Category: PGA Championship

Bryson DeChambeau tabs T-4 finish at PGA Championship ‘super-validating’

DeChambeau earned his best finish in a major, finishing T-4 behind winner Collin Morikawa at the PGA Championship.

Northern California native Bryson DeChambeau fell short of his dream of winning his first major championship in his backyard at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, but not without putting up quite a fight.

DeChambeau bashed 11 drives of more than 300 yards Sunday, including a 359-yard blast at No. 10, en route to shooting 4-under 66 and finishing in a tie for fourth place, his first top-10 finish in a major.

“Finally was able to finish in the top 10, top 5 I hope in a major, and that’s an awesome accolade,” DeChambeau said. “Next step is to win. I feel like my game is good enough.”

DeChambeau birdied three of his first four holes to grab a share of the lead and climbed to double figures with another birdie at No. 7. But then he missed the green to the right at the long par-3 8th hole and fluffed his chip for his first bogey. He 3-putted from 54 feet at the ninth to drop back to 8 under.

DeChambeau flexed his muscles at the par-5 10th, crushing a drive 359 yards. But he missed the green with his second shot, chipped to 5 feet and lipped out his birdie effort. It was a missed opportunity and despite DeChambeau making two birdies on the second nine – Nos. 14 and 16 – it was too little too late as Collin Morikawa separated from the pack to shoot 65-64 on the weekend and win by two strokes over Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson.

Leaderboard | Photos | Winner’s bag | Money | Trophies

DeChambeau, a six-time Tour winner, shot a pair of 66s on the weekend to shoot 10-under 270. His previous best result had been a T-15 at the 2016 U.S. Open. DeChambeau also notched his ninth top 10 of the season, tied with Justin Thomas for the most on Tour.

While DeChambeau didn’t seal the deal this time, it provided further confirmation that the Bryson Experiment – his brawny physique and rapid yardage gain – can work at the biggest events and not just the Rocket Mortgage Classics of the world. DeChambeau led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-tee, gaining more than seven strokes to the field.

“It’s super validating. I don’t know how else to put it. Very excited for the future for me,” DeChambeau said. “Look, my driving I think is only going to get stronger and farther, golf-course dependent, obviously. But I hope in due time there’s going to be an advantage that’s out there that, you know, hopefully – I don’t know how else to put it in a nicer way, but gives me a really distinct advantage that helps me win a lot out here.”

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NBA star Steph Curry offers to be Collin Morikawa’s caddie after PGA Championship win

For the first major golf tournament of the 2020 slate, the Tour’s top players landed in the Bay Area for the 102nd edition of the PGA Championship. Along with Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, the Golden …

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For the first major golf tournament of the 2020 slate, the Tour’s top players landed in the Bay Area for the 102nd edition of the PGA Championship. Along with Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, the Golden State Warriors point guard was in attendance.

Stephen Curry was spotted throughout the course at the limited gallery at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

With a thrilling late eagle on the 16th hole, Cal Berkeley alum Collin Morikawa separated himself from the top group to take the lead in the PGA Championship. Morikawa capped off a score of six-under 64 on Sunday to seal his first major tournament victory at 23-years-old.

Following his Wanamaker Trophy win, Morikawa answered questions from media in attendance.

Leaderboard | Photos | Winner’s bag | Money | Trophies

The two-time Most Valuable Player was able to ask a question to the newly crowned PGA Championship winner. After identifying himself as a member of “Underrated Media,” Curry asked Morikawa about his mindset on the back-nine and whether he watched the leaderboard down the stretch.

Although Morikawa’s said his caddie J.J. Jakovac is a fan of the Warriors, the Los Angeles native made sure to jokingly let Curry know he wasn’t a Golden State fan.

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See you next year: Kiawah Island to host the 2021 PGA Championship

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort is on deck. The South Carolina course is set to host the 2021 PGA Championship.

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort is on deck.

The South Carolina course is set to host the 2021 PGA Championship. The tournament is set for May 20-23.

It’s the second time the course will host the PGA Championship. In 2012, Kiawah Island staged South Carolina’s first-ever major golf championship, as Rory McIlroy took home the Wanamaker Trophy after winning by eight shots.

The Ocean Course occupies the far eastern end of a barrier island of the South Carolina shore, 15 miles due south of Charleston. The course was designed by Alice and Pete Dye and built at a furious pace, opening (barely) in time to hold the 1991 Ryder Cup, the famous “War by the Shore” at which the U.S. eked out the narrowest of victories.

