By Dave Shedloski
Almost an hour passed Sunday afternoon during the final round of the PGA Championship with Brooks Koepka notably absent from television coverage, and when he finally did appear, he was crouching behind his ball on the sixth green while playing partner Paul Casey was stroking a long putt. Then CBS cut away before Koepka attempted his 15-foot birdie putt, which could have moved him within three of the lead.

Injustice to the two-time defending champion? Or just desserts for one of golf’s most quotable players who might have gone a quip too far?

Whatever, Koepka just wasn’t good theatre at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Since winning the 2017 U.S. Open, the muscular Floridian had been omnipresent on major leader boards, but he fell off the pace quickly, as if enveloped in the coastal California fog, and his disappearance from the TV screen seemed so strange. Really strange.

Brooks falling out of contention at a major? Nice job, 2020.

After beginning the day three behind 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson—his good friend, at least for the time being?—Koepka suffered through a final round mostly foreign to him. He closed the front nine with three straight bogeys to turn in 39 and things never got better as he posted a dismal four-over 74 that left him at three-under 277, tied for 29th.

“It’s my first bad round in a major in a while,” said Koepka, forgetting the closing 74 in last year’s PGA at Bethpage Black, which was just enough to hold off Johnson after surrendering almost all of a seven-stroke lead.

On Saturday night, someone made the observation that this time it was Koepka trailing and Johnson leading, and that’s when Brooks took his brashness to a new level, responding, “I like my chances. When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized. I don’t know, he’s only won one. I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see.”

Naturally, reporters doing reporting, they had to seek a comment about Koepka’s effrontery from one Rory McIlroy, who possesses Koepka’s honesty but delivers it with a lighter touch. We believe it’s called tact. Like Koepka, McIlroy also has four majors, but Koepka lit up the Northern Irishman last year by averring that they weren’t rivals because McIlroy hadn’t won a major since Koepka joined the PGA Tour.

McIlroy responded to Koepka’s Saturday salvo at Johnson in a way you’d expect, choosing his words carefully while making a point.

“It’s different, right; it’s a very different mentality to bring to golf that I don’t think a lot of golfers have,” he said of Koepka. “I was watching the golf last night and heard the interview and was just sort of taken aback a little bit. … 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.

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

Apparently, it wasn’t hard at all. Not for Brooks.

What happened to Koepka on Sunday, it is believed in more than a few circles, was outright, unmitigated karma catching up to him. Candor is a commodity in too short of supply these days, but it has to come with a dollop of charity or a nod of respect. Then again, if karma were truly at work, Dustin Johnson would have converted that 54-hole lead into his second major title. Instead, Collin Morikawa, just 23, collected his first.

Harry How
Brooks Koepka was out of contention by the time he reached the eighth hole in the final round of the PGA Championship.

The golf gods, or golf’s inherently meagre odds, undoubtedly worked against Koepka as well.

For the second year in a row Koepka was going for a third straight win in a major at the 102nd PGA Championship. Last year it was the U.S. Open, and he acquitted himself splendidly in the attempt, finishing runner-up to Gary Woodland just down the road at Pebble Beach Golf Links. In the modern era, no one, not even Tiger Woods, went for a three-peat in a major in consecutive years.

Had he won on Sunday Koepka would have collected his fifth major title in the fewest days since he won his first. Faster than Woods, who did it in 1,225 days. Faster than Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer or Ben Hogan. Koepka was vying for No. 5 in just 1,148 days since his first U.S. Open win at Erin Hills – which, by the way, means the record still will be in reach at next month’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

Koepka’s strident attitude obviously serves him well in the big events. The fact that he gave himself a chance to win a third straight PGA despite a compromised left knee that has been giving him trouble for more than a year, just adds to his reputation as perhaps the toughest competitor in the game. If he has a soft side, why should he want to show it?

His callous remark about his pal aside, Koepka’s professionalism is unquestioned. Casey said as much after finishing runner-up, noting that Koepka could not have been more of a gentleman even as he struggled.

“I was just there to cheer Paul on. That was it,” Koepka said. “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.”

And CBS had put out Koepka early. He was kaput. But with Casey in contention throughout the afternoon, Koepka couldn’t escape the camera entirely, appearing in a few cameos, usually standing around in the background, just another spectator. It was not how we were supposed to remember his bid for a piece of history.

Golf’s alpha was getting the omega end of things. And more than a few people felt, justified or not, that he had it coming.

The post Brooks Koepka gets a karma check and some are happy to see it happen appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
Brooks Koepka perused the leaderboard on Saturday night in San Francisco as he prepared for his PGA Championship three-peat and made a blunt assessment about leader Dustin Johnson’s record in majors. Koepka, who trailed Johnson, the 54-hole leader, by two strokes going into the final round, not-so-subtly pointed out that Johnson had “only” won one major title amid what has been a career of major chances.

A day later, karma paid a visit to Koepka at TPC Harding Park and his bid for a historic victory died a quick death. But when the final round was over Johnson indeed remained stuck on that singular major triumph, lending more than a bit of credence to the dagger.

Sunday marked the fourth time that the 36-year-old led going into the final round of a major championship, and it was the fourth time that he failed to close the deal.

For Johnson, who shot a two-under 68 on a Sunday primed for red numbers to finish three strokes back of winner Collin Morikawa, it was his third runner-up in his last eight major starts, along with a T-3. But they don’t hand out trophies for almost winning.

Credit belongs to Morikawa, of course. The 23-year-old playing in his first major as a pro fired a studly 64 on Sunday that included a chip-in for birdie on the 14th hole and the shot of the tournament, a towering driver that landed seven feet from the hole on the reachable par-4 16th to set up a decisive eagle.

Still, Johnson had been in the lead for most of the afternoon and had his chances deep into the final day. So where did it go wrong … again?

There were a handful of curious missteps that stood out.

At the 176-yard par-3 third, he three-putted from 56 feet, missing a five-footer for par and made bogey. That was just the beginning.

Two holes later and just 115 yards from the flag, he managed to hit his wedge to just 30 feet. On the seventh, he didn’t do much better landing just outside 20 feet from the hole from a similar distance. Instead of stretching his lead, he made par on both.

Darren Carroll/PGA of America

Then, at the par-5 10th—the easiest hole on the golf course—Johnson was just inside 200 yards in the first cut on the left side of the fairway and missed in the one spot he couldn’t, left of the green and in a bunker. That left him impossibly short-sided and the best he could manage was hitting to 20 feet and two-putting.

The final blow came four holes later when Johnson drove into the right rough, tugged his next shot into another bunker and hit a lousy shot from there, leaving himself 35 feet from the hole on his way to a two-putt bogey.

Another opportunity missed.

For all of Johnson’s prowess—he has 22 career victories, the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont among them, and has won at least once in each of his 13 seasons on the PGA Tour, including the Travelers Championship in June—he remains something of an enigma when it comes to major success.

