officer for the PGA of America, said earlier this week.

That means players legally can take practice swings in the sandy areas. Can even catch some sand with a practice swing. So don’t reach for the phone thinking a player is committing a penalty in the sandy areas.

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Dustin Johnson hopes a 7-wood and a sore knee can capture a PGA Championship

Johnson said the knee has been “off and on a little bit” for the last six months, which coincides with his game.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Think of it as a little maintenance and a lot of peace of mind for Dustin Johnson.

The world’s top-ranked golfer had his left knee checked out last week after withdrawing from the Byron Nelson. He spent the week at his home in Palm Beach County, had an MRI and put together a plan with his doctor and physiotherapist.

The result: He’s feeling better and just in time for the PGA Championship, which is being played in his home state.

“It just didn’t feel right,” Johnson said about the knee he had arthroscopic surgery on 20 months ago. “I got an MRI, everything was fine … and just put together a little bit of a plan to get a little bit stronger. It feels good, though.”

Johnson said the knee has been “off and on a little bit” for the last six months, which coincides with his game. Since a stretch in which he finished in the top 12 in 10 consecutive starts, with three firsts including the 2020 Masters, Johnson has been outside the top 25 in five of this last six, including missing the cut at this year’s Masters.

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Johnson, though, is not putting it all on his health.

“Mix of everything,” he said. “I feel like it’s been close the past few months, just haven’t put it all together at the same time.

“But everything feels really good right now. I’ve got a lot of confidence coming into this week.”

And just in time for the home crowd.

The last time Johnson played the challenging Ocean Course was the 2012 PGA Championship, which Rory McIlroy won by eight shots with a 13-under. Johnson was 5-over and finished tied for 48th with a second-round 79 on a day when the stroke average was 78.

Prior, Johnson only remembers playing a junior event or two on the seaside course. He was raised in Irmo, S.C., about 140 miles from Kiawah Island and then starred at Coastal Carolina University. Yet, he cannot remember winning a significant tournament in his home state.

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This would be one to remember.

“It’s going to be a really tough test,” Johnson said. “It’s long … hitting long clubs in. So you know, especially when the wind is blowing how it has been the last few days, even the downwind holes are tough just because it’s hard to stop the ball.”

Johnson played mostly from the tips of the 7,876-yard course during his practice rounds and says he used every club in his bag, one of those being a 7-wood he added before last year’s PGA at Harding Park.

He was searching for a hybrid he could get up in the air and land softer than his 3-iron.

“I hit it a few times, really liked it, and it’s been in the bag ever since,” he said. “Hit a lot of different shots with it.”

Johnson is chasing his third major to go along with the 2016 U.S. Open and last year’s Masters. He was runner-up in the last two PGA Championships, two shots behind Collin Morikawa last year and two behind Brooks Koepka in 2019 at Bethpage Black.

Johnson was asked which of the two is more annoying.

“Both of them,” he said. “They are all annoying.”

Winning this one would go a long way toward getting over those close calls.

“(The PGA Championship) is definitely on the top of the list of things that I haven’t accomplished and something that I really would like to,” Johnson said. “It would be great obviously to do it here in my home state.”