By Joel Beall
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C.—There is a belief among artists that the moment you argue why you matter is the moment you prove the opposite. To critics of the PGA Championship, long considered fourth on the totem pole of the four majors, that moment arrived via marketing slogan: “This is major.”

Now, there is not enough space on the Internet or time on the calendar to run through the history of failed advertising campaigns, and against that endless ocean, “This is major” doesn’t make a wave. Conversely, imagine Augusta National, the USGA or R&A needing to remind the sport that their flagship events are, indeed, important. It was a slogan so hilariously on-point with its perceived swipes that it almost came off as parody.

That slogan has mercifully been abandoned, although it was still seen from time to time at PGA Championships on boards and tent fronts. But at Kiawah Island this week, there is no “This is major” signage. And rightfully so.

The PGA Championship comes into South Carolina on a heater. Once known for its lack of hype and sizzle, the tournament has quietly become one of the more dependably entertaining big-ticket events on the schedule.

For the longest time, part of this tournament’s identity was that it really didn’t have one. Or what it had, it didn’t want. The PGA bore the stigma of producing winners that did not age gracefully in history’s judgement, and that it occasionally visited less-than-prestigious venues. There were the “other” things. Think of Kenny Perry watching the final holes of the 1995 PGA in the CBS booth rather than keeping warm on the range and promptly losing in a playoff. Or the revival of the long-drive contest only for Bubba Watson to protest it. There was John Daly riding in a cart, the tournament visiting South Florida in August, Rich Beem’s victory dance, and the green-lighting of “lift, clean, in place” rules.

Still, instead of seeing the PGA for what it was, fans and media judged it for what it was not. So in that vein … it’s time for everyone to open their damn eyes.

Has the PGA produced run-of-the-mill winners? Yes; so have both Opens and (bracing self for lightning bolt) the Masters. This is also a championship that crowned Nicklaus and Hagen its victor five times, Tiger four titles, Snead and Sarazen three and Hogan with two. There have been underwhelming venues but also trips to meccas like Oakmont and Southern Hills and Oak Hill, and the PGA hasn’t been afraid to introduce modern wonders like Whistling Straits.

Of course that is the past, and we said heater, present tense. And the PGA is on a run.

Jamie Squire
Tiger Woods reacts after making a putt for birdie on the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club.

Since it was last contested at Kiawah Island in 2012, only two winners—Jason Dufner and Jimmy Walker—were ranked outside the World top 15 entering the week, and Dufner was in shouting distance at No. 21. They’ve all been closely contested affairs: The margin of victory from the last eight PGAs is 15 strokes, total. The only runaway was Jason Day in 2015, as the Aussie won by three. For context, the U.S. Open’s total margin of victory has been 28 in that span, with five of the last seven decided by three strokes or more.

Though leaderboard tightness usually correlates to excitement, it’s not a guarantee. But that’s been the case as of late, and that excitement can’t solely be conveyed through score. There was Collin Morikawa’s lights-out weekend at Harding Park. Brooks Koepka building an insurmountable lead, nearly losing it as Bethpage collapsed on itself, then Koepka dusting himself off on the closing stretch. The scene of Tiger Woods coming in second but really finishing in first in St. Louis. There was Justin Thomas’ breakthrough at Quail Hollow and Rory McIlroy battling a host of contenders, including sunlight, at Valhalla to win his fourth. That, my friends, is a slate of fireworks.

Yes, some of that is dumb luck. Some of it is not. Credit Kerry Haigh, the PGA’s chief championships officer, who’s in charge of course setups. There is no integrity of par nonsense with him, circling a winning score aspiration and doing whatever it takes to get there. He sees what the course gives him and goes with it. He let Bethpage be a beast, allowed the nuances of Harding Park to speak for themselves, was fine with the field burning Bellerive to the ground. The resulting product is better for it.

“Hopefully we can set the golf course up in a way that challenges the best players in the world,” Haigh said Tuesday. “And I can’t wait for Thursday morning to start and see how the best players in the world play this magnificent golf course.”

