Tag: Southern Hills

Golfweek’s Best 2022: Top public and private courses in Oklahoma

The top two public-access golf courses in Oklahoma ignite a college rivalry, while the state’s best private layout is a major veteran.

The top two public-access golf courses in Oklahoma bring out a college rivalry, Cowboys versus Sooners.

No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access layouts in Oklahoma is Karsten Creek in Stillwater, a Tom Fazio-designed layout that serves as the home course for the Oklahoma State golf teams. Opened in 1994, Karsten Creek was named for Ping Golf founder Karsten Solheim, and the course plays around Lake Louise, named for Solheim’s wife.

No. 2 on that list is Jimmie Austin Golf Club at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The club originally was laid out by Perry Maxwell and opened in 1951, and it was reworked by Bob Cupp in 1996 and again by Tripp Davis in 2017.

On the private side, Southern Hills in Tulsa takes the top spot. Designed by Perry Maxwell in 1936 and restored by Gil Hanse in 2019, Southern Hills has been host to a slate of top tournaments including three U.S. Opens (1958, ’77 and ’01) as well as five PGA Championships (1970, ’82, ’94, ’07 and ’22).

Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with that of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.

Also popular are the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top private courses in each state, and that list for Oklahoma’s private offerings is likewise included below.

MORE: Best Modern | Best Classic | Top 200 Resort | Top 200 Residential | Top 100 Best You Can Play

(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960
(c): Classic course, built before 1960

Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses. 

* New to or returning to list

Remember the no-phone guy? Well, he signed a merchandise deal with Michelob Ultra

It pays to actually watch the golf.

It’s become all too common at PGA Tour events over the last few seasons. A star of the game hits it into the people, the fans flock to the ball like seagulls chasing down your chips at the beach, then when the player actually hits the shot, zero eyeballs see it. They all watch it through their phones, taking a video they’ll never watch again.

Just another reason why the Masters is king.

Well, a fan went old-school at last week’s PGA Championship when Tiger Woods hit a wayward drive and had to hit a heroic punch shot from the trees. Every other fan in this incredible photo watched through the lens of their smartphone while one man stood there, beer in hand, taking in the GOAT at work.

Fans at home weren’t the only ones to notice this guy — so did Michelob Ultra, the very beer the man was holding.

A few days after the photo was taken, Mark, the fan, and Michelob Ultra agreed on a deal that resulted in a 15-second advertisement centered around the photo, then a merchandise line that included a shirt and hat with Mark on it.

Michelob Ultra ad

Pretty intense for a beer commercial, but pretty damn cool.

Merchandise

Click here to purchase the shirt, and here for the hat.

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Dressed for Success: Justin Thomas at the 2022 PGA Championship

A closer look at Justin Thomas’ apparel worn during his win at the 2022 PGA Championship.

Justin Thomas did it again this weekend, winning his second PGA Championship five years after his first.

Thomas was cool under pressure when he defeated Will Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy.

Thomas and Greyson Clothiers announced a partnership in March of 2022, and JT has been repping the brand ever since. Merging fashion with sport, Greyson’s mission is to create products that are suitable for the modern lifestyle. Averee Dovsek believes the partnership between the two was the best case scenario for Thomas’ style.

We’ve already taken a look into JT’s winning equipment, so now let’s take a deeper dive into the champion’s closet and see how Justin dressed for success at the 2022 PGA Championship.

More Dressed for Success: Max Homa | Jon Rahm | Jordan Spieth

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Jordan Spieth bends the laws of physics with ridiculous punch shot off the water at the PGA Championship

Jordan Spieth is a wizard.

It’s been an overall forgettable weekend for Jordan Spieth at the PGA Championship, but he made one shot he isn’t likely to forget for a while.

During Saturday’s Round 3 from Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Spieth — who entered the day at 1-over for the tournament — faced a difficult shot No. 2 on the par 4 12th hole.

His initial drive was quite a bit offline, leaving him well into the rough on the left side 120 yards out from the hole. He opted to punch out, as he was surrounded by tree cover, and what happened next was nothing short of spectacular.

It looked like Spieth was doomed to take a penalty as his shot went straight toward the water. But instead of sinking to the bottom, the ball miraculously skipped off the surface of the water and back into the field of play, leaving Spieth sitting high and dry just 32 yards away from the hole.

He finished the hole with a bogey, but he was able to channel his inner magician and kept things from getting significantly worse.

It was a high moment in an overall poor round for Spieth. His bogey on 12 was his second of the day in addition to a double bogey on the first hole. After a three-putt bogey on No. 6, it was clear the frustration got to him.

As of publishing, he sits in a tie for 35th overall at 2-over for the day and 3-over for the tournament. But on the other hand, he also did this earlier in the round.

I suppose you have to take the good with the bad in the game of golf.

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Jordan ‘walk on water’ Spieth utilizes water skip shot at PGA Championship

We’ve seen Jordan Spieth do some crazy stuff with a golf ball, but …

We’ve seen Jordan Spieth do some crazy stuff with a golf ball, but he just utilized a water skip shot to perfection at the PGA Championship.

On the 12th hole at Southern Hills Country Club, Spieth blew his tee shot way right on the par 4. Stuck behind a tree, it was going to take a heroic effort to get the ball anywhere near the green.