The native site was a wild combination of tidal marshes, freshwater ponds and sand dunes. At the suggestion of Dye’s wife, Alice, the playing corridors for the holes were built up to afford views of the Atlantic Ocean to the south as well as to expose golfers to the winds. The result is an extremely challenging experience of golf in the raw. For the 2012 PGA Championship, the par-72 Ocean Course played at 7,676 yards.

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Brooks Koepka discovers karma is a bitch, shoots final-round 74

Koepka, who “liked his chances” and belittled his competition in his Saturday press conference, struggled to a 74 on Sunday.

What’s the old saying – karma’s a bitch?

Brooks Koepka talked a good game at the 102nd PGA Championship on Saturday night. He didn’t quite go all Joe Namath and guarantee victory on Sunday, but Koepka said that his experience winning four majors, including the Wanamaker Trophy the last two years, and his comfort level on the back-nine Sunday at majors would be the difference at TPC Harding Park.

Trailing by two strokes heading into the final round, Koepka was the last guy you’d have expected to lay an egg, but he did just that. He shot a 4-over 74, 10 strokes more than champion Collin Morikawa, to tumble to a share of 29th place and beat only player in the field on Sunday.

“It’s my first bad round in a while in a major,” Koepka said in a post-round interview. “You know, I was just there to cheer Paul (Casey) on. That was it. Just try to help him get it in the house and see how well he could finish, because I had put myself out of it already.”

Koepka’s Sunday swoon began with a sloppy bogey at the second hole. But his round started spinning out of control after he pulled a 4-iron off the tee at the seventh hole into the rough.

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“Every time I hit it in the rough today I got probably the worst lie I’ve had all week. You know, if you’re going to put it in the rough out here, it’s pretty tough,” he said.

Koepka made bogey and compounded his error with bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9, to shoot a birdie-less 4-over 39 on the front nine.

“Disappointing, to say the least. You know, you knew you had to be under par, at least one, to have a good chance on the back side,” he said.

Still, it was an impressive effort by Koepka to be in the trophy hunt for a third straight year at the PGA Championship, especially given his struggles this season and continued issues with his left knee. Tiger Woods, who knows from experience what it is like to seek a three-peat at the PGA and fall short, explained why only three players in the last 100 years have won the same major three years in a row.

“The hard part is the expectations going into the week, the number of distractions that you have to try and prepare for,” he said.

Koepka pushed Gary Woodland to the finish line in his quest to three-peat at the 2019 U.S. Open. This time, he put up a good fight for three rounds before a rare over-par effort in a major on Sunday.

“You know, hey, wasn’t meant to be,” Koepka said. “Three in a row, you’re not really supposed to do two in a row looking at history, but that’s all right. Got two more the rest of the season and we’ll figure it out from there.”

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Eamon Lynch: Brooks Koepka’s verbal jousting didn’t ignite his own game, but it’s good for golf

Koepka will swallow his humble pie, but don’t expect him to hold his tongue in the future. And nor should he.

It might require a Brinks truck to deliver all the humble pie that Brooks Koepka will be told to eat in the coming days, but thems the risks when you’re one of the few guys in golf willing to open your mouth and hazard being served life’s least appetizing dessert.

The four-time major winner violated one of the game’s cardinal conventions at the PGA Championship: that the first shot among leaders entering the final round takes place on the first tee Sunday afternoon, not Saturday night in front of a microphone. After the third round at TPC Harding Park, the two-time defending champion stood a couple strokes adrift of his one-time friend, Dustin Johnson.

“I like my chances,” Koepka said. “When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized. I don’t know, [Johnson’s] only won one.”

As prodding goes, it had all the subtlety and affection of the dental scene in Marathon Man.

Eamon Lynch

Koepka has long been an enthusiastic practitioner of the dark art of psych ops, and generous in his targeting. While Tiger Woods treated opponents with an icy aloofness, barely acknowledging their existence at times, Koepka pokes around in search of a frailty, preferably one that manifests itself in an agitated mind under pressure on a Sunday afternoon. His instruments of choice are press conferences and social media posts, but these are not throwaway comments or tweets. Nothing that exits Koepka’s mouth — not one syllable — isn’t premeditated.

Mind games are as much a weapon in Koepka’s arsenal as his driver, and that isn’t necessarily as popular among his peers as it is among golf fans who crave a little conflict, and reporters thirsty for a good quote.