Sunday wasn’t only his latest chance, it was one of many.

At the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, he led by three going into the final round but imploded with an 82; that same year he infamously lost the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits when he grounded his club in a bunker.

The following year at the Open Championship, he trailed by two late on Sunday but hit his tee shot on the par-5 14th out of bounds. And in 2015 at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, he three-putted from 15 feet on the 72nd hole to hand the victory to Jordan Spieth.

Sunday, Johnson was outplayed by Morikawa and didn’t stop to talk after his round. It was understandable. So too would it be if this one actually stung for a little while.

The post Dustin Johnson adds another disappointing final round to his major championship record appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Folks, we’ve officially entered “hold onto your butts” territory at the 2020 PGA Championship.

As if the leader board through 36 holes wasn’t good enough, Dustin Johnson decided he wanted to take control of the tournament, setting up what could be DJ vs. Brooks Koepka, Part 1 million (at least that’s what it feels like). Can Johnson finally stare down his fellow bash bro on Sunday in San Francisco? We’re going to find out, which is the best part.

Here are our five takeaways from Day 3 at TPC Harding Park.

Dustin Johnson has to get it done on Sunday
There really isn’t much to break down here. Dustin Johnson should have, conservatively speaking, four major titles (I could make a very strong case for eight, by the way). And yet he’s still stuck on the one, albeit an incredibly impressive one at Oakmont after going through a world of major championship heartbreak in the years leading up to it. But for a player of his caliber—we are talking one of the 10 most talented players of all-time here—one is not going to cut it. Frankly, two won’t either, but two is a hell of a lot better than one (just ask Johnny Miller, John Daly, Zach Johnson, etc.). Not to mention, a second at 36 years old, the beginning of his “second prime” could awaken a beast. He’s already a Hall-of-Famer due to his PGA Tour win total (21 in case you forgot), but the last thing you want to be is a “man, great player, but he only had one major” guy. He’s currently this generation’s Greg Norman—an all-time great talent without the majors to match. He can begin to change that narrative by closing this thing out on Sunday.

Let’s be clear: In no way am I suggesting this is a layup for Johnson. Sunday is going to be a battle. But he faced a pretty similar situation at perhaps the toughest golf course on the planet at the 2016 U.S. Open, so it’s not like he’s not used to it. Two or three under could get the job done. That doesn’t seem like so much to ask for the former World No. 1.

RELATED: 13 tweets that told the story of Day 3 at TPC Harding Park

Harry How

On second thought …

Just when you thought Brooks Koepka exited the picture, he quickly reminded everyone that Brooks Koepka does not simply “exit the picture” in a major championship. After a bogey-bogey-bogey stretch beginning at the 13th hole, Koepka responded by making birdie at the 16th and then hitting his approach to five feet on 18 and cashing in on one last birdie to post 69, putting him at seven under and just two off Johnson’s lead. He’s not in the final or penultimate pairing, but he will be in the third-to-last off, and it feels like there is almost zero doubt he will shoot a number that puts him in the lead in the clubhouse, where he’ll wait to see how it all shakes out. Does this man sound concerned to you?

What can Brooks Koepka bring into the Final Round?
The experience of winning major championships. pic.twitter.com/alsJdMGd94

— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) August 9, 2020

The joy he got out of delivering that “DJ has only won one” line is absolutely terrifying. That said, Johnson was the only one he even acknowledged on the leader board, which tells you that in Koepka’s mind, that’s the only guy he’s playing against. Isn’t that the mentality he’s weaponised over the last few years? You beat DJ, you’re doing OK for yourself. Seems like he is sticking to that gameplan.

Darren Carroll/PGA of America

Some other decent names on the board

Koepka may have scoffed at them, but there are some pretty good players at the top of this leader board. I have a take that we’ll save for later about just this.

Anyway, Scottie Scheffler is immensely talented, as are Cameron Champ and Collin Morikawa. The thing working against this group, of course, is (GASP) experience. You may laugh at it, but there is definitely something to the “he hasn’t been there before” narrative. All three of these guys have contended and/or won PGA Tour events, but a major is different. Between them, this trio has a combined six major starts, with one top 30 (it was Scheffler finishing T-27 and low am at the 2017 U.S. Open). A young rising star breaking through on such a massive stage would be a sexy story, but Sunday is a stage none of them have ever been on before, fans or no fans. That’s just a fact.

As for the rest of the pack, there are a number of guys looking for major No. 1 (Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Paul Casey, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood) and some looking for No. 2 (Jason Day, Justin Rose). Hard to complain with what we’ve been treated to so far this week, and what we’re going to be treated to on Sunday.

RELATED: Dustin Johnson lost his yardage book before the third round, still shot 65

Is the PGA underrated among the majors?
Yes, this is recency bias like you read about. Guilty as charged. But think about what this tournament has given us since 2014: the ending in the dark at Valhalla, which Rory McIlroy won, was out of control, in 2015 we got peak Day vs. peak Spieth, in 2016 … moving on … in 2017 Justin Thomas put on a show, in 2018 Brooks edged out Tiger in front of massive St. Louis crowds, last year it was Koepka-DJ at Bethpage Black. This year, we may get Koepka-DJ all over again at TPC Harding Park, which has been an A+ major championship venue. Meanwhile, the U.S. Open feeds us nothing but controversy, rules issues and poor course setup. And we’re still calling the PGA the yellow Starburst? Doesn’t seem right.

Tom Pennington

Let’s all root for Haotong Li on Sunday
No cheering in the press box, yes, but Haotong Li is such a great character and we can only hope he becomes the force it looks like he could become in the coming years. After a three-over 73, he won’t be shocking the world with a major this week, but is there any doubt he’s the leading candidate to become his country’s first male major champion? He battled hard on Saturday, and the same should be expected from him on Sunday. Come to think of it, he’s probably on the range right now preparing. Keep grinding Haotong, your time will come.

The post It’s time for DJ to get it done and four other takeaways from Day 3 at TPC Harding Park appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
SAN FRANCISCO — Everyone has a chance. Even the people who don’t have a chance, kind of have a chance.

Such is the reality at this peculiarly quiet PGA Championship. Still, it’s a major championship all the same, and the stage is set for a breakneck final round of action in the Bay Area. Seventeen players will go to sleep within four shots of Dustin Johnson’s lead. There are major champions and newcomers, 40-somethings and barely legal drinkers, bombers and … well, it’s mostly all bombers.

In this most depressing year, few things are as precious as a dose of good ol’ fashioned optimism. So one reason why each of those 17 players is capable of hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday evening. We’ll start from the bottom.