There’s also reason to believe this run will continue. Due to the pandemic, this is only the second year for the PGA’s move to May. It is a move, however, the organization believes will strengthen the overall health of the tournament. After all, part of the reason the PGA was perceived as the fourth major was, well, it came last on the schedule. That point of the year, storylines can get exhausted or dried up, and some of the non-zealots turn to other sports. That worry is no more.

“It obviously shuts out certain parts of the country [for hosting] which is disappointing, there’s no perfect date for that,” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. “We think it opens more than it closes. And we think the cadence of the schedule is just better. If it’s better for fans, I think it’s better for players.

Maddie Meyer/PGA of America
Dustin Johnson signs autographs during a practice round for the 2021 PGA Championship.

“Obviously it’s exhausting for them to go April, May, June, July, and then if this year you’ve got an Olympics and then you’ve got a Ryder Cup and you’ve got a FedExCup in there; that’s a long grind. But as far as creating fan engagement and how it should work and how it’s given some breathing room to the Ryder Cup—and Olympic years are a little different—but to the Ryder Cup and to Presidents Cup and to FedExCup, we think it’s a better schedule for the players.”

As for some of the aforementioned oddities? In fairness, each major has its raps; the weather too often intervenes at the Open Championship, and the USGA often has the same problem for its national championship. And while there is some truth to those knocks—for what it’s worth, Daly was riding a cart Tuesday morning—perhaps too much weight was given to them. Besides, what some call oddities, others call colour and character.

Perhaps it’s fitting that Ocean Course is hosting this week. Thirty years after its rough debut, the layout has solidified its standing as one of the sport’s gems. You don’t have to squint too hard to see the symmetry.

The post Stop thinking of the PGA Championship as the black sheep of majors appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Power
The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills for the first time since 2004 and the fifth time in the national championship’s history, having previously hosted the second-ever U.S. Open in 1896, as well as the 1986 and 1995 U.S. Opens. The Southampton, N.Y., course will become one of eight venues to host five or more U.S. Opens this year, and it will also become one of four venues to host six or more when the USGA returns in 2026.

As always, the field will be arguably the strongest of any professional golf event there is, but this year will have more juice than ever thanks to the return of Tiger Woods, a three-time U.S. Open winner who will be making his first start in the event since he missed the cut at Chambers Bay in 2015. The last time the Open was held at Shinnecock, Woods finished in a tie for 17th, 14 strokes back of winner Retief Goosen. Woods is in search of his first major championship since his triumphant U.S. Open victory at Torrey Pines in 2008, and his first worldwide victory since the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone invitational.

Also in the field is 2017 U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who appears ready to defend his title after missing an extended period of time due to injury. In his last two starts, Koepka has tied for 11th at the Players Championship and finished in solo second at the Fort Worth Invitational.

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WATCH NOW: A SWEEPING AERIAL TOUR OF SHINNECOCK HILLS

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First- and second-round tee times for the 2018 U.S. Open (all times ET)
NOTE: THE UAE IS 8 HOURS AHEAD OF U.S. Eastern Standard Time so add eight hours to the tee times noted below.

