uspga championship preview
A to Z
US PGA Championship Just who is Rodman Wanamaker? Why does Greg Norman shudder when he thinks of Inverness Club? And who is the oldest major winner of all time? This alphabetical history of "Glory's Last Shot", otherwise known as the USPGA Championship, explains all ... COMPILED BY ALEX JENKINS
50
HK Golfer・AUG 2011
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・AUG 2011
51
D
is for DAVE MARR, one of the most popular champions in the history of the US PGA. Marr claimed the 1965 championship after holding off Billy Casper and Jack Nicklaus by two shots at Laurel Valley. A jocular Texan who was a close friend of Arnold Palmer, Marr would later go on to skipper the US Ryder Cup team in 1981. He was also a brilliant broadcaster and raconteur, commentating for the BBC in the UK and ABC and NBC in the US. Palmer described Marr's solitary major win as "one of the happiest moments of my life." Marr died in 1997 at the age of 63.
American Dream (clockwise from left): The Highland Course at Atlanta Athletic Club, venue for the 2011 US PGA; a very young Dave Marr, who won the 1965 championship; Gene Sarazen, a three-time winner of the event, in action
E
is for EMPHATIC. Jack Nicklaus holds the record for the largest margin of victory with seven shots, which came in 1980 at Oak Hill Country Club, where he earned his final US PGA title. Incidentally, the Golden Bear's win at the 1971 championship completed his second Grand Slam.
F G
i s f or FE BRUARY. A lt houg h t he championship has historically been played in August, in 1971 the US PGA was held in February, making it the first major of that year. The move was short lived however, and by 1972 the event was back in its late summer slot. is for GENE SARAZEN, who won the championship on three occasions (1922, 1923 and 1933). The son of an Italian immigrant (Sarazen was born Eugenio Saraceni) would become the first golfer to win all four majors – the career Grand Slam – when he triumphed at the 1935 Masters after famously holing a four-wood from 235 yards at the fifteenth hole for an albatross. Sarazen is also credited with inventing the sand wedge.
A
is for ATLANTA ATHLETIC CLUB, the venue for this year's championship and the home club of the legendary Bobby Jones. The event will take place over the club's Highland Course, a lengthy track measuring in excess of 7,600 yards that also played host to the 2001 edition (won by David Toms) and the 1976 US Open, which saw Jerry Pate claim his one and only major title.
B 52
HK Golfer・AUG 2011
is for BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK-TOBACK. Walter Hagen is the only man to have won the same major championship four years in a row. The
'Haig' added to his initial championship success in 1921 by claiming every US PGA crown from 1924-27. He finished his career with a total of five victories, a record he shares with Jack Nicklaus.
C
is for CELL PHONES, the use of which will be permitted within the grounds of Atlanta Athletic Club by spectators at the championship for the very first time. The guidelines, which limit phone use to designated areas, are vastly different to those at the Masters, where "mobile devices" aren't allowed anywhere on the Augusta property. HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・AUG 2011
53
in the last two decades to triumph at the event following his play-off win over Bubba Watson.
L
is for LOWEST AGGREGATE. David Toms holds the aggregate scoring record with 265 (also the lowest in major championship history), which he achieved at the 2001 edition. But because the Atlanta Athletic Club was playing as a par 70, his 15-under-par total was not the lowest of all time. Tiger Woods and Bob May scorched to 18-under-par of the 2000 event at Valhalla Golf Club, a par 72 layout, before Woods won in a play-off. Woods also finished 18-under at Medinah Country Club, site of his third US PGA victory in 2006.
M H
is for HOME ADVANTAGE. Players from the United States have claimed 76 of the 92 championships played thus far. Only Australia (with four), South Africa, England, Zimbabwe and Fiji (each with two) have seen their own triumph on more than one occasion.
is for MATCH PLAY From the first championship in 1916 until 1957, the US PGA was a match play tournament. This all changed in 1958 when organizers, under pressure from the American television networks, switched to a stroke play format. In recent times there have been calls from some within the industry to return the championship to match play in order to differentiate what is arguably the weakest of the majors from the other three stroke play grand slam events.
I
is for INVERNESS CLUB, which hosted the 1993 and 1986 tournaments that saw Greg Norman finish second on both occasions. In 1986, Bob Tway holed a bunker shot at the final hole to defeat the Great White Shark after the latter let slip a hefty back-nine lead; seven years later, Paul Azinger overcame the unlucky Australian in a sudden-death play-off.
O
J
is for OLDEST WINNER. In 1968, Julius Boros, then 48, defied the Texas heat and a last-hole charge by Arnold Palmer to become the oldest major champion of all time, at Pecan Valley Country Club in San Antonio. Boros, who was of Hungarian descent, also won the 1952 and 1963 US Opens.
is for JIM BARNES, the championship's first winner. Barnes won the inaugural event in 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in New York, beating Jock Hutchison 1up in the final. Barnes earned US$500 for his efforts. He would also win second event, which was in 1919 after a hiatus of three years due to World War I. He remains to this day the only Englishman to have won the title.