MATTHEW WOLFF (-5)

He’s driving it like a stallion, and that’s an absolute prerequisite to shooting a low one on Sunday. Wolff—who despite being on our collective radar for what feels like years is playing in his first-ever major—ranks second in the field in strokes gained/ off the tee. He’s just four back despite being 67th in strokes gained/putting. And when you talk to this kid, one thing is unmistakably clear: There is no shortage of bravado.

Doug Pensinger
Xander Schauffle has four top-10 finishes in his last seven major starts.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE (-5)

He lives on the first page of major leader boards. This is nothing new for the 26-year-old. He has four finishes of T-6 or better in his last seven major starts. His game holds up in the biggest events, on the hardest courses, against the best competition. He’s flown completely under the radar all week, but you get the sense he prefers it that way. It’d be the opposite of surprising to see him make a few early birdies and get himself right in the mix.

SI WOO KIM (-5)

He’s pulled off a wild upset before. A 21-year-old Kim won the 2017 Players Championship out of absolutely nowhere, becoming the youngest-ever champion of that event. Now ranked No. 133 in the world, this would be an even bigger surprise. But hey, it’s happened before.

JOEL DAHMEN (-5)

He leads the field in proximity on approaches. The easiest way to make birdies in the final round of a major—or any round of any tournament—is to hit it close. You don’t want to rely on holing 20-footers when you’re trying to make a charge. Clearly, Dahmen’s iron game is dialed in.

HAOTONG LI (-5)

The universe is random? It doesn’t look great for Li, who fought a gnarly push-fade on Saturday and played his last six holes in four over par. He doesn’t have a top 10 on any major tour since April 2019, and he beat just three players in a no-cut event last year. The odds say he’s more likely to finish outside the top 30 than win. But hey, 2020 has been weird …

Jamie Squire
Tony Finau is trying to win second PGA Tour event and first major.

TONY FINAU (-6)

It’s going to happen at some point. The it in that sentence, of course, refers to Tony Finau’s second PGA Tour win, as he’s still stuck on just that 2016 Puerto Rico Open. The law of averages says Finau is disgustingly overdue—he has 30 top 10s since his last victory. It’s going to happen soon, so why not make it a major?

JASON DAY (-6)

He’s at peace with himself. Day made a significant change recently by parting with Collin Swatton, his longtime coach [and fiormer caddie] who he’d worked with for over 20 years. That was the result of some serious soul searching for Day, who dropped outside the top 60 in the world in July before three straight top 10s. In his own words: “I finally had enough of feeling sorry for myself, and it’s easy to do that in this game because it is so mentally tough. You can start blaming everything else but yourself. Sometimes, you’ve got to pull your pants up and just move on.” I’m sold.

Darren Carroll/PGA of America
Daniel Berger has been among the top players after the coronavirus break.

DANIEL BERGER (-6)

He is one confident kid, and few have played better since the restart. Berger’s reputation on tour is one of extreme assuredness—of himself and of his game. He believes he’s one of the best players in the world, that he’s destined for multiple major championships. His game might not look pretty, but he trusts it, and few manage their way around a course better. Plus, his post-COVID results speak for themselves: WIN, T-3, MC, T-2. Yeah, he’s ready.

RELATED: Tiger Woods struggles again with his putting in third round.

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU (-6)

It doesn’t even feel like he’s playing well, and he’s three back going into Sunday of a major. He’s only hit 20 of 42 fairways this week—if he hits, say, nine on Sunday are you betting against him? So, so, so much has been written about Bryson 2.0. The beef-up, the rules imbroglios, the strange interviews. None of this is new information. He’s been the story in professional golf for the past two months, and it would be only fitting for him to hoist the first major trophy of the post-COVID era.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD (-6)

He has momentum. On Saturday, Fleetwood was two-over through 15 holes with zero birdies on the round. He then birdied 16 and 18 to salvage an even-par 70 and keep him squarely in the mix. Make no mistake: not all even-par rounds are created equal. He’ll feel much better about his chances having made two late birdies than had it been two late bogeys.

JUSTIN ROSE (-6)

He’s found a way to hang around despite poor ball striking, and historically, he’s a great ball striker. This feels a lot like last year’s U.S. Open, where Rose manufactured a T-3 despite fighting his swing all week. Rose is fighting a two-way miss with the driver—he’s lost strokes to the field for the week—seems to always be scrambling and yet enters Sunday with a chance. Who knows? Maybe he finds something on the range in the morning, and stays putting and chipping as well as he has already.

PAUL CASEY (-7)

If not now, when? Casey has had a wonderful career, winning 14 tournaments around the world and three in America. But as his greying hair and sage-like aura suggest, he’s running out of time to win the big one. At 43 years old, you wonder if he’ll ever get a better chance to win his first major championship.

BROOKS KOEPKA (-7)

Uh … have you watched a major championship in the last two years? Koepka feasts on these big events with a Bryson-level appetite. In his last seven majors, he has three wins, two runner-ups and a T-4. No other player will be as confident as he on Sunday. Just when you thought he was fading from contention with three straight bogeys on the back nine on Saturday, he grit his teeth and birdied two of his last three to get within two. He has a Tiger-like ability to summon birdies when he most needs them. Hell, you could argue he’s the favourite now. It sounds preposterous, but that’s exactly what he’s been in the majors. Preposterous.

Christian Petersen/PGA of Americ
Collin Morikawa has a familiarity with Harding Park, having played practice rounds there while attending Cal.

COLLIN MORIKAWA (-7)

He exudes a calmness that should take longer than just a year on tour to develop. It makes sense, though, when you consider a few things. First, the year he’s had—the 23-year-old still missed just one cut in his career, has two victories and is already world No. 12. Second, where he is. Morikawa, who grew up down the coast near Los Angeles, played his college ball at Cal and frequently played TPC Harding Park in practice rounds. The final round will be his first taste of a major Sunday, and he thinks having no one around will play into his hands: “I think if there were fans, I’d feel a little bit more of that major, big crowds. But you know, what’s the difference between tomorrow? Tomorrow’s obviously 18 holes … I feel very comfortable.”

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (-8)

He’s the only player in the field with two rounds of 66 or better this week. And while the 24-year-old doesn’t have a PGA Tour victory yet, this is a guy who has excelled at every level—he won the 2013 U.S. Junior, was freshman of the year at Texas, played on the 2017 Walker Cup team and was the Korn Ferry Tour player of the year last year. Stud.

CAMERON CHAMP (-8)

When he’s on, he’s on. Champ only has four top 10s in his PGA Tour career, but two of those are victories. Simply put, his good weeks are often good enough for a trophy .Champ was sending balls roaring off his face at over 190 miles per hour before it was cool, and his speed comes remarkably easy. He leads the field in strokes gained off the tee and driving distance, and he possesses a top-level gear that only a handful of guys do. Should he have another great day off the tee, he’s going to have plenty of birdie looks.

Sean M. Haffey
Dustin Johnson is trying to get to worldwide wins and two major titles.

