Running PGA Championship Thread ...

Figured I'd start one thread today that doesn't have to talk about Barry Bonds ... unless someone starts talking about PGA players and drug testing.

As for the tournament itself, Tiger and Phil are getting the attention because this is their last shot at a major tournament victory in 2007 (as if the others on the PGA Tour aren't in the same boat). Wouldn't it be great if we actually have a year in which neither Tiger or Phil wins a major? I think that helps golf more in the long run. The more guys with a major title, the better.

Also, where's Freelance Hack to start a PGA Championship pool for SportsJournalists.com members?

I haven't made a prediction yet for who I think will win this week at Southern Hills, but I'll have it on this thread before they tee off on Thursday morning.

 

The weather should make this even more interesting. Tulsa is projected to clear 100 degrees for each of the next four days.

 

Well, then I guess John Daly and Tim Herron should be the favorites

 

Much like the heat, I wonder if the PGA Championship suffers as a major because it's in the month of August.

The Masters has the excitement of being first and it's at Augusta National.
The U.S. Open offers a chance for people to qualify and its course is always a story.
The British Open offers a lot with the links courses and the elements.
PGA Championship ... is the last of the four majors.

 

To note, here's a list of the PGA head professionals who will tee it up this week:

Bill Amundsen -- Black River Falls, Wis.
Ryan Benzel -- Bothell, Wash.
Greg Bisconti -- South Salem, N.Y.
Kevin Burton -- Boise, Idaho
Matt Call -- Castle Rock, Colo.
Bob Gaus -- St. Louis, Mo.
Scott Hebert -- Traverse City, Mich.
Brad Lardon -- Bryan, Texas
Bob McGrath -- San Jose, Calif.
Kelly Mitchum -- Southern Pines, N.C.
John O'Leary -- Reston, Va.
Micah Rudosky -- Cortez, Colo.
Phil Schmitt -- Baton Rouge, La.
Matt Seitz -- Hutchinson, Kan.
Butch Sheehan -- Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Mike Small -- Champaign, Ill.
Chip Sullivan -- Troutville, Va.
Tim Thelen -- College Station, Texas
Erik Wolf -- Palm Desert, Calif.
Don Yrene -- Scottsdale, Ariz.

 

Here's the entire PGA Championship field (as of 8/8/07) from www.pgatour.com and even the alternates are listed:

