2015 PGA Championship Commentary
A Day of Reckoning – Jason Day Wins His First Major at the PGA Championship
I swear I’m almost as relieved Jason Day captured a major championship as Jason Day must be. I even cried too, along with the wife, and she doesn’t know golf. Jason has been so close and had so many heartbreaking finishes. Day’s is a truly great story of resilience, persistence, tenacity, and heart. Hats off to Jason Day for a truly amazing and inspiring week of golf, and the years of his journey to get to this point.
Day’s historic day was capped off with a finish at -20, never before achieved in a major… ever.
“The way that I felt confidence wise with my game, I just felt like no one was going to stop me today even though this was one of the hardest rounds I have ever had to play. Playing with Jordan was very difficult, just being able to watch what he was doing. But on top of it, grinding it out as hard as I possibly could. It is a fantastic feeling, I can call myself a major champion now and it feels really, really good.” ~Jason Day
Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth is amazing, in a totally different way than Tiger Woods was in his prime. I can’t pinpoint what makes Spieth so good. He’s not super long. He’s not the best ball striker on tour. He’s not the best putter on tour (he’s really good, don’t misunderstand). His short game isn’t the best on tour… But what he seems to have is the ability to PLAY GOLF. He’s as strong mentally as anyone and the pressure simply does not get to him. In fact, it seems to make him play better. A look at his stats on the year prove that. His scoring in majors is better than in non-majors!
Spieth locks up 2nd place in class, giving thumbs-up to Jason Day when he knew the tournament was Day’s. Spieth’s second place finish at the PGA moves him to #1 in the world golf rankings. Everyone knew he was playing the best golf on the planet, even Rory McIlory. McIlory shows nothing but class in this tweet:
2 inevitable things happened today, @JDayGolf winning a major and @JordanSpieth getting to 1 in the world! Congrats guys!! Inspiring stuff!
— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) August 16, 2015
Tiger Woods
What can you say about Tiger Woods, who missed his 3rd consecutive cut in a major with scores of 75 and 73. The numbers don’t lie. Tiger has dropped to 285th in the world rankings.
Branden Grace
Branden Grace has come out of nowhere (at least in my small cranium) and is suddenly a regular contender in majors. 3rd place finish.
Justin Rose
Justin Rose is a total stud. Rose was in the mix with a 4th place finish. More importantly though his eyewear apparel script was some kind of Elton John, The Fly, Elvis hybrid. Nicely done.
Whistling Straits
I didn’t hear or read one complaint about the golf course this week, unlike Chambers Bay and the 2015 U.S. Open. The course was fantastic and the PGA wasn’t afraid to set it up for low scoring. Majors don’t have to be even-par events. The excitement this week was fantastic and the setup truly produced the player who was the best in the field.
Sad Day
With the PGA Championship’s conclusion comes my yearly moaning that the golf season is for the most part over. The FedEx Cup does not tickle my interest whatsoever, and the Presidents Cup is not far behind that. I will likely tune in to professional golf next when the 2016 Masters Tournament is on.
Jason Day
I’ve been thinking a lot about Jason Day and how close he has come to winning majors over the last few years. The psychology of winning majors is tough. You know he has the physical tools to win one, but has yet to overcome the psychological part.
Think about the two winners this week on the PGA Tour and the European Tour, Jason Day and Danny Willett. Both of those players were on the top of the leader board in the Open Championship 1.5 weeks ago. All due respect to the RBC Canadian Open and the Omega European Masters, but I think Day and Willett won partly because there was much less pressure than in a major.
Not sure about Willett, but I do believe Day will win a major at some point. But I think the pressure and psychology of coming so close time after time make winning a major tougher and tougher.
For you to follow along at home, the 2015 round three pin sheet. Some of the usual pins on holes like 13 and 16, but 12 is a little different than last year.
Yesterday’s first round of the Masters was, as usual, fantastic. As I’ve said a million times, the Masters Tournament never disappoints. Thursday’s round had so many great stories to it. There was the return of Tiger Woods, the resurgence of Ernie Els, and amazing play of Jordan Spieth and a few surprises like the super round of 67 by Charlie Hoffman.
Spiethgasm
Jordan Spieth was -8 going into the easiest hole on the course yesterday, the par-5 15th. That hole is practically a guaranteed birdie and he could easily reach it in two. He was between clubs though, and knocked his approach over the green and nearly in the water on 16. He failed to get the chip on the green and ended up making a bogey. He got that stroke back on the 18th with a birdie.