P
is for PLAY-OFFS Since becoming a stroke play tournament, there have been 16 play-offs at the US PGA, the last of which came in 2010 when Germany's Martin Kaymer overcame Bubba Watson at Whistling Straits. Play-offs at the tournament are no longer decided by sudden death; instead, the lowest three-hole aggregate score determines the winner.
K
is for KIDS. The pundits seem to be expecting the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler to blossom at the US PGA but the fact remains that the championship seems to favour the older golfer. Last year's winner Martin Kaymer became only the third 20-something 54
HK Golfer・AUG 2011
N
is for NINTH ALTERNATE John Daly's victory at the 1991 championship, a win that launched his rollercoaster career, was arg uably t he most improbable in the tournament's history. As the ninth – and final – alternate for the event, Daly only got into the field after Nick Price pulled out the day before the first round and none of the other standby players could make it in time. Driving through the night from his home in Arkansas to the Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indiana, Daly, without the aid of a practice round, managed to card a 69 on the day. Further rounds of 67, 69 and 71 gave him a three-stroke victory over Bruce Lietzke. The "Wild Thing" was born.
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
Q
i s f o r Q U A L I F I C AT I O N . T h e championship was established for the purpose of providing a highprofile tournament specifically for professional golfers at a time when they were generally not held in high esteem in a sport that was largely run by wealthy amateurs. This origin is still reflected in the entry system – it is the only major which does not explicitly invite leading amateurs to compete and the only one which reserves a large number of places – 20 out of 156 spots – for club professionals.
R S T
i s for RODMAN WANAMAKER, the wealthy department store owner who is credited with helping to formulise the Professional Golfers' Association in 1916. The US PGA champion earns the Wanamaker Trophy, one of the largest trophies in golf. is for SHAUN MICHEEL, who came from nowhere to win the title in 2003. That victory remains the American's sole win on the PGA tour, although he does have a definite affinity with the championship having also finished second at the 2006 edition. is for TH E KI NG. Despite bei ng recognised as one of the game's all time greats, Arnold Palmer never ma naged to w i n t he US PG A . Palmer, who claimed seven majors, including four Masters titles, came close numerous times, finishing second on no less than three occasions – in 1964, 1968 and 1970.
Winners and Losers (clockwise from left): Walter Hagen celebrates one of hsi five US PGA Championships; Greg Norman, twice a runnerup at the Inverness Club, would never capture the Wanamaker Trophy; Shaun Micheel celebrates his unlikely victory in 2003 HK Golfer・AUG 2011
55
Corageous Korean: YE Yang became the only player in history to defeat Tiger Woods after the latter held the lead throuh 54 holes of a major championship, with a brilliant win at the 2009 US PGA at Hazeltine
U
is for UNDERDOG. All majors have their surprise winners of course but the US PGA seems to provide more than its fair share. Aside from the underdogs mentioned elsewhere in this article (see Bob Tway, John Daly, Shaun Micheel and YE Yang), the championship has been won by golfing lightweights Jay Herbert (1960), John Mahaffey (1978), Mark Brooks (1996) and Rich Beem (2002).
V
is for VOLUNTEERS. While it's fair to say that volunteers form the backbone of any large scale professional tournament, the US PGA couldn't possibly be the event it is without the help of those willing to give up their time to help without payment. The 2011 edition will see a staggering 3,500 volunteers working at Atlanta Athletic Club.
W
is for WAYNE GRADY, the popular Australian pro – and frequent visitor to Hong Kong – won his only major championship at the US PGA in 1990 at Shoal Creek in Alabama. Grady, who now works as television commentator, claimed the title by three strokes from Fred Couples, a year after losing a play-off to Mark Calcavecchia at the Open Championship.
X Y
is for X100, the model of steel shaft produced by the True Temper Sports company which has been used by more US PGA champions than any other. Tiger Woods has used the shafts in his irons since his amateur days. i s for YE YANG, who became the first Asian major winner by overhauling no other than Tiger Woods to claim the championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in 2009. Yang's brilliant efforts – which included a final-hole birdie – condemned Woods to his first major loss when leading after 54 holes.
Z
i s for ZINGER, otherwise known as Paul Azinger, who won the 1993 championship following a play-off with Greg Norman (also see Inverness Club). One of the PGA Tour's most consistent performers throughout the late 1980s and 90s, the former US Ryder Cup captain's only major triumph was made all the more poignant after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma soon afterwards. After months of treatment, Azinger overcame the cancer and returned to professional golf full time.
WEB
MOBILE
HKGolfer ALL THE LATEST GOLFING NEWS AND REVIEWS ONLINE
GET HK GOLFER MAGAZINE IN PRINT AND ON THE WEB EXCLUSIVE ONLINE MATERIAL FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
@hkgolfermag
YOUR NEW HOMEPAGE AT
HKGOLFER.COM
56
HK Golfer・AUG 2011
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM is powered by Ugli, Hong Kong's most innovative web developers Contact: ugli@timesic.com / (852) 3590 4153 for your new web site