DUSTIN JOHNSON (-9)

He’s closed out 24 tournaments before. Yes, yes, we know that only one of those has been a major. But unless he’s an all-time actor, DJ doesn’t seem like a guy plagued by past scar tissue. He’s too chill, too comfortable, too sure of himself. At 36 years old, he’s putting better than he has maybe ever in his career, and he knows what it takes to win big golf tournaments. The knock on DJ— the only knock on DJ, who is a no-doubt Hall of Famer—is that he should have more majors. The funny thing about narratives in golf is that one round can shatter them. With a victory tomorrow, DJ can put to bed any talk that he’s an “underachiever,” and further cash in on his generational talent.

The post Why all 17 players within 4 shots of the lead can win the Wanamaker Trophy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
“Phil Mickelson would make a great analyst some day,” is hardly an original take, but one that just about everybody who follows the sport can embrace. Considering how disagreeable everyone who follows the sport can be, it’s one of Mickelson’s more impressive off-course feats.

But it’s the truth – he will make a great colour guy. We know how loquacious he can be, which, depending on the topic, can rub some people the wrong way. But when he’s talking golf, everyone stops and listens. Whether it be about his game, another player’s game or a shot he’s about to hit, his insight is always on-point.

On Saturday afternoon, we got a sneak peek at Mickelson’s potential as a broadcaster (this is assuming he’ll even go that route in retirement), and we really liked what we saw. Lefty joined Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo in the booth right around 6 p.m. ET, just after posting a third-round 70 that kept him at one over for the tournament. We broke down everything we heard from the five-time major champion.

It got off to an, ummm, inauspicious start

OK, so it wasn’t all high flop shots and bombed drives for Phil during his CBS appearance. It actually looked like it might be a trainwreck at first, but it was through no fault of his own. For that you can blame the actual analyst, Nick Faldo, who completely missed a joke Mickelson opened with like it was open mic night.

“Let’s have a little Phireside Chat with Phil,” said Nantz.

“Thanks, it’s nice to be here,” Mickelson replied. “There’s three things I do well: play golf, and talk golf…”

*dead silence*

“What’s the third thing? You said three things,” Faldo asked.

“You setting him up?” asked Nantz, who understood the original joke. “Leave it to your imagination, dear boy.”

“Oh, that went right over my head,” said Faldo.

Gee, ya think? My word. Things could not have gotten off to a more awkward start.

Don’t worry, he bounced back

In typical Phil fashion, he won everybody back over rather quickly. We can thank Nantz for that. The CBS host asked him to break down TPC Harding Park, and Mickelson didn’t disappoint.

“I think it’s one of the best setups, because it is a difficult test, you’ve got enough elements with the wind and the heavy air. It challenges the ballstriking and the ability to manoeuvre the shots into the wind. The greens are soft though, there’s not a lot of contours, especially for sites that we play majors on. So you can make a lot of putts… not me, but the players. When you get hot with the putter you can really make a lot of putts. There’s not a lot of curvature in them, and not the fear of the ball racing away.”

That’s the good stuff. Full breakdown of the course, plus a nice little dig at himself. A bounce-back birdie if we ever saw one.

He gave his “no fans” take

Every player and their mother has been asked about how it’s different without the fans. Mickelson has probably already answered the question at some point, but he was asked again by Faldo, and it was very interesting to hear what he thought considering nobody leans on the energy from the people quite like Lefty.

“It can be difficult given that we need the fans, we need the people to support us to be able to play golf for a living, it’s a big part of our success and our opportunity. But there’s a lot less energy expended during the week when it’s like this. So you’re seeing a lot more practice sessions, a lot more work being done and guys moving about with a lot more ease. Not that it’s good for us or good for the game or that we love it, but we’re making the most of it.”

Now, for some actual analysis

Oh, right, there was a golf tournament going on. This is what Phil does, he sucks you in to the point you forget about everything else that’s occurring around you. It’s a gift. I hear he’d make a great analyst some day …

OK, anyway. CBS went back to live golf shots and Mickelson went to work. Following a poor Justin Rose approach shot on the first hole, which came from the right side of the fairway, cameras cut to Brooks Koepka, who was more toward the left side of the fairway, setting up a much better look at the pin.

“Little bit better angle here Jim,” said Mickelson. “He has much more room in front to let it skip back there.”

On command, Koepka hit a wedge that landed about 10 feet in front of the pin and skipped to the back of the green, leaving about 12 feet for birdie. Phil Mickelson? More like Tony Romo, am I right?

At the short par-4 seventh, Tony Finau hit a bunker shot to a few feet. “That was a nice shot, to get it so close with such little green to work with.” Game recognize game. “Left-edge putt maybe, it just barely goes right,” Mickelson said. Bang. He’s 2-for-2. Easy game!

CBS then rolled out the highlight of Mickelson’s eagle chip-in on that same hole from earlier in the day. “I needed something, so I got a little aggressive, that ball is going a little bit fast and it hit the pin [and went in]. Like Dave Pelz often says, the pin can help you, and it did there. That was a 60 degree, little runner.”

Chef’s kiss.

More takes!

The haters will say they’ve had enough Bryson, but in reality it just means they want more. As CBS showed a DeChambeau shot, Phil rolled out the take machine.

“When you look at Bryson, you’re like ‘Wow, that man hits bombs.’ You know he hits bombs, and he does, but then, I thought the same when I first saw you Nick. You’re big, strong, and that was like the furthest thing that happened.”

Dagger! But Faldo fought back. “When you’ve won seven majors, you can rip me as much as you like.” Oh, hell yes. For a second, the CBS set almost turned into “Inside the NBA on TNT” with Shaq and Charles Barkley going at it. So good.

Speaking of takes, we got a Collin Morikawa one too. “Solid player, isn’t he?” said Mickelson. Morikawa then checked up a wedge to a few feet. “I like that check there, that’s very attractive.”

Moments later, Mickelson also got in another mini-shot at himself and his driving accuracy (or lack thereof). After watching Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Daniel Berger and Jason Day all find the first fairway, Mickelson said “Those four balls in the first fairway, they made that look way easier than it is. That is a hard crosswind and they are working the ball back into it, into an 18-yard wide fairway.”

He didn’t want to leave

The knee-jerk take on social media was that this was an audition for Phil, who no doubt has plenty of good golf left in him and will feast on the PGA Tour Champions at some point. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to work two jobs at once. Let’s just say Nick Faldo is probably feeling a little nervous right now.

It didn’t help Faldo that Phil refused to leave the booth. He was almost too comfortable, continuing to analyze shots and fire off takes. “When he’s out there laughing and having fun, he’s going to play some good golf,” said Mickelson of Haotong Li, who he’s become close with. “What I don’t want to see is him quiet, I want to see him talking to his caddie to kind of relax him a bit.” Not quite Johnny Miller’s “nerves,” but a cool thing to hear from Mickelson nonetheless.