The low round of 63 in a major championship was in jeopardy for a while there and the golf media and social networks were blowing up into a “Spiethgasm.”
It will be interesting to see if he can keep it together for four days.
Woods
My prediction for Tiger Woods’s first two rounds has been 74-70. Yesterday he shot a 73. Not bad. Not good. Nine shots off the lead. It’s not close to over for Tiger and I expect him to make the cut. The problem I see is massive dipping in his head during his downswing. If that gets bad, his shot dispersion goes to hell. You can’t spray it around August and get away with it.
What the weekend holds for Tiger should be interesting.
McIlory
Rory McIlory finished Thursday at -1. That’s an okay start and he’s not out of it by any means. I theorize that Rory wants to win this one so bad, it may cause him some mental issues.
Others
Others on my radar include my pick to win it all, Jason Day. Jason’s first round was super solid, including five birdies in a row. He’s right in the mix at -5 after day one.
So many other great stories which could be entire topics of discussion. Ernie Els, at 45, is right up there. And speaking of older players, how about Tom Watson shooting 71? He’s the oldest player to break par at the Masters after yesterday.
Cant’ wait for the rest of the weekend.
POS | PLAYER | TO PAR | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | TOTAL |
1 | Rory McIlroy | -16 | 66 | 67 | 67 | 68 | 268 |
2 | Phil Mickelson | -15 | 69 | 67 | 67 | 66 | 269 |
T3 | Henrik Stenson | -14 | 66 | 71 | 67 | 66 | 270 |
T3 | Rickie Fowler | -14 | 69 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 270 |
T5 | Jim Furyk | -12 | 66 | 68 | 72 | 66 | 272 |
T5 | Ryan Palmer | -12 | 65 | 70 | 69 | 68 | 272 |
T7 | Jimmy Walker | -11 | 69 | 71 | 68 | 65 | 273 |
T7 | Ernie Els | -11 | 70 | 70 | 68 | 65 | 273 |
T7 | Victor Dubuisson | -11 | 69 | 68 | 70 | 66 | 273 |
T7 | Hunter Mahan | -11 | 70 | 71 | 65 | 67 | 273 |
T7 | Steve Stricker | -11 | 69 | 68 | 68 | 68 | 273 |
T7 | Mikko Ilonen | -11 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 273 |
T13 | Brandt Snedeker | -10 | 73 | 68 | 66 | 67 | 274 |
T13 | Kevin Chappell | -10 | 65 | 74 | 67 | 68 | 274 |
T15 | Charl Schwartzel | -9 | 72 | 68 | 69 | 66 | 275 |
T15 | Marc Warren | -9 | 71 | 71 | 66 | 67 | 275 |
T15 | Brooks Koepka | -9 | 71 | 71 | 66 | 67 | 275 |
T15 | Lee Westwood | -9 | 65 | 72 | 69 | 69 | 275 |
T15 | Adam Scott | -9 | 71 | 69 | 66 | 69 | 275 |
T15 | Graham DeLaet | -9 | 69 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 275 |
T15 | Jason Day | -9 | 69 | 65 | 69 | 72 | 275 |
T15 | Louis Oosthuizen | -9 | 70 | 67 | 67 | 71 | 275 |
T15 | Bernd Wiesberger | -9 | 68 | 68 | 65 | 74 | 275 |
T24 | Justin Rose | -8 | 70 | 72 | 67 | 67 | 276 |
T24 | Jamie Donaldson | -8 | 69 | 70 | 66 | 71 | 276 |
26 | Joost Luiten | -7 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 71 | 277 |
T27 | Jerry Kelly | -6 | 67 | 74 | 70 | 67 | 278 |
T27 | Kenny Perry | -6 | 72 | 69 | 69 | 68 | 278 |
T27 | Bill Haas | -6 | 71 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 278 |
T30 | Thorbjorn Olesen | -5 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 67 | 279 |
T30 | Alexander Levy | -5 | 69 | 71 | 68 | 71 | 279 |
T30 | Danny Willett | -5 | 68 | 73 | 66 | 72 | 279 |
T33 | Cameron Tringale | -4 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 280 |
T33 | Daniel Summerhays | -4 | 70 | 72 | 68 | 70 | 280 |
T33 | Nick Watney | -4 | 69 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 280 |
T36 | Vijay Singh | -3 | 71 | 68 | 73 | 69 | 281 |
T36 | Hideki Matsuyama | -3 | 71 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 281 |
