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The Major Saver
Having seen an unpopular champion in the first major followed by an unpopular golf course in the second major, Carnousite and Francesco Molinari teamed up to give golf fans what they were craving at The Open. With a star-studded supporting cast- not least a certain Tiger Woods topping a major leaderboard on a Sunday- a flawless weekend from a gracious champion earned Italy’s first major and saw Europe end a run of five American major champions just months before the Ryder Cup. We have reason for optimism heading into the year’s fourth & final major.
Showpiece
Bellerive Country Club and the PGA Championship will be a platform for big-hitting superstars to showcase their skills. With four of the OWGR Top-5 ranking inside the Top-15 for PGA Tour Driving Distance, this is unequivocally important. Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas & Brooks Koepka are those men, but they’re also joined by fellow OWGR Top-10 players Jason Day and Jon Rahm in the Driving Distance Top-15. It’s unsurprising that the bookies’ lists are top-heavy with these heavyweight guys.
Driving distances in the modern game is a subject of much debate, but there is no question this tournament will be a spectacle of big-hitting, top class golfers.
Favourites or Flops?
You’d do well to find a reason to doubt Justin Thomas this week. Rory’s inability to seize a Sunday of late appears to be the only question mark coming into this tournament. This should, in theory, be DJ’s best opportunity to prove himself in a major tournament. Brooks Koepka and Jason Day are tailored for courses like this.
Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari & Rickie Fowler all rank inside the World Top-10, yet aren’t really considered in the mix this week. They are more strategic than powerful and, on top of that, Spieth and Fowler have shown little in the way of winning form. But can we really rule out Molinari and Rose given their form?
A lot of questions surrounding the World’s Top-10.
Bryson DeChambeau
In case you haven’t seen… Ah who am I kidding? We’ve all seen DeChambeau’s antics. Obsessed with off-course stories? He’s grabbed headlines with his compassgate saga. Only watch the majors? You would’ve seen his range-breakdown at The Open. European Tour diehard? The Porsche European Open was a choke for the ages.
I’m still unsure as to whether DeChambeau genuinely has a screw loose (not always a bad thing, for the record) or whether he’s just attempting to brand himself as an eccentric. Either way, it makes for a very interesting story and he’s chasing down Webb Simpson’s Ryder Cup spot so keep an eye on him.
Ryder Cup (Of Course)
This is the final event for the U.S. Team to qualify and the Webb Simpson-Bryson DeChambeau shootout is the big one. 49 points separate Simpson in 8th and DeChambeau in 9th, whilst it would take a lot for anybody else to drop out or sneak in. Lefty and Tiger’s absence from the automatic spots means there are, realistically, only two Captain’s picks for the likes of Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau and Matt Kuchar along with whoever loses the Simpson-DeChambeau battle (or anybody else Jim Furyk fancies).
Team Europe have until Made in Denmark at the end of this month, and it’s a Dane In Thorbjorn Olesen putting the pressure on Paul Casey in that final spot through World Points (just 3.5 points behind) in the hopes of playing for Danish Captain Thomas Bjorn. Do I spot a trend?
This week will likely see the the best in the world rise to the top and play entertaining golf along the way. They say "drive for show, putt for dough" and whatever happens on the greens, I expect a show.
Written by Joe Carabini
