Majors Preview

Southern Hills CC, Tulsa

As we began heading into the new season of golf, pros’ cell phones were running flat from the buzzing of secret messages, offers and counter offers from the Middle East. Paul Trow opines on the weight of it all but keeps his head up in assessing what might happen at this year’s four majors

A changing of the guard is under way in the bejeweled palace of men’s golf as it faces its biggest challenge in more than half a century.

Never has the quality on show teemed with so much precocity still short of its 30th birthday: Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Joaquin Niemann, Daniel Berger and Sam Burns, to name but some of the many upcomers.

Now, in addition to wrestling with their range drills, Pelotons, glutes and abs, every one of them has had to confront the implications of shaking hands with a stack of sports-washed, Middle Eastern petro-dollars.

“Howdy Mr. Saudi, I’m ready for my close-up to all those millions you’re dangling before me,” is a thought that crossed quite a few young minds as plans for the Super Golf League advanced. Also bothering their grey matter was a duo of dilemmas: “By saying, ‘Howdy Saudi’, will I be saying ‘Farewell PGA Tour’… permanently?”

It’s hard to tell how forgiving PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan might feel if the Greg Norman-orchestrated experiment—funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund—implodes, and it does seem deflated as of press time. But if it truly threatened the established order, could there be a way back without at least a lengthy “sackcloth and ashes” suspension. Growing the game? They’ll need shrinks.

In reality, the millionaire tour stars should have been asking: “Is this right?” and “What’s it really worth?”

Securing livelihoods and family futures through fast and big bucks has always been tempting to sports stars, regardless of background, but the stars of the PGA Tour needed to work out how defection from the old order was going to make their lives better than they already are.

Let’s face it, the top dogs on the PGA Tour—the ones Norman was schmoozing with gold-plated treats—are already made for life. Their legacy hinges not on the titles and six-figure checks they routinely pocket on a weekly basis, but on their performances in the majors.

And so here comes the crunch for the invaders: Would they get the four majors—all operationally independent of Camp Ponte Vedra—on side? Or would the Green Jackets, tartan kilts and dark-blue blazers vote conservatively with the status quo and put up barriers? If the former, then Norman could conquer all! If the latter, then it’s game on for the PGA Tour!

In 2022 more than ever, the majors hold the key to the future of elite professional golf, not to mention the rest of us who prefer watching it live rather than recorded highlights of events that take place at some unearthly hour in the middle of the night, on the other side of the world.

Thus, golf’s four holy grails this year are conferred with added spice and sparkle like never before. They hold the balance of power.

The major generals could, of course, sit on the fence at first, claiming that as long as a player qualifies through his official world golf ranking then he can participate. This would mean that in addition to the dozen or so marquee names that Norman was serenading, he would have needed to attract another 30 or 40 from the top-100 chorus line to ensure sufficient points are available from each of the tournaments he is hoping to establish under the Asian Tour’s umbrella.

The attraction of the Saudi enterprise is obvious to the likes of Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson; all approaching their golfing dotage and on the wane in the rankings. But for each of the brightest younger lights he lures on board—DeChambeau, Smith or Schauffele perhaps—the Shark would have needed to gobble up half-a-dozen Tommy Fleetwoods and Garrick Higgos to give event fields genuine strength in depth.

Would Fleetwood, already a runner-up in the U.S. Open and The [British] Open, yet now precariously close to tumbling out of the top-50, want to jeopardize his chances of contesting further majors while in his prime by going out on a limb as others sit tight?

Without the support of his ilk, the points on offer diminish and those who sign on the dotted line with Norman would have become vulnerable.

It was all very well for Mickelson, DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson to be cast as Norman’s recruitment posters because their major exemptions are bullet-proof for a few more years thanks to their respective wins in the 2021 PGA Championship, 2020 U.S. Open and 2020 Masters. Shane Lowry’s 2019 Open win guarantees him an open door for another couple of years, but the welcome mat could soon be pulled out from under Sergio Garcia as his 2017 Masters triumph fades into a distant memory. And as for Schauffele and Smith, or Tony Finau and Abraham Ancer, men who’ve yet to scale the mightiest peaks but undeniably have the game and talent to do so… what happens to their eligibility if they find themselves scrapping for Arabian crumbs from the World Ranking table?

The game was at a crossroads at the beginning of the year, but when DeChambeau and Johnson both confirmed their support for the PGA Tour during the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February, the PGA Tour seemed to have quelled the revolution. Rahm, Morikawa (World Nos. 1 and 2), Thomas, Koepka and Spieth have also sided with the PGA Tour, and it is probably no co-incidence that the announcements were made at an event hosted by Tiger Woods. The injured former World No. 1 might be out of action but his influence over PGA colleagues remains peerless, and his support for the PGA Tour steadfast.

The Open champ of 2001, David Duval, Tweeted: “Looks like the Saudi tour and Greg Norman are slowly going away. Good riddance.” Stay tuned.

World number one Jon Rahm wins the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines

The undulating fairways, rollercoaster greens and floral delights of the Masters are sashaying rapidly into view, and Hideki Matsuyama will soon be defending the Green Jacket he won with such aplomb last year. The first Japanese winner of a major has spent the past 12 months demonstrating he is a force to be reckoned with every time he tees it up, and he has since collected two further PGA Tour titles, one on home soil, the other in Hawaii. Augusta National is still a wonderful spectacle for viewers, both at the course and on the sofa, and a serious obstacle in a swirling breeze. But the top players know it well, have more than enough fire power to handle its length, and recognize that the tournament is, in many respects, a gigantic putting contest. This means that almost anyone in the field can win on a week when his putter is hot.