T36 | Richard Sterne | -3 | 70 | 69 | 72 | 70 | 281 |
T36 | Jonas Blixt | -3 | 71 | 70 | 68 | 72 | 281 |
T36 | Sergio Garcia | -3 | 70 | 72 | 66 | 73 | 281 |
T41 | Koumei Oda | -2 | 74 | 68 | 71 | 69 | 282 |
T41 | Jason Bohn | -2 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 282 |
T41 | Brendon de Jonge | -2 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 70 | 282 |
T41 | Luke Donald | -2 | 70 | 72 | 68 | 72 | 282 |
T41 | Brian Harman | -2 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 73 | 282 |
T41 | Ryan Moore | -2 | 73 | 68 | 67 | 74 | 282 |
T47 | Shane Lowry | -1 | 68 | 74 | 74 | 67 | 283 |
T47 | Robert Karlsson | -1 | 71 | 69 | 74 | 69 | 283 |
T47 | Graeme McDowell | -1 | 73 | 70 | 71 | 69 | 283 |
T47 | Marc Leishman | -1 | 71 | 71 | 72 | 69 | 283 |
T47 | Pat Perez | -1 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 283 |
T47 | Fabrizio Zanotti | -1 | 71 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 283 |
T47 | Matt Jones | -1 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 283 |
T47 | Scott Brown | -1 | 71 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 283 |
T47 | Geoff Ogilvy | -1 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 72 | 283 |
T47 | Edoardo Molinari | -1 | 66 | 73 | 71 | 73 | 283 |
T47 | Branden Grace | -1 | 73 | 70 | 68 | 72 | 283 |
T47 | Chris Wood | -1 | 66 | 73 | 70 | 74 | 283 |
T59 | Brendan Steele | E | 71 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 284 |
T59 | Gonzalo Fdez-Castano | E | 71 | 70 | 72 | 71 | 284 |
T59 | Francesco Molinari | E | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 284 |
T59 | Ian Poulter | E | 68 | 73 | 71 | 72 | 284 |
T59 | Patrick Reed | E | 70 | 71 | 70 | 73 | 284 |
T59 | Billy Horschel | E | 71 | 68 | 69 | 76 | 284 |
T65 | Bubba Watson | +3 | 70 | 72 | 73 | 72 | 287 |
T65 | Chris Stroud | +3 | 70 | 73 | 73 | 71 | 287 |
T65 | Kevin Stadler | +3 | 71 | 70 | 72 | 74 | 287 |
T65 | J.B. Holmes | +3 | 68 | 72 | 69 | 78 | 287 |
69 | Shawn Stefani | +4 | 68 | 75 | 72 | 73 | 288 |
T70 | Freddie Jacobson | +5 | 72 | 69 | 73 | 75 | 289 |
T70 | Colin Montgomerie | +5 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 75 | 289 |
T70 | Zach Johnson | +5 | 70 | 72 | 70 | 77 | 289 |
73 | Brendon Todd | +9 | 70 | 73 | 75 | 75 | 293 |
74 | Rafael Cabrera-Bello | +10 | 69 | 71 | 74 | 80 | 294 |
CUT | Charley Hoffman | – | 70 | 74 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Erik Compton | – | 71 | 73 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Gary Woodland | – | 72 | 72 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Scott Piercy | – | 73 | 71 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Martin Kaymer | – | 70 | 74 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Tommy Fleetwood | – | 73 | 71 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Tim Clark | – | 70 | 74 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Padraig Harrington | – | 73 | 71 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Ryan Helminen (CP) | – | 73 | 71 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Russell Henley | – | 69 | 75 | – | – | 144 |
CUT | Anirban Lahiri | – | 72 | 73 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Tom Watson | – | 72 | 73 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Davis Love III | – | 72 | 73 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Seung-Yul Noh | – | 68 | 77 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Johan Kok (CP) | – | 78 | 67 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Ben Martin | – | 74 | 71 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Russell Knox | – | 75 | 70 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Brian Stuard | – | 71 | 74 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Matt Every | – | 73 | 72 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Kevin Streelman | – | 69 | 76 | – | – | 145 |