ALLENBY, Robert -- AUSTRALIA
AMES, Stephen -- CANADA
AMUNDSEN, William -- Black River Falls, Wis.
APPLEBY, Stuart -- AUSTRALIA
AUSTIN, Woody -- Derby, Kan.
AXLEY, Eric -- Knoxville, Tenn.
BADDELEY, Aaron -- AUSTRALIA
BATEMAN, Brian -- Monroe, La.
BEEM, Rich -- Austin, Texas
BENZEL, Ryan -- Seattle, Wash.
BISCONTI, Gregory -- South Salem, N.Y.
BJORN, Thomas -- DENMARK
BRIER, Markus -- AUSTRIA
BROOKS, Mark -- Ft. Worth, Texas
BRYANT, Bart -- Windermere, Fla.
BURTON, Kevin -Boise, Idaho
BYRD, Jonathan -- Sea Island, Ga.
CABRERA, Angel -- ARGENTINA
CALCAVECCHIA, Mark -- Phoenix, Ariz.
CALL, Matt -- Castle Rock, Colo.
CAMPBELL, Chad -- Colleyville, Texas
CAMPBELL, Michael -- NEW ZEALAND
CASEY, Paul -- ENGLAND
CHOI, K.J. -- KOREA
CHOPRA, Daniel -- SWEDEN
CINK, Stewart -- Duluth, Ga.
CLARKE, Darren -- NORTHERN IRELAND
CLARK, Tim -- SOUTH AFRICA
COCERES, Jose -- ARGENTINA
CURTIS, Ben -- Stow, Ohio
DALY, John -- Dardanelle, Ark.
DIMARCO, Chris -- Heathrow, Fla.
DONALD, Luke -- ENGLAND
DOUGHERTY, Nick -- ENGLAND
DREDGE, Bradley -- WALES
DUKE, Ken -- Palm City, Fla.
DURANT, Joe -- Molina, Fla.
DYSON, Simon -- ENGLAND
EDFORS, Johan -- SWEDEN
ELKINGTON, Steve -- AUSTRALIA
ELS, Ernie -- SOUTH AFRICA
FASTH, Niclas -- SWEDEN
FLESCH, Steve -- Union, Ky.
FUNK, Fred -- Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
FURYK, Jim -- Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
GARCIA, Sergio -- SPAIN
GAUS, Robert -- St. Louis, Mo.
GLOVER, Lucas -- Greenville, S.C
GOOSEN, Retief -- SOUTH AFRICA
GOYDOS, Paul -- Dove Canyon, Calif.
GREEN, Nathan -- AUSTRALIA
GREEN, Richard -- AUSTRALIA
HAMILTON, Todd -- Westlake, Texas
HANSEN, Anders -- DENMARK
HANSEN, Soren -- DENMARK
HANSON, Peter -- SWEDEN
HARRINGTON, Padraig -- IRELAND
HAVRET, Gregory -- FRANCE
HEBERT, Scott -- Traverse City, Mich.
HENRY, J.J. -- Ft. Worth, Texas
HERRON, Tim -- Wayzata, Minn.
HOFFMAN, Charley -- Las Vegas, Nev.
HOWELL, III, Charles -- Orlando, Fla.
HOWELL, David -- ENGLAND
IMADA, Ryuji -- JAPAN
IMMELMAN, Trevor -- SOUTH AFRICA
JACQUELIN, Raphael -- FRANCE
JAIDEE, Thongchai -- THAILAND
JIMENEZ, Miguel Angel -- SPAIN
JOHNSON, Zach -- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
KARLSSON, Robert -- SWEDEN
KATAYAMA, Shingo -- JAPAN
KELLY, Jerry -- Madison, Wis.
KIM, Anthony -- Dallas, Texas
LARDON, Brad -- College Station, Texas
LEANEY, Stephen -- AUSTRALIA
LEHMAN, Tom -- Scottsdale, Ariz.
LEONARD, Justin -- Dallas, Texas
LIANG, Wen Chong -- CHINA
LICKLITER II, Frank -- Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
LOVE III, Davis -- Sea Island, Ga.
MACKENZIE, Will -- Jupiter, Fla.
MAHAN, Hunter -- Plano, Texas
MATTESON, Troy -- Buford, Ga.
MAYFAIR, Billy -- Scottsdale, Ariz.
McGINLEY, Paul -- IRELAND
McGRATH, Bob -- San Jose, Calif.
MEDIATE, Rocco -- Naples, Fla.
MICHEEL, Shaun -- Memphis, Tenn.
MICKELSON, Phil -- Rancho Santa Fe,
MITCHUM, Kelly -- Southern Pines, N.
MONTGOMERIE, Colin -- SCOTLAND
MOORE, Ryan -- Puyallup, Wash.
OBERHOLSER, Arron -- Scottsdale, Ariz.
OGILVIE, Joe -- Austin, Texas
OGILVY, Geoff -- AUSTRALIA
O'HAIR Sean -- Lubbock, Texas.
OíHERN, Nick -- AUSTRALIA
OLAZABAL, Jose Maria -- SPAIN
O'LEARY -- John -- Reston, Va.
PAMPLING, Rod -- AUSTRALIA
PAVIN, Corey -- Dallas, Texas
PEREZ, Pat -- Scottsdale, Ariz.
PERNICE, JR., Tom -- Murietta, Calif.
PERRY, Kenny -- Franklin, Ky.
POULTER, Ian -- ENGLAND
PURDY, Ted -- Phoenix, Ariz.
QUIGLEY, Brett -- Barrington, R.I.
QUINNEY, Jeff -- Scottsdale, Ariz.
RANDHAWA, Jyoti -- INDIA
ROLLINS, John -- Colleyville, Texas
ROMERO, Andres -- ARGENTINA
ROSE, Justin -- ENGLAND
RUDOSKY, Micah -- Cortez, Colo.
SABBATINI, Rory -- SOUTH AFRICA
SCHMITT, Phil -- Baton Rouge, La.
SCHWARTZEL, Charl -- SOUTH AFRICA
SCOTT, Adam -- AUSTRALIA
SEITZ, Matthew -- Hutchinson, Kan.
SENDEN, John -- AUSTRALIA
SHEEHAN, Butch -- Rancho Mirage, Calif.
SINGH, Jeev Milkha -- INDIA
SINGH, Vijay -- FIJI
SLOCUM, Heath -- Alpharetta, Ga.
SLUMAN, Jeff -- Hinsdale, Ill.
SMALL, Mike -- Champaign, Ill.
SNEDEKER, Brandt -- Sea Island, Ga.
STENSON, Henrik -- SWEDEN
STERNE, Richard -- SOUTH AFRICA
STORM, Graeme -- ENGLAND
STRICKER, Steve -- Madison, Wis.
SULLIVAN, Chip -- Troutville, Va.
SUTHERLAND, Kevin -- Sacramento, Calif.
TANIGUCHI, Toru -- JAPAN
TAYLOR, Vaughn -- Augusta, Ga.
THELEN, Tim -College Station, Texas
TOMS, David -- Shreveport, La.
TRAHAN, D.J. -- Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
TWAY, Bob -- Edmond, Okla.
VAN PELT, Bo -- Tulsa, Okla.
VERPLANK, Scott -- Edmond, Okla.
VILLEGAS, Camilo -- COLOMBIA
WALL, Anthony -- ENGLAND
WATNEY, Nick -- Fresno, Calif.
WATSON, Bubba -- Bagdad, Fla.
WATSON, Denis -- Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
WEEKLEY, Boo -- Milton, Fla.
WEIR, Mike --- CANADA
WESTWOOD, Lee --- ENGLAND
WETTERICH, Brett -- Jupiter, Fla.
WILSON, Dean -- Kaneohe, Hawaii
WILSON, Mark -- Chicago, Ill.
WOLF, Erik -- Palm Desert, Calif.
WOODS, Tiger --- Windermere, Fla.
YANG, Yong-Eun -- KOREA
YRENE, Don -- Scottsdale, Ariz.

