The consistently thrilling element of the US PGA Championship is no coincidence. It is, in fact, a testament to tournament organisers who refuse to let ego get in the way of a golfing major. The same, suffice to say, cannot be guaranteed elsewhere.
Whistling Straits has provided the finest major of 2015. That is not to dismiss Augusta National but there is no element of the unpredictable at the Masters. St Andrews, which hosted the Open Championship, fell victim to the elements. Chambers Bay and the US Open was a different story; poor putting surfaces and the typical, tricked-up elements in which the USGA takes some kind of perverse pride rendered player discord inevitable. It duly was not slow in appearing.
Whistling Straits has plenty going for it. For a start, it is stunning on the eye. There are holes, the par-three 12th included, where it would be an effort for amateurs to hit a shot rather than stand back in admiration of the view.
Yet that appeal would be instantly lost had the PGA of America taken on a fondness for silly pin positions or unfair grading of rough for the best of the major fields.
Those behind this tournament could easily make golfing aristocracy look rather silly if they wanted to. Admirably, they take the opposite approach. Short par fours are left as such. This is not a mundane, pitch and putt course for players to butcher – the number of double bogeys alone during this week highlights that – but there is plenty of scope for the kind of shot-making which should define major champions.
That much is consistently reflected in the scoring. There have been stunning runs: Hiroshi Iwata’s 63 on Friday, Branden Grace’s third round of 64, Jordan Spieth’s back nine of 30 on Saturday. On day four, Ryan Moore was 30 to the turn.
Rory McIlroy claimed a terrific US PGA last year at Valhalla when 16 under par. On only one occasion since 2006 has the winning score not been minus eight or better. Competitors are afforded a chance to make birdies, while aware of the perils they will inevitably encounter in the event of bad shots.
“It’s usually a fair test of golf, somewhere within 10 to 15 under par usually wins this tournament,” McIlroy said. “So it’s not like it prevents the guys from making birdies, but it still penalises you if you don’t hit good shots and I think that’s testament to the PGA of America and obviously to [chief championships officer] Kerry Haigh who sets the golf course up. I think he does a fantastic job.”
Whistling Straits, it must be said, has benefited from frequent summer rain deluges. It is therefore infinitely more lush than perhaps would ordinarily have been the case. The landscape could barely be further removed from the links comparisons some would offer.
Haigh said that the course “may be a little softer than we would want it”. In truth, that has only added to the US PGA appeal.
Phil Mickelson said: “The greens have been receptive and fair all week long. The golf course is in pristine shape, one of the best I’ve ever seen. The fairway width is very fair.
“You hit a good shot, you’re going to hit the fairway. The balls are not propelling out of the fairway like we saw last week [at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational].
“We have greens that are very fair sized and they’re receptive. Good quality shots with long irons will hold and be on the green, and poor shots are severely punished with the slopes and the bunkers and so forth. It’s just a wonderful test and great place to hold a major.”
Haigh and his committee made a swift, sensible decision on Friday evening when a storm battered this corner of Wisconsin. That freak of nature, thankfully, had no impact whatsoever on the outcome of the tournament.
“I would want to make a special mention both to the course manager, Michael Lee, and of Chris Zugel. His staff, his crew, are unbelievable,” Haigh said. “You’ll see them 4.30 in the morning, setting it up, getting everything ready. And if you want to ask them how it is to rake almost a thousand bunkers in the morning and again at night, there’s an awful lot of work involved. But they do an outstanding job.
“We could not be happier with the way the course has been presented.”
The Ryder Cup will be played here in 2020; “more of the same” should be the cry.