CUT | Ryo Ishikawa | – | 72 | 74 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Rory Sabbatini | – | 75 | 71 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Stuart Deane (CP) | – | 75 | 71 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | David Hearn | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Y.E. Yang | – | 75 | 71 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Keegan Bradley | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Chris Kirk | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Hideto Tanihara | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Paul Casey | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Kevin Na | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Steven Bowditch | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Roberto Castro | – | 73 | 73 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Jamie Broce (CP) | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Ross Fisher | – | 73 | 73 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Harris English | – | 74 | 72 | – | – | 146 |
CUT | Eric Williamson (CP) | – | 74 | 73 | – | – | 147 |
CUT | Webb Simpson | – | 73 | 74 | – | – | 147 |
CUT | Chesson Hadley | – | 74 | 73 | – | – | 147 |
CUT | Charles Howell III | – | 73 | 74 | – | – | 147 |
CUT | George Coetzee | – | 73 | 74 | – | – | 147 |
CUT | Stewart Cink | – | 72 | 75 | – | – | 147 |
CUT | Stephen Gallacher | – | 70 | 77 | – | – | 147 |
CUT | Darren Clarke | – | 79 | 69 | – | – | 148 |
CUT | Pablo Larrazabal | – | 79 | 69 | – | – | 148 |
CUT | Jordan Spieth | – | 71 | 77 | – | – | 148 |
CUT | John Daly | – | 76 | 72 | – | – | 148 |
CUT | Tiger Woods | – | 74 | 74 | – | – | 148 |
CUT | Hyung-Sung Kim | – | 73 | 75 | – | – | 148 |
CUT | George McNeill | – | 73 | 75 | – | – | 148 |
CUT | Scott Stallings | – | 71 | 78 | – | – | 149 |
CUT | John Senden | – | 75 | 74 | – | – | 149 |
CUT | Rod Perry (CP) | – | 74 | 75 | – | – | 149 |
CUT | Miguel Angel Jimenez | – | 72 | 77 | – | – | 149 |
CUT | Bob Sowards (CP) | – | 75 | 75 | – | – | 150 |
CUT | Will MacKenzie | – | 76 | 74 | – | – | 150 |
CUT | Steve Schneiter (CP) | – | 72 | 78 | – | – | 150 |
CUT | Thongchai Jaidee | – | 71 | 79 | – | – | 150 |
CUT | Thomas Bjorn | – | 75 | 75 | – | – | 150 |
CUT | Shaun Micheel | – | 72 | 79 | – | – | 151 |
CUT | Michael Block (CP) | – | 77 | 74 | – | – | 151 |
CUT | K.J. Choi | – | 72 | 79 | – | – | 151 |
CUT | John Huh | – | 78 | 73 | – | – | 151 |
CUT | Jason Kokrak | – | 78 | 73 | – | – | 151 |
CUT | Brian Norman (CP) | – | 78 | 74 | – | – | 152 |
CUT | Rich Beem | – | 74 | 79 | – | – | 153 |
CUT | Rob Corcoran (CP) | – | 76 | 77 | – | – | 153 |
CUT | Matteo Manassero | – | 80 | 77 | – | – | 157 |
CUT | Jim McGovern (CP) | – | 83 | 74 | – | – | 157 |
CUT | Mark Brooks | – | 78 | 79 | – | – | 157 |
CUT | David McNabb (CP) | – | 77 | 80 | – | – | 157 |
CUT | Dave Tentis (CP) | – | 79 | 79 | – | – | 158 |
CUT | David Hronek (CP) | – | 81 | 77 | – | – | 158 |
CUT | Jerry Smith (CP) | – | 80 | 78 | – | – | 158 |
CUT | Frank Esposito (CP) | – | 83 | 78 | – | – | 161 |
CUT | Aaron Krueger (CP) | – | 84 | 77 | – | – | 161 |
CUT | Dustin Volk (CP) | – | 81 | 82 | – | – | 163 |
CUT | Matt Pesta (CP) | – | 79 | 89 | – | – | 168 |
WD | Ben Crane | – | – | – | – | – | – |
WD | Kiradech Aphibarnrat | – | – | – | – | – | – |
WD | Boo Weekley | – | – | – | – | – | – |
WD | Angel Cabrera | – | – | – | – | – | – |
WD | Jason Dufner | – | – | – | – | – | – |