Rory McIlroy has been a past target of needling by Koepka, who he ousted as world No. 1 earlier this year. He was asked about Koepka’s comments on Johnson after the final round in San Francisco. “It’s a very different mentality to bring to golf that I don’t think a lot of golfers have,” he said with admirable understatement. “I certainly try to respect everyone out here. Everyone is a great player. If you’ve won a major championship, you’re a hell of a player. Doesn’t mean you’ve only won one; you’ve won one, and you’ve had to do a lot of good things to do that.”

McIlroy then threw out another number: “Sort of hard to knock a guy that’s got 21 wins on the PGA Tour, which is three times what Brooks has.”

Even Koepka might doff his cap to that surgical drone strike by McIlroy.

Evident in this brouhaha among the bros is the assumption that Koepka’s comments were designed solely to rattle Johnson rather than to rouse himself. Koepka knew his Dustin drive-by would increase enormously the pressure on him to deliver in the final round, but he was willing to assume the risk of embarrassment — and virtual execution by the ever-alert Twitter firing squad — to motivate himself to excel. It was a fraught strategy for a man already facing substantial expectations in his bid for a third straight win in this event, even if he hadn’t been aiming the barb at a former world No. 1 who won on Tour a few weeks back.

That he was game for the gamble should earn him kudos. But the fact that Koepka didn’t deliver on the golf course — a miserable front nine on the way to a 74 ensured that kid with the financial advisor mom in the AIG ad got more screen time than he did — won’t encourage others to imitate his aggressive gamesmanship. Which is a shame. Verbal pugilism is part of the foreplay of every prizefight, and golf would benefit from both tolerating and encouraging a little more sass among competitors.

Sure, mouthiness will grate on fans of golf’s decorous behavioral code, but it will also engage those inclined to lazily dismiss the game as an antiquated hobby ill-suited to the combative vibe of modern sport.

Golf is enjoying a window in which it dominates the sports landscape for lack of alternatives, but relying on other leagues being locked down and prime-time finishes on the East Coast are short-term strategies for success. Freeing up players to exhibit more personality and attitude — even if we don’t much care for either — is necessary too. This is not the time to dust off Emily Post’s Etiquette for a stern lecture to those who step outside the lines drawn by Old Tom Morris more than 150 years ago.

Koepka will swallow his humble pie, but don’t expect him to hold his tongue in the future. And nor should he. There were plenty of fans eager to see if he could back up his swagger on Sunday, and a few hoping to see him humbled. Golf needs both constituencies, and it needs polarizing players like Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau who are not only willing to fuel those fans but to accept the shellacking when they come up short.

And for all the hooting, hollering and pearl-clutching, Dustin Johnson still has one major and Brooks Koepka still has four. Neither man won on Sunday, but neither leaves town a loser either.

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Collin Morikawa closes with a 64 to win 2020 PGA Championship

Collin Morikawa continues to impress during his young professional career.

Collin Morikawa continues to impress during his young professional career.

On Sunday, in his 29th professional start, he won the biggest tournament of his life, claiming the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

Morikawa had already won twice on the PGA Tour and at one point, he made 22 straight cuts.

On Sunday, on the strength of four birdies and an eagle chip on the 16th hole, Morikawa closed out his first major championship.

At 23 years, 6 months, 3 days, Morikawa earns a lifetime exemption into the PGA Championship. He also earns five-year exemptions to the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Tour.

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What is the playoff format for the PGA Championship?

There have been 12 playoffs in the PGA Championship since the event went to a stroke-play format in 1958.

Who doesn’t love some extra golf?

The 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park is heating up in the final round and the top of the leaderboard is becoming quite crowded.

Dustin Johnson started the day with the lead but Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler, Matthew Wolff, Tony Finau, Paul Casey, Cameron Champ, Collin Morikawa, Daniel Berger, Justin Rose, Jason Day and Patrick Reed all duking it out.

If the PGA Championship does go to a playoff, here’s what the format will look like:

In the event of a tie for first place after 72 holes, there will be a three-hole aggregate score playoff on holes 16, 17 and 18. If a tie still remains, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff beginning on No. 18, and, if necessary, on to holes 16, 17 and 18 repeated until a winner is determined.

It’s been a decade since we had a playoff in the PGA Championship.

In 2010, Martin Kaymer knocked out Bubba Watson to win at Whistling Straits. Other playoffs were 2004 (Vijay Singh), 2000 (Tiger Woods), 1996 (Mark Brooks), 1995 (Steve Elkington), 1993 (Paul Azinger), 1987 (Larry Nelson), 1979 (David Graham), 1978 (John Mahaffey), 1977 (Lanny Wadkins), 1967 (Don January) and 1961 (Jerry Barber).