Thursday, No. 1 tee / Friday, No. 10 tee
6:45 a.m. / 12:30 p.m. – Harold Varner, TBD, Matthieu Pavon
6:56 a.m. / 12:41 p.m. – Michael Putnam, Scott Gregory, Will Zalatoris
7:07 a.m. / 12:52 p.m. – Brendan Steele, Chesson Hadley, (a) Harry Ellis
7:18 a.m. / 1:03 p.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Dylan Frittelli, (a) Doug Ghim
7:29 a.m. / 1:14 p.m. – Louis Oosthuizen, Jimmy Walker, Justin Rose
7:40 a.m. / 1:25 p.m. – Bubba Watson, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka
7:51 a.m. / 1:36 p.m. – Tyrrell Hatton Danny Willett, Ian Poulter
8:02 a.m. / 1:47 p.m. – Kevin Chappell, Andrew Johnston, Daniel Berger
8:13 a.m. / 1:58 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Matt Kuchar
8:24 a.m. / 2:09 p.m. – Thorbjorn Olesen, Shubhankar Sharma, Patrick Rodgers
8:35 a.m. / 2:20 p.m. – Lanto Griffin, Tom Lewis, (a) Jacob Bergeron
8:46 a.m. / 2:31 p.m. – (a) Kristoffer Reitan, (a) Luis Gagne, Cole Miller
8:57 a.m. / 2:42 p.m. – Mickey DeMorat, (a) Tyler Strafaci, Calum Hill

Thursday, No. 10 tee / Friday, No. 1 tee
6:45 a.m. / 12:30 p.m. – Scott Stallings, Sebastian Munoz, Matthew Southgate
6:56 a.m. / 12:41 p.m. – Trey Mullinax, (a) Matt Parziale, Jason Scrivener
7:07 a.m. / 12:52 p.m. – David Bransdon, Eric Axley, Tyler Duncan
7:18 a.m. / 1:03 p.m. – (a) Garrett Rank, Mackenzie Hughes, Aaron Baddeley
7:29 a.m. / 1:14 p.m. – Alexander Levy, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay
7:40 a.m. / 1:25 p.m. – Paul Casey, Satoshi Kodaira, Branden Grace
7:51 a.m. / 1:36 p.m. – Zach Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Patrick Reed
8:02 a.m. / 1:47 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson
8:13 a.m. / 1:58 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Marc Leishman, Rickie Fowler
8:24 a.m. / 2:09 p.m. – Charles Howell III, Bill Haas, Charley Hoffman
8:35 a.m. / 2:20 p.m. – Sungjae Im, Russell Knox, Matthew Wallace
8:46 a.m. / 2:31 p.m. – (a) Shintaro Ban, Sung Joon Park, Timothy Wilkinson
8:57 a.m. / 2:42 p.m. – Dylan Meyer, Sulman Raza, Chris Naegel

Thursday, No. 1 tee / Friday, No. 10 tee
12:30 p.m. / 6:45 a.m. – Sam Burns, Brian Gay, Dean Burmester
12:41 p.m. / 6:56 a.m. – TBD; (a) Chun An Yu, Wenchong Liang
12:52 p.m. / 7:07 a.m. – Russell Henley, Aaron Wise, Peter Uihlein
1:03 p.m. / 7:18 a.m. – Tony Finau, Luke List, Gary Woodland
1:14 p.m. – 7:29 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, Rafa Cabrera Bello
1:25 p.m. / 7:40 a.m. – Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari, Alexander Noren
1:36 p.m. / 7:51 a.m. – Cameron Smith, Kyle Stanley, Pat Perez
1:47 p.m. / 8:02 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods
1:58 p.m. / 8:13 a.m. – Haotong Li, Si Woo Kim, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
2:09 p.m. / 8:24 a.m. – Jason Dufner, (a) Braden Thornberry, Brandt Snedeker
2:20 p.m. / 8:35 a.m. – TBD, (a) Ryan Lumsden, James Morrison
2:31 p.m. / 8:46 a.m. – Cameron Wilson, (a) Will Grimmer, (a) Philip Barbaree
2:42 p.m. / 8:57 a.m. – (a) Rhett Rasmussen, Michael Hebert, Michael Block