Little did we know Spieth had a supreme effort in the bag.

From the trees, he played a low draw that looked like it was going to find the water, then it skipped right into the fairway short of the green.

He’d go on to make bogey.

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PGA Championship: Thunderstorms drop rain on Southern Hills, softening course

With dangerous weather still in the area early Saturday, starting times for the third round got pushed back 37 minutes.

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TULSA, Okla. — Strong thunderstorms rolled through central and eastern Oklahoma overnight, lighting up the sky and dropping 0.4 inches of rain on Southern Hills Country Club, the site of the 2022 PGA Championship.

Friday’s forecast had originally called for storms to start arriving in the area as the last players were completing their second round, but the rain held off and play was completed.

However, with dangerous weather still in the area early Saturday morning, the PGA of America pushed starting times for the third round back 37 minutes, with the first player, Brian Harmon, teeing off alone at 7:37 a.m. Central Time.

The official PGA Championship weather report states there is a small chance of more rain this morning, with temperatures topping out in the mid-50s, which is 30 degrees colder than Thursday or Friday. The wind is expected to hold between 10 and 15 mph for most of the day, but gusts of up to 30 mph are possible.

Southern Hills Country Club
Southern Hills Country Club Saturday morning as the third round of the 2022 PGA Championship began. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

As the name suggests, Southern Hills is covered by slopes and there is a creek that works through several holes, so the course drains well. Players walking in the rough will see water flipping off the tips of their shoes, and that moisture could lead to some inconsistent shots, but the extra water on the course will also help players stop approach shots more quickly too.

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PGA Championship: With Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay back in pursuit at Southern Hills, who are the most successful caddies in men’s majors of all time?

Caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay is in pursuit of his sixth major title, but who has more?

Jim “Bones” Mackay is at it again, carrying the bag and helping to strategize for Justin Thomas in this week’s PGA Championship as Thomas has climbed the leaderboard. Bones has five major titles to his caddie credit, making him one of the most successful loopers of all time in golf’s biggest events.

But, he doesn’t have the most wins.

Below, find a list of some of the caddies who have looped for the most men’s major championships. The list includes some caddies you might have heard of, and plenty who worked in the era in which caddies received almost none of the credit and were often expected to “Show up, keep up and shut up.”

But most of them can claim plenty of credit in helping their golfers earn big titles. Then check out the Caddie Hall of Fame, from which some of this information has been obtained.

Jon Rahm hit a ridiculous 418-yard drive against the wind at the PGA Championship

Even the cameras are having trouble keeping up with these drives!

Jon Rahm woke up on Friday morning with some work to do at the PGA Championship.

After shooting a round of 73 on Thursday, the Spaniard was sitting in the 60s on the leaderboard and in danger of missing the cut at Southern Hills in Tulsa. That became an even tougher challenge when the infamous Oklahoma wind came sweeping down the plains and created a some absurd playing conditions at the start of Day 2.

Or at least it should’ve been a challenge. For Rahm (+5700 to win outright at Tipico), the gusts actually seemed to help him dial in his game. Look no further than this absolute bomb he hit off the tee at the par-four No. 1 after starting his day on the back nine.

Four hundred and eighteen yards. Into the wind. Jon Rahm, you must be joking.

Granted, we know the 27-year-old can destroy the ball. His 316-yard driving average is fifth-best on tour this year. But what he did at the No. 1 tee box was a full football field further than he usually hits.

And it wasn’t a one-off, either. His first shot at the par-four No. 16 went 391 yards despite cutting through a crosswind. Even the camera operators are having trouble tracking Rahm’s drives.

Whoever said “swing easy when it’s breezy” apparently never got a chance to pass the advice along to Rahm. Either that or Rahm is the exception who proves the rule.

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Tiger Woods looks uncomfortable after hot start, stumbles late during PGA Championship first round

Woods shot a 4-over 74 despite making birdie on his first hole.

The longer Tiger Woods was on the course for Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Championship, the worse he looked (though that may be expected after nearly losing his right leg).

Starting on the back nine in his return to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the site of his 2007 PGA Championship win, Woods was hot out the gate with birdies on his first and fifth holes, but then gave away both shots with bogeys on Nos. 15 and 18. He added five more bogeys on his second nine to ultimately sign for an 4-over 74 in the first round, walking off the course T-72 with the afternoon wave still to finish.

Woods showed the first glimpses of discomfort on No. 18, his ninth hole of the day, and nearly lost his balance on his penultimate hole of the day, the par-3 8th.

The 15-time major champion will have lots of time to recover and try to get ready for round two, where he’ll tee off alongside Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth at 2:36 p.m. ET.

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Photos: 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma

The PGA Championship has returned Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the fifth time in 2022.

The PGA Championship has returned Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the fifth time in 2022.

The Sooner State has plenty of golf major history. Southern Hills first hosted a major with the 1958 U.S. Open. The first PGA at SHCC was in 1970 when Dave Stockton won the first of his two PGA Championships.

The last time the PGA was there was in 2007, when Tiger Woods won the 13th of his 15 career majors.

Woods is back this week, headlining a field of 156 golfers in the second men’s major in 2022. The course is a par 70 and playing 7,356 yards. Take a look at some photos of the tournament.