That’s a total of 12 playoffs since 1958, the first year the PGA Championship went to a stroke-play format.

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Rory McIlroy ‘taken aback’ by Brooks Koepka throwing shade on DJ

Rory McIlroy: “Sort of hard to knock a guy that’s got 21 wins on the PGA Tour, which is three times what Brooks has.”

Shots were fired after the golf ended at TPC Harding Park on Saturday night as Brooks Koepka, seeking a historic three-peat at the PGA Championship seemed to dismiss his former workout partner, 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson.

“I like my chances,” Koepka said. “When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized. I don’t know, (Johnson)’s only won one. I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see.”

Koepka has never been short of confidence, but even Rory McIlroy, who was watching the golf on TV, said he was taken aback by Koepka’s comments.

“It’s a very different mentality to bring to golf that I don’t think a lot of golfers have,” McIlroy said. “Whether he was trying to play mind games or not – if he’s trying to play mind games, he’s trying to do it to the wrong person. I don’t think DJ really gives much of a concern that.

“But just different. I certainly try to respect everyone out here. Everyone is a great player. If you’ve won a major championship, you’re a hell of a player. Doesn’t mean you’ve only won one; you’ve won one, and you’ve had to do a lot of good things to do that.”

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

And then McIlroy dropped the hammer on Koepka: “Yeah, I mean, sort of hard to knock a guy that’s got 21 wins on the PGA Tour, which is three times what Brooks has.”

In a pre-tournament interview with Golfweek, Koepka explained that he enjoys a lone wolf mentality on Tour and isn’t looking to be buddies with his fellow players. He and Johnson used to be considered golf’s version of the Bash Brothers, but Koepka says that is no more. “That got blown out of proportion because we worked out in the same gym. We no longer do that,” he said. “All of last year at least we weren’t working out together.”

And speaking after Saturday’s round, Koepka explained his success at the majors: “It’s just a comfort level,” he said. “I feel very comfortable around the lead in the big events.”

Koepka, who is seeking his fifth major title, would become the fastest to do so if he were to win today. It’s 1,148 days since he won the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills.

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Justin Thomas dropped an angry F-bomb after a missed putt and golf fans loved it

Thomas thought he had a certain birdie putt on the par-4 5th, but he watched in disbelief as the putt trailed off the lip. His reaction was NSFW.

Even when fans are in attendance, golf broadcasts have been able to pick up golfer commentary on hot mics. But when you take fans out of the equation completely for a major tournament, you’re going to hear a lot of the frustration play out on TV.

This year’s PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park was the perfect example of that.

After already picking up an F-bomb from Tiger Woods’ MLB conversation with Rory McIlroy, Sunday’s final round had an extremely relatable F-bomb courtesy of Justin Thomas.

Thomas thought he had a certain birdie putt on the par-4 5th, but he watched in disbelief as the putt trailed off the lip. This was how he reacted (NSFW language):

Anyone who has ever played golf certainly knows that feeling, and golf fans actually appreciated being able to hear it play out on the broadcast.

See! Pro golfers are just like us — except, you know, way better at golf.

Tiger Woods closes PGA Championship with 67, finishes week in the red

Tiger Woods fired a closing 3-under 67 at the PGA Championship that included five final-round birdies at TPC Harding Park.

So far off the lead starting the final round of the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods had a big-picture goal for Sunday at TPC Harding Park. His year is just starting, what with two more majors coming down the pipe in September and October, plus the FedEx Cup playoffs. Sunday was about building momentum for the future.

Woods effectively did that on a foggy morning in San Francisco, logging five birdies and just two bogeys for a final-round 3-under 67 that pushed him to 1 under for the tournament.

On the eve of the final round, when Woods was coming off a second round in which he struggled mightily with green speeds – using the new Scotty Cameron prototype putter he had put into play this week – he set a goal of finishing the week in the red. He managed to accomplish that.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

Woods had birdies on Nos. 4, 5, 7, 14 and 17. His two bogeys came at the notoriously difficult par-3 eighth and the closing par-4 18th.

Sunday marked just the eighth round Woods has played since the PGA Tour returned in June. He played last month’s Memorial Tournament and finished T-40 there. He is not in the field for next week’s Wyndham Championship.

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