Thursday, No. 10 tee/ Friday, No. 1 tee
12:30 p.m. / 6:45 a.m. – Matthew Jones, Ryan Fox, Shota Akiyoshi
12:41 p.m. / 6:56 a.m. – Paul Waring, (a) Theo Humphrey, TBD
12:52 p.m. / 7:07 a.m. – Richy Werenski, Roberto Castro, Ollie Schniederjans
1:03 p.m. / 7:18 a.m. – (a) Noah Goodwin, Richie Ramsay, Kenny Perry
1:14 p.m. / 7:29 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, TBD, Xander Schauffele
1:25 p.m. / 7:40 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Webb Simpson, Graeme McDowell
1:36 p.m. / 7:51 a.m. – Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk
1:47 p.m. / 8:02 a.m. – Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer
1:58 p.m. / 8:13 a.m. – Kevin Kisner, Ross Fisher, Adam Hadwin
2:09 p.m. / 8:24 a.m. – Shane Lowry, TBD, Chez Reavie
2:20 p.m. / 8:35 a.m. – Lucas Herbert, Brian Stuard, (a) Stewart Hagestad
2:31 p.m. / 8:46 a.m. – (a) Franklin Huang, Sebastian Vazquez, Michael Miller
2:42 p.m. / 8:57 a.m. – Christopher Babcock, (a) Timothy Wiseman, David Gazzolo

The post U.S. Open 2018: U.S. Open tee times appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
DUBLIN, Ohio — The PGA Championship shifts to mid-May starting next year, causing a jumble to the PGA Tour schedule in the fifth month that includes the Players Championship, the tour’s flagship event, returning to a March date. The Memorial Tournament, however, will remain in its contractually guaranteed slot two weeks before the U.S. Open.

That leaves the Memorial, hosted by golf great Jack Nicklaus at his Muirfield Village Golf Club, sandwiched between the two major championships with a week’s buffer on either side. While it doesn’t appear to be the most favorable spot, Nicklaus, winner of a record 18 majors, figures that he’ll still draw a field as strong as this year’s has garnered.

The 43rd edition of the Memorial, which begins Thursday, features eight of the top 10 in the world rankings and the top seven in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings — plus five-time Memorial winner Tiger Woods.

“First of all,” Nicklaus said, assessing the full golf landscape, “the couple of players that we’re missing this year have requirements to play in the Italian Open, which is a Ryder Cup qualifying event [this year]. And guys, some good players, they’re there. That’s being changed next year. The week before the Memorial Tournament next year, which was the [BMW] PGA Championship that they just had, it’s getting moved to fall [in 2019]. There’s going to be two lesser events in Europe next year. So there will be no reason why we won’t have, even though we have the best field this year, no reason why we won’t have a better one next year.

“And sitting two weeks after the PGA Championship and two weeks before the U.S. Open, I can’t imagine anybody who really is serious about wanting to win the U.S. Open not being here. I mean they’re going to have to play golf some time and I don’t think, of course that’s just me, I never liked to play the week before or the week after. So the Memorial Tournament sits in a great spot. We’re still in the same place we were, and the Tour’s respected our wishes and worked with us on the scheduling.

“I don’t know,” Nicklaus added, “what’s going to happen in May in Oak Hill in Rochester, but I wish them well. I hope the weather is good. That’s going to be a tough time.”

Which is something the Golden Bear knows a little about.

His Memorial Tournament has had its share of challenging weather over the years — and could have more this week with tropical storm Alberto bearing down on the Midwest in the coming days. But Nicklaus said he always intended for weather to be a factor in his tournament, and that he prefers weather, even if it’s just wind, impacting golf’s biggest events.

“Now with the Players in March we’ll have weather,” he said. “Masters always has some weather; you never know what’s going to happen there. Now the PGA will have some, maybe a lot. We always have had a little bit of weather, which is one of the reasons why we wanted to schedule at this time of year because I wanted that uncertainty of what the wind and other things can happen. The U.S. Open has always had weather because they always schedule in June and they have always had an issue with that. British Open always has weather. The PGA event in August never had weather. It was always pretty benign. Maybe had thunderstorms and so forth, but that’s not the kind of weather when we talk about weather because you don’t play in that.

“So all the tournaments next year that are significant tournaments will have a little element of weather to them and I think that’s probably good for the game, it’s good for the players, it’s good to have the variety.”

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