Many of the older champions still turn up, not so much to play but to dine together and reminisce, and Woods will probably fall into that category this time as he continues his recovery from the horrific leg injuries sustained in that California car crash a year ago. For the 15-time major winner, the late, great Bobby Jones’ pride and joy in 2022 will surely be too hilly, too early.

Despite its name, Southern Hills Country Club, host of the PGA Championship, presents a less physically demanding hurdle than Augusta. Indeed, the meandering Perry Maxwell Championship Course in Tulsa, Oklahoma, might actually tempt Woods—the winner by two shots over Woody Austin when the Wanamaker Trophy was last up for grabs there in 2007—to take a trip down memory lane. Funded by oil tycoons when it opened in 1936 and upgraded four years ago by Gil Hanse, this classical parkland layout has numerous doglegs shaped by mature deciduous trees, tilted greens and a plethora of drainage creeks. It has certainly stood the test of time thanks to Hanse’s ability to redefine the saucer-shaped bunkers and squeeze an additional 450 yards of length out of what seemed like a distinctly finite plot of land. Regardless of the elongation, though, it is unlikely that many tee shots will require a driver—a far cry from when the club staged the first of its seven previous majors: the 1958 U.S. Open, won by an exceptionally well-behaved Tommy Bolt by four shots from Gary Player. The PGA Championship of 1970 was the second major to come calling and right in the thick of things was Arnold Palmer, ending two shots shy of short-game wizard Dave Stockton.

Perhaps the most dramatic major at Southern Hills was the 1977 U.S. Open, not so much for the quality of golf but for the death threat that hung over Hubert Green as he secured a one-shot victory over Lou Graham. After holing out at the 14th, Green was notified by officials they had received a message saying he would be shot when he reached the 15th green. Given the choice to clear the course of fans or return the following day, Green boldly opted to play on, instructing his caddie to keep his distance as they walked up 15. Green gave new meaning to gutsy golf. He parred 15 and birdied 16 to capture his first major.

While the 1982 and 1994 PGAs at Southern Hills were fairly bloodless affairs, won in a canter by Raymond Floyd and Nick Price respectively, the U.S. Open of 2001 will be remembered as a comedy of errors.

Leading by one on the 72nd hole—after Mark Brooks had closed with three putts— Stewart Cink and Retief Goosen, in the final group, compounded the felony. Cink’s doublebogey, including a missed tiddler, dropped him to third while Goosen’s miserable effort from 10ft relegated him into an 18-hole playoff with Brooks. To his credit, the dour South African regrouped the following morning and prevailed in the showdown by two strokes.

Next up will be Massachusetts and The Country Club at Brookline in Boston suburbia, for the U.S. Open. One of the five founders of the USGA back in 1895, this is a venue pulsating with history, highlighted by the U.S. Open of 1913, which signalled an end to the Old World’s dominance of golf. Captured magnificently in Mark Frost’s masterpiece, The Greatest Game Ever Played, the tale of how a 20-year-old local upstart Francis Ouimet, an amateur, caddie and store assistant to boot, withstood the might of two of Britain’s greatest professionals to claim his home championship forever resonates. Harry Vardon, with seven major titles, is to this day Britain’s most decorated golfer. Ted Ray, his compatriot from Jersey in the Channel Islands, was a mighty competitor who went on to win the U.S. Open in 1920. After the trio had tied over 72 holes, Ouimet showed them a clean pair of heels in the subsequent 18-hole playoff, which he won by five shots.

It took half a century before the U.S. Open returned to The Country Club, and again a playoff was needed to settle matters. This time it was contested by Palmer, his great friend Julius Boros and Jacky Cupit. Due to a stomach bug, Palmer felt out of sorts and was unable to mount much of a challenge in extra time as Boros cruised to victory.

The U.S. Open returned to Brookline for its third and most recent visit in 1988 when (surprise, surprise) another playoff was needed. This time it pitted Curtis Strange against Nick Faldo and, echoing Ouimet’s feat, the American comfortably saw off his British opponent.

Faldo, of course, won The Open at St Andrews in 1990, inflicting the sort of beating on Norman that Monahan no doubt wishes to emulate. England’s knight of shining irons is expected to return for a ceremonial four-hole challenge over the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th holes of the Old Course on the Monday of Open week. The R&A has invited more than 40 former champions to take part, so double Open champion Norman should be there as well. So, too, Woods, winner of two of his three claret jugs at the Home of Golf. Indeed, hopes are high that he might play in the main event given the flatness of the terrain. The key to winning at St Andrews, as Woods demonstrated to perfection in 2000, is staying out of the bunkers. South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who has resurfaced as a serial major contender of late, certainly took note while winning by a country mile in 2010, and narrowly missing out to Zach Johnson in a playoff in 2015.

Rory McIlroy, who sat out that Open after twisting his ankle playing soccer, knows the Old Course well and tied for third in 2010 after opening with a 63. This noble competitor surely has at least one more major title swirling around a crystal ball, and it is more likely to come at St Andrews than Augusta.

McIlroy has become golf’s moral compass (even though his sense of direction on the course might be a little erratic at times). But with the game, truly, at a crossroads, the Northern Irishman took responsibility for directing traffic and ushering the burgeoning talent away from the Middle East. “It’s dead in the water in my opinion,” said McIlroy of the SGL at Riviera. “I just can’t see any reason why anyone would go.”

Chasms have split the landscape of tour golf in recent months, there is no doubt, but the four pillars of tour golf—the majors— remain resolute.

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