At one point, when CBS returned from commercial, it felt like a one-man show. After breaking down a Tommy Fleetwood approach shot, he seamlessly transitioned to a Scottie Scheffler putt, as if he’d been doing this job his entire life. At numerous points, you couldn’t help but wonder if he was taking time to breathe during all the talking, which could be a side effect of all the damn coffee. When and if he does become an analyst, may we suggest cutting back on the caffeine, Phil? Otherwise, he’s going to be just fine.

The post Phil Mickelson gave us a sneak peek of his potential as an analyst. Let’s break it down appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
SAN FRANCISCO — Often times, the misses teach us more than the perfect ones. Every player struts after hitting a shot right where they’re looking. But the misses, and where they end up—that tells you how a player is really feeling about his game.

Tiger Woods missed his tee shot on the par-3 17th. Disgusted with his pass, he let go of the club a millisecond after impact.

It finished 25 feet from the cup, directly below the hole.

That’s how you know a player is dialled in. That he’s expecting a lot of himself.

Woods fought his swing a bit during Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Championship. It wasn’t exactly a stripe show, but his five birdies more than made up for some of the squirrely shots. Woods signed for two-under 68, his lowest opening-round score in a major championship since the 2012 Open Championship.

“I made some good putts,” Woods said. “For the most part of the day, I missed the ball on the correct sides. This golf course, you have to hit the ball in the fairway. You get a ball in the rough, into the grain, there’s no chance you can get the ball to the green. I felt like I did a decent job of doing that, and the golf course is only going to get more difficult as the week goes on.”

Woods, playing alongside Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy, was greeted on the first tee by 60-or-so personnel—“no fans,” they said—and the most benign scoring conditions TPC Harding Park has seen all week. The air wasn’t damp and the wind hadn’t woken up. The sun even made an appearance, a rarity this time of year in the Bay Area. Simply put, Woods got the good end of the draw, and a man of his experience surely knew he had to take advantage of that by shooting something under par.

A good way to shoot under par is to birdie his first hole. Woods did exactly that thanks to a good break on his approach after starting the round on the par-5 10th. After his tee shot trickled into the left rough, Woods decided to go for the green with his second but mishit it, sending it a good 30 yards right of his target. The ball found some short grass—the rough is thick, but it’s patchy, and there are plenty of good lies out there—and Woods hit a pitch to set up an eight-foot birdie putt.

It was the first test for his new putter, which is making its debut this week. Out is Ol’ Trusty, the Scotty Cameron that he used to win 14 of his 15 majors. In is a Scotty Cameron that’s a little longer and heavier, though it looks exactly the same to the untrained eye. The roll was true, and his ball caught the left part of the cup and dropped. His first major-championship hole in 13 months, a birdie.

RELATED: Tiger switches putters to new Scotty Cameron

“I’ve been messing around with this putter for the better part of over a year,” Woods said of the switch. “Rob and I have been talking about … you know, it’s difficult for me to bend over at times, and so practicing putting, I don’t spend the hours I used to. Wasn’t unusual for me to spend four, five, six hours putting, per day. I certainly can’t log that with my back being fused. Most of the guys on the Champions Tour have gone to longer putters as they have gotten older, because it’s easier to bend over, or not bend over. And so this putter is just a little bit longer and I’ve been able to spend a little bit more time putting.”

After two perfect shots to seven feet at the 494-yard par-4 12th—which plays as a par 5 for the general public—Woods had a great chance to two under after three. But when Woods stood over the putt, he felt more break than he read, didn’t trust the line and didn’t release the putter. A disappointing par, but the stroke at the next hole was much, much better. He canned a 32-footer for birdie, and he had entered his comfort zone: the first page of the leader board at a major.

The middle of the round was a bit of a struggle. Woods’ first bogey came at 14, when he tried walking in a par putt that hit the right lip and spun out. He looked destined for another at 18 but holed a 20-footer for par, a massive putt for momentum’s sake. Both the bogey at 14 and the near-bogey at 18 were set up by a left miss with the driver—he missed left with the driver five straight swings, including on the second hole, which led to his second bogey and dropped him back to even par.

“Those were toe balls,” Woods said. “Toe balls usually go left. It’s about—for me, getting the path oriented a little bit better. I was able to do that and started hitting my little cut out there and hit it solid, and I turned a couple over, which was nice. Overall, I felt like I was able to make a few adjustments out there during the round, and that’s what you have to do.”

Jamie Squire
Tiger said his new Scotty Cameron is a little heavier and a little longer than the one that had won him 14 of his 15 major championships.

The momentum reignited at the par-5 fourth, his 13th of the day, where his 8-iron never left the flag. Birdie. Then, a perfect drive down the centre at No. 5, an approach that was just left of the flag but perfect for distance. Another birdie. After a par at the sixth, he went iron off the tee at the semi-driveable seventh—a conservative play that was rewarded with his third birdie in four holes.

The nice thing about starting on the back nine at TPC Harding Park is you start with a reachable par 5. The not-so-nice thing is that your last two holes are on arguably course’s two hardest, the 250-plus yard par-3 eighth and the 500-plus yard par-4 ninth. Woods couldn’t get up-and-down from a greenside bunker and dropped a shot at 8, but stripped his tee shot on 9 and made a stress-free par.

Now, he waits. Woods’ second-round doesn’t begin until nearly 2 p.m. local time on Friday afternoon. The good news for him: Long waits are always much, much more tolerable after something in the 60s.

The post Tiger Woods shoots opening 68, lowest first-round score in a major in eight years appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
One year and change. That was the length of the wait time between major championships. It was an … hmmm, what’s the word we’re looking for … unprecedented. That’s it, an unprecedented duration between majors. Glad somebody finally had the guts to break out that word.

Was the wait worth it? Well, let’s see—the action was fast and furious, the best players played well, Tiger Woods played well, and a number of former major winners who went through serious slumps thrust themselves into the mix out of nowhere. Does that sound worth it to you?

Below, you’ll find our attempts to sum it all up the best we could. Here are our five takeaways from Day 1 of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.

RELATED: Day 1 of the PGA Championship summed up in 27 tweets

Is it 2015 again?
If you stay off social media, a). Good for you. Your life is definitely way, way better than the rest of us idiots scrolling through this crap every day; and b). You probably don’t know about one of the funnier “memes” in the game. It’s from the film “Jumanji,” when Robin Williams’ character exits the game and looks incredibly dishevelled. He has no idea where he is or what day it is, and he simply says “WHAT YEAR IS IT?” to convey his feelings.

This would be a perfect way to describe the first-round leader board, on which Jason Day is tied for the lead at five-under with Brendon Todd, and Martin Kaymer and Zach Johnson are among the group that is one back. What year is it? 2015, apparently.

