Is there a 6th PGA Championship in line for Australia
A PGA Championship flagstick flag – Darren Carroll PGA of America
This week’s PGA Championship offers a great opportunity for the event to take the lead in regards to the number of different Australians to have one a major title, at this stage five individual Australians have won both the PGA Championship and the Open Championship but on current form there is genuine belief that Cameron Smith or Adam Scott could add to that number.
Throw in the prospect of Jason Day’s improved form of late adding his second win in the event then Australian chances appear good for a great week at the Oak Hill Country Club in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford, New York.
In all, nine Australasians make up a strong representation from this part of the world, Smith, Scott and Day being joined by Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis, Lucas Herbert, David Micheluzzi and New Zealanders Ryan Fox and Steve Alker.
The Oak Hill Country Club has played host to numerous major tournaments including three PGA Championships, three US Opens and two US Amateur Championships, the last of those coming when Jason Dufner defeated Jim Furyk by two shots in the 2013 PGA Championship.
Both Adam Scott and Jason Day were very much in the firing line in the 2013 Championship, Scott finishing tied for 5th and Day tied for 8th but the golf course has undergone significant changes since that event.
In 2015 the club hired architect Andre Green to restore many of the values and strategies original designer, Donald Ross, had created when first built in the mid 1920’s and the layout will provide a different look to that at the 2013 Championship.
Scott had been essentially treading water in events in the early part of this year but top tens in each of his last two starts suggest he is building towards a big week.
Day won this championship in 2015 a month or so ahead of becoming the world number one and his win last week and his lead up form over the past few months suggests he is heading back to that sort of level. Whether he is yet ready for this against a significantly stronger field than he faced last week is debatable but at his best he can at least contend.
Smith arrives off the back of close calls at the LIV Golf level but as was the case at the Masters where he had an overall disappointing week when 34th, his readiness for this week’s championship is under question. There is little doubting his capacity to contend and, yes, win major championships but despite losing a playoff to Dustin Johnson last week in Tulsa a win would be somewhat of a surprise, albeit a pleasant one.
Lucas Herbert’s form this year has been all over the place and although he won a DP World Tour event in Japan three weeks ago, the standard of player he will face this week is chalk and cheese compared to that he faced in Ibaraki Prefecture.
At his very best, Herbert has shown a capacity to contend near the highest level and a 13th place in this event last year was impressive and if he could repeat that or better then it will have been a great week.
Min Woo Lee missed his last three cuts after a magnificent effort to finish 6th at the Players Championship against a field almost as strong as the one he faces this week. His current form is a concern however and if he can improve significantly on his missed cut in the event last year it will be a solid week for him.
Cam Davis was also 6th at the recent Players Championship and followed that up soon after with 7th place finish at Harbour Town. He keeps getting better and a good showing this week would not surprise.
David Micheluzzi plays his first major championship this week and gave an indication of what sort of game he has when making the cut at last week’s event in Dallas when on debut on the PGA Tour. There is little doubting the talent the Victorian possesses but this week will surely test him to the limit and perhaps provide further evidence of just what sort of future he appears set for.
The two New Zealanders in the field have certainly justified their inclusion through their exploits over the past twelve months or so.
Steve Alker earns the right to play this event courtesy of his win in the Senior PGA Championship last year (an event he will defend next week) and a continuation of that form since. He disappointed, by his standards at least, with a midfield finish at last week’s major event on the PGA Tour Champions, the Regions Traditions Championship.
It will be fascinating to see how the most dominant player on the PGA Tour Champions over the past two years performs against this stronger field and more demanding layout.
Ryan Fox is in the field courtesy of his world ranking of 41st and performed well when playing PGA Tour events by invitation a few weeks ago. He has troubled with pneumonia of late and returned to New Zealand for the birth of his second child so his preparation has been disrupted.