Alternates:
1. GAY, Brian -- Windermere, Fla. (93)
2. MARINO, Steve -- Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (94)
3. DAVIS, Brian -- ENGLAND (95)
4. ESTES, Bob -- Austin, Texas (96)
5. FRAZAR, Harrison -- Dallas, Texas (97)
6. MALLINGER, John -- Long Beach, Calif. (99)
7. LONARD, Peter -- AUSTRALIA (100)

 

This is Tiger's tournament all the way giving his last tournament, his hunger for majors and his physical condition. He's one guy who won't wilt in the heat.

 

Heat index pushing 110.

And I'm heading into this 7th Circle of Hell tomorrow... Normally, I like walking courses that host major championships. The TV will take me around Southern Hills.

On this subject, I'm taking suggestions on edible places for dinner. Any of you folks either from these here parts or who visit on Tulsa University related happenings, please start firing off places that will make these four days easier.

Threadjack over.

 

Here are my picks:

Want to see him win: Stewart Cink, Rocco Mediate or Chad Campbell (he had to watch Shaun Micheel make that once in a lifetime shot and wrap up the PGA Championship a few years ago).

Needs to win: Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Davis Love III

Would love to see a win by: Any of the 20 PGA head professionals, Andres Romero

Should win: Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els or Retief Goosen.

 

The PGA does suffer with the August date, but it's still mostly played at incredible venues and the course set up is fair for scoring. Another drawback is CBS's bullshit marketing of "Glory's Last Shot." How hokie is that?

The idea behind the tournament is the rotating venue and the idea of having professionals do what they do best...score. That's not to say that the PGA compares to the US Open. The US Open is about finding the planet's best golfer under adverse conditions and identifying the player that's still grinding with a score around par. The Open Championship is about shot making on a links style golf course, which, unles you've played, is hard to understand the difference. Augusta is about tradition and putting.

The PGA would do itself some good to continue at great venues with favorable setups.

 

There's a story on pgatour.com about Jim Furyk and how he's feeling good enough to play this week. I hope so because if he plays, as long as the back doesn't give him problems, he's a contender.