Actually, the trio of Day, Kaymer and Johnson looked like their 2015 selves on Thursday at TPC Harding Park. Day, who won the PGA in 2015 and climbed to No. 1 in the world a few weeks after, was bogey-free, much of that thanks to a stellar approach game, an area that was lacking at the beginning of the restart. But he’s steadily improved with his irons over his last three starts, and he capitalized by collecting three straight top 7s. The scary part? He putted just fine on Thursday. If the flat stick gets hot, we really could see a glimpse of the old Day this week.

“I’m not like excited — I shouldn’t say I’m not excited,” said Day. “I am excited to come out and play every day, but I know that I can improve, and mainly my putting can improve a little bit more.”

Then there’s Kaymer and Johnson, who each threatened to tie Day at five under at one point during their rounds. Kaymer bogeyed his final hole, Johnson his second-to-last, but both scores held up to finish the day in a tie for second. Kaymer’s last top 10 in a major came at the 2016 PGA Championship, Johnson’s at the 2016 U.S. Open. Two years prior, Kaymer blitzed the field in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. In 2015, Johnson held on to win the Open Championship in a three-way playoff, which Day missed out on by a shot. Both have fallen well out of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking, making their appearance at the top of the board legitimately shocking on Thursday morning.

It’s still very early. But for one day in San Francisco, it felt like old times.

Jamie Squire

Imagine not enjoying the Brooks-Bryson back-and-forth?
Well, right now, it’s just Brooks Koepka doing the talking, but both are letting their play do the talking as well. A week after Koepka was caught on camera jabbing Bryson over his fire ant routine, he got in a number of extra right and left hooks on Thursday. The first came in his post-round interview, when, after shooting a four-under 66, he said there’s “no reason to get all scientific” when asked about the state of his game after going through a bit of a rough patch. The second came in a pre-taped ESPN segment, when players were asked what they eat for breakfast. Koepka’s response was definitely, totally not a shot at Bryson in any way. Not a chance.

TROLL GAWD AGAIN pic.twitter.com/Hye6wd6WLj

— Trent (@BarstoolTrent) August 6, 2020

As Koepka said in that new Nike ad, you can’t out-troll a troll. He’s officially an expert, and as serious as he seems with some of it, it’s still somewhat good-natured. It’s okay to make jokes, to have a little fun. Everybody should lighten up. Golf should be more fun.

NOPE. Naturally, the haters on social media are out in full force. The takes have ranged from “it’s getting weird” to “Brooks should just shut up” to “Brooks is obsessed with Bryson.” It’s amazing, first people say golf is boring, these guys are all blah and they all give packaged answers to everything and have zero personality. The second they show an ounce of it, they are told to pipe down and fall back in line. 2020, and the internet, at its absolute finest.

Harry How

Encouraging stuff from Tiger Woods
Hand up: I was very worried about Woods this week. The lack of reps, the reports of cold weather, the juicy rough. It all seemed to add up to an early exit for the 15-time major champion. It’s just one round, but man, I’m happy to be wrong. He looked pretty damn good, finishing with a two-under 68, his best opening round in a major since the 2012 Open Championship. He worked it both ways, he made some long putts, he saved par when he needed to, and he absolutely cranked it off the tee, ranking fifth in the field in driving distance at round’s end. Historically speaking, Woods has ’em right where he wants ‘em. He’s never been one to come out guns blazing in a major, rather biding his time and making his move on Friday and Saturday. I speak for the entire golf world when I say let’s hope that’s exactly what happens this week, because there is nothing better than Tiger in the mix on Sunday at a major, even if this Sunday won’t feature any Tiger roars.

RELATED: Bryson DeChambeau snapped his driver and the golf world lost its mind

Tom Pennington

Are you kidding me, Brendon Todd?
What’s there left to say about this guy that hasn’t already been said? His ability to consistently go low, even after a few crushing Sundays, is both admirable and inspiring, and it should come as no surprise given everything he’s been through. He throws away the Travelers Championship on Sunday and responds by getting right back into contention a few weeks later at a WGC. Of course, he sort of threw that one away too. His response? Tying Day for the lead with a five-under 65 in just his second major since 2015, mind you.

I have no idea how Todd’s story ends this week. He might win, he might tie for 56th or he might miss the cut. Whatever happens, he has reached an absolutely insane level of heat check. We’re talking J.R. Smith heat check. Todd is shooting a three every time he comes down the floor and he’s making them at a very high percentage. Terrible analogy? I don’t care. Brendon Todd is breaking my brain.

Jamie Squire

Friday is a big day at the office for some
As good as the first few pages of the leader board are, they’re missing some rather popular names: Rory McIlroy (E), Tommy Fleetwood (E), Jon Rahm (E), Justin Thomas (+1), Phil Mickelson (+2), Patrick Cantlay (+3), Jordan Spieth (+3), Rickie Fowler (+3). For the boys at even, it should only take an under-par round on Friday to make the weekend, though some of those guys didn’t just come to make the weekend. As for the rest of the group, Friday is going to need to be an aggressive, fire-at-the-flag affair. As it stands, +1 would get in, but it will more than likely move to even par, meaning Spieth, Cantlay and Fowler are going to need something in the 65-66 range. Would hate to lose any of these guys for Saturday and Sunday.

The post Is it 2015 again? Plus four other takeaways from Day 1 at TPC Harding Park appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
Jordan Spieth had long ago finished his opening round of the PGA Championship. The sun was out, San Francisco’s notorious afternoon breeze was kicking up and there was Spieth, more than three-and-a-half hours after tapping in his final putt for a closing bogey, still on the driving range at TPC Harding Park.

If there were two images from ESPN’s telecast that summed up Spieth’s day—and the last three years, really—they were of the 27-year-old three-time major champion sitting cross-legged, along with his coach Cameron McCormick, looking like a befuddled if not dejected teen who’d just been unexpectedly dumped on the eve of the prom, and another of him hitting balls, with McCormick and caddie Michael Greller looking on, no one else on the range in sight.

Being the last man on the range can mean two very different things. If it’s early on a Sunday afternoon, it’s very likely a good thing. Several hours after stumbling through a three-over 73 in the year’s first major, not so much.

RELATED: Tiger’s opening 68 is lowest first-round score in a major in eight years

No one from the media talked to Spieth after his round, but then again why would they? What would there be for him to say, really?

It turned out the scene would say it all.

Love everything about Jordan Spieth. This looks like a tough conversation to be having, but you know he’ll be driving it and owning it. Tremendous professional. ?? pic.twitter.com/Cs9hHNtY1n

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) August 6, 2020

“This looks like a tough conversation to be having,” Eddie Pepperell opined on Twitter from afar. “But you know he’ll be driving it and owning it. Tremendous professional.”

Indeed.

Three years ago, Spieth was often the professional and often among the last of them standing on the range on a lot of weekends. That is, of course, also the last time he won—in part thanks to a driving range, ironically—at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where he famously was able to use the practice area to take a drop during the final round after declaring an unplayable lie on the par-4 13th following a tee shot that he’d hit 100 yards right of the fairway and into knee-high grass on the side of a massive dune. You know what happened from there.

RELATED: Bryson DeChambeau broke his driver and golf twitter went nuts

Spieth didn’t win again that season, but he hardly played poorly, closing out the year with six straight top-10s, including a pair of runner-up finishes during the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The following year was worse with just five top 10s in all and his putter abandoning him, though a final-round charge from nine back at Augusta National to finish third in the Masters was something.

Though Spieth’s putting has since improved, his chances to win each of the last two years have been less for myriad reasons that have been well-documented—from spending months working on what he said was the “wrong thing,” to his struggles off the tee and with his irons.

Thursday’s start didn’t help the cause to turn things around.

Spieth hit just four of 14 fairways, nine greens and ranked near the bottom of the 156-man field in strokes gained/putting. It was no wonder, then, that he headed straight for the practice area to spend a noticeable chunk of time following his round, perhaps in search of the one swing that will make it all right and send him into the history books again.

This image is golf. It shows a man that absolutely dominated this game his entire life who remains lost at a place he should be the most comfortable. You can take it like that. It also shows a man never giving up on the search, hoping the next swing is THE ONE. I like the latter. pic.twitter.com/c4UC0HW8dT

— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) August 6, 2020

Though Spieth is already a Hall-of-Famer with three majors on his resume—the 2015 Masters and the 2015 U.S. Open to go with the 2017 Open—if he were to win this week, he would escalate to legend status as just the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods.

RELATED: Day 1 of the PGA Championship summed up in 27 tweets

At last year’s PGA at Bethpage Black, Spieth tied for third. It was a promising result but nothing more, with Brooks Koepka crushing the field like one of his drives.

Then came this week. Asked on Tuesday about his pursuit of the career Grand Slam, Spieth said it’s been his No. 1 goal since that victory at Birkdale. He also offered some insight on what he would have thought if someone told him three years ago that he would not have won another major by now.

“I’d say I hope you’re wrong,” Spieth said. “But, they don’t come easily.

“If you told me that, I’d probably say that guy is kind of a jerk and I’d walk the other way. But here we are.”

For how much longer, remains one of golf’s most intriguing questions.

The post Two pictures sadly sum up just how lost Jordan Spieth is with his game appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Stephen Hennessey
What’s that you say, you didn’t spend 12 hours in front of a television watching every shot from TPC Harding Park? Worry not: We did, and we’re here to catch you up on the day’s most important storylines. Yes, you probably heard Bryson DeChambeau snapped his driver, and Brooks Koepka continued to use every chance he gets to troll Bryson. There were a myriad of storylines you might’ve missed, as evidenced by the great leader board we have after Day 1.

Here’s your recap in the day’s best tweets.

PGA Championship 2020: Day 1 Twitter recap

The ESPN+ cameras picked up each player arriving to the course in their masks, making this telecast different than any other major one immediately.

Time to get to work.pic.twitter.com/9F5UQoNtdC

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) August 6, 2020

Tiger Woods was out in the morning, and the scene as he teed of in pursuit of his 16th major was one of the more surreal sights we can recall in golf’s return. We’re used to no fans at this point, but seeing Tiger announced to silence put the event in context.

This must be a first: Tiger Woods introduced on the tee at a major championship and … utter silence. So weird @PGAChampionship pic.twitter.com/B0oHR2y78X

— Ron Kroichick (@ronkroichick) August 6, 2020

The scene surrounding Tiger’s first tee shot.

“No fans,” they said. ?? pic.twitter.com/KbSqSmw7n0

— Daniel Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) August 6, 2020

There was nearly universal praise for the PGA Championship site as this muny gets the major spotlight for the first time in its history.

Love this backdrop. Lake scenery, city scenery. Harding Park has so much soul. Need more majors on public golf courses. pic.twitter.com/VmcREjRa8e

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) August 6, 2020

Tiger had a new putter in play, and it looked good early.

New putter seems to be working for Tiger. He runs in a 40-footer for birdie at No 13 to take a share of the lead at 2 under.

— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) August 6, 2020

There were a lot of positives early on for the 15-time major champion.

Tiger just made a putt from 32 feet at the 13th to tie for the lead. It’s only the 2nd putt that he’s made this year over 25 feet.

Incredible pitch at one led to birdie. Hit draw off the tee 12, cut off the tee at 13. Working it both ways. Ball speed close to 180 mph.

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) August 6, 2020

But Tiger wasn’t the only one playing well early on Day 1. Conditions were benign in the morning so scoring was up.

Damn, everyone and their grandmother under par right now. These are the easiest scoring conditions we’ve seen all week. Warmer, drier, no wind. If it gets nasty this afternoon, the guys teeing it up later will be fighting an uphill battle.

— Daniel Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) August 6, 2020

The leader board after the morning was stacked, and a couple of possibly unexpected multiple-time major champions got off to hot starts.

Imagine telling yourself in January that Martin Kaymer and Zach Johnson would co-lead an August PGA Championship with nobody in attendance.

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 6, 2020

A couple of multi-major winners are atop the PGA Championships leaderboard. I’m going to guess not the two you were thinking of, but alas, this is where we’re at.

— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) August 6, 2020

Zach Johnson’s hot start led to this playful tweet in reference to ZJ’s comments after the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock.

The golf course was on the edge, and now we’ve lost it. It’s gone. pic.twitter.com/5NpVa6DVMV

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) August 6, 2020

Teaching pro Zach J. Johnson, an assistant pro at Davis Park Golf Course, is also in the field as one of the 20 club professionals. He didn’t have quite the same success as his namesake, finishing with a 12-over 82, good for last place as ZJ played his way to the top of the board.

Zach Johnson is leading and in last place at the PGA at the same time ??‍??‍

— Paulie (@friedeggpaulie) August 6, 2020

Zach Johnson lost a shot coming in to finish at 4-under, giving the lead to 2015 PGA champ Jason Day. Day entered the week with three straight top 10s, riding some serious momentum.

A bogey-free 65 on Thursday has @JDayGolf tied for the lead at the #PGAChamp … pic.twitter.com/HzfN8dwec1

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 6, 2020

Tiger wrapped up a two-under 68, which was his lowest opening round in a major in a longggg time.

6⃣8⃣ – Tiger Wood’s lowest opening round score in a major championship since 2012.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/NCP23quwj6

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 6, 2020

Brooks Koepka started his defense of his PGA Championship title, and his pursuit of a three-peat, with a stellar four-under 68. It’s pretty much what we’ve come to expect from the four-time major champ.

Koepka’s position on the leaderboard after his last eight PGA Championship rounds.

3
1
1
1
1
1
1
2 (currently)

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 6, 2020

Koepka’s post-round press conference, though it was virtual, did not disappoint.

Brooks switched from a Callaway driver to a TaylorMade for this week. He was asked about it in the presser.

“They don’t pay me, so I’m not mentioning their name.” pic.twitter.com/80gwoDh7gL

— Daniel Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) August 6, 2020

Though this stat is only based on the driving distance of two holes, Tiger was shaping his drives with ease, proving his long game is feeling good. He had a few errant drives but recovered from them nicely.

Tiger leads the field in driving distance. So much for the cool weather being a problem for his back.

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) August 6, 2020

On the opposite end of things was Jordan Spieth, who struggled to a three-over 73, as he continues to search for his first win since the Open at Birkdale. And there was this scene, juxtaposed with Augusta National at the height of Spieth’s game, which was quite striking.

Tiger leads the field in driving distance. So much for the cool weather being a problem for his back.

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) August 6, 2020

Though some were disappointed with ESPN’s lack of showing golf shots early on in their coverage, the network made up for it all day long. Of course, you had to be an ESPN+ subscriber to watch the action, but for those who had access, they were treated to a full day of golf.

Well this will easily be the most shots I’ve ever seen in one day of watching golf. Not perfect (and never will be), but overall, ridiculously good coverage of that opening wave.

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) August 6, 2020

Bryson ended up breaking his driver after smashing it at the reachable par-4 seventh hole, then leaning on the shaft too hard. And the golf world collectively lost its mind. (We also captured the best reactions here.)

It comforts me to know that Bryson will never, for the rest of his career, play a normal round of golf.

— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) August 6, 2020

The guy actually snapped his driver. Amazing…

“Hey Rickie, did you see that? How funny was it when my driver broke? Pretty cool, huh?” pic.twitter.com/IvqviftPCy

— Eric Patterson (@EPatGolf) August 6, 2020

As he does, tour pro Eddie Pepperell puts things in proper context.

Bryson IS the story in golf now. He’s like when The Great Khali joined the WWE. One of a kind. Not quite got the chin, but a freak of nature nonetheless.

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) August 6, 2020

Though Bryson was near the top of the leaderboard for most of his round, he dropped a couple shots on his inward nine, finishing up at two-under 68. But it looked for a while like Bryson would be approaching Koepka’s place near the top.

Brooks watching Bryson climb the leaderboard pic.twitter.com/pHGadIzbgD

— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) August 6, 2020

J.T. Poston won the 2019 Wyndham Championship, a title he’ll defend next week. He also had his best round in a major on Thursday.

All smiles after a 67 in those conditions! ? pic.twitter.com/0XpGTkVJdK

— J.T. Poston (@JT_ThePostman) August 7, 2020

We saw Adam Scott play for the first time since the Players, and people didn’t know what to expect from his game (oddsmakers made him 70-1). Of course the Aussie rolled out and is in red numbers in his first competitive round in five-plus months.

Adam Scott putting surf season temporarily on hold to casually drop in with a 68 in Round 1 of a major that’s his first tournament in six months (and that everyone else has been grinding to prepare for) is extremely on brand.

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 7, 2020

The round of the afternoon wave belonged to Brendon Todd, who continues his heater.

This time last year Brendon Todd was 795th in the world. He’s won two tournaments and led two others after 54 holes since, and now co-leads the PGA Championship.

— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) August 7, 2020

Can’t be stressed enough. A year & a half ago Brendon Todd was trying to qualify for the freaking Korn Ferry Tour. This season he has 2 wins + has put himself in contention in half of his starts since the return (including a WGC last week) & is tied for the lead @PGAChampionship

— Amanda Balionis (@Amanda_Balionis) August 7, 2020

After 54 weeks without major golf, the below is a great problem to have. Like we said, we indulged in it all. And it was great to have golf back on the main stage.

I’m not conditioned for 12 hours of golf coverage. Should have been training during quarantine.

— Andy Johnson ? (@the_woke_yolk) August 7, 2020

The post Day 1 at TPC Harding Park summed up in 27 tweets appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Bryson DeChambeau’s driver, which has been launching golf balls into orbit for the better part of two months, broke during the first round of play at the PGA Championship.

It happened on the semi-driveable 7th hole at TPC Harding Park. DeChambeau, two under at the time, swung as hard as he could in an attempt to get the ball close to the green on the 340-yard-hole. After hitting his drive well right, DeChambeau put the club down to bear some of his 250 pounds as he picked up the tee. It snapped right where the clubhead meets the shaft.

Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau were equally stunned when the driver broke.

(Via ESPN) pic.twitter.com/VxAJT7XnVO

— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) August 6, 2020

The good news for DeChambeau: he could replace it. Under rule 4.1, a player is entitled to replace a damaged club so long as it is damaged in the course of play. If he had smashed it in anger, though, he would not be allowed to replace it.

RELATED: Brooks Koepka took another not-so-subtle shot at Bryson DeChambeau because of course he did

More good news for DeChambeau: he had a backup waiting in the wings. After discussing the incident with a rules official, he sent his manager to go get the backup, which was waiting in a car. Pleased with the news, DeChambeau headed up the fairway and joked to a cameraman that “it must be all the swings.”

Good news for Bryson was that his next hole was a par 3, giving him a hole buffer until his new driver shaft was retrieved. The 26-year-old got the new shaft, added it his clubhead and then hit the fairway at No. 9. Bryson continues to electrify the golf world in 2020, and the first major championship round proved no different.

Predictably, Golf Twitter lost its damn mind.

HAHAHAHA! THE ONLY WAY THIS COULD END! pic.twitter.com/S0SFoCUY7f

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 6, 2020

Bryson’s driver didn’t break when he hit it. It broke when he leaned on it to pick up his tee. Reminder: He’s put on 40 pounds. https://t.co/XOVpgsJRzp

— Brian Wacker (@brianwacker1) August 6, 2020

Too much chocolate milk pic.twitter.com/UQcJybGl8z

— The Fried Egg (@the_fried_egg) August 6, 2020

Bryson: “I guess it’s all those … swings I put in.”

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 6, 2020

A real man doesn’t blame his equipment, he blames the ants.

— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) August 6, 2020

Are you kidding me right now Bryson! Wonder if that was a little toward the neck. pic.twitter.com/yq2JDxXTWf

— Arron Oberholser (@ArronOberholser) August 6, 2020

Bryson’s backup driver pic.twitter.com/2CPY1nAopd

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) August 6, 2020

I guess a downside to adding mass is you can’t lean on your driver as much.

— Andy Johnson ? (@the_woke_yolk) August 6, 2020

File this under things you don’t see every day at a major championship.

The post Bryson DeChambeau snapped his driver and the golf world lost its mind appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.