There is more. Day’s first look at the venue for the final major of the year was on Wednesday, when he played 18 holes of practice.
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Mickelson’s tee shot on the par-5 17 went way right, again into the gallery. The next closest player was another 13 shots behind. The first to get there?
The most popular player in the PGA Championship practice rounds is a bearded gent whose name most people don’t even know.
Jordan Spieth turned 23 yesterday.
Day said at the U.S. Open he never felt as much stress in his career being No. 1. He was ranked 135th in the world when the year began but finished eighth at the U.S. Open and 22nd at the British.
Famed amateur George Von Elm captured the 1926 U.S. Amateur on the Lower Course, and Tony Manero claimed the U.S. Open on the Upper Course in 1936. He’s the last to win the PGA here, winning by 4 shots ahead of Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjorn in 2005.
And although his worst finish in five appearances since then is a tie for 27th, Day acknowledges the pressure is on to maintain his high standards.
Who will be on top of the leaderboard after Round One? It would be nice to get at least one.
“It’s pretty long. You’ve got to drive it straight but probably the biggest difference this year than years past is my wedge game”. He did what he needed to do.
It’s been five years since the four majors were captured by first-time major winners.
“The club pros are very good players and I think you’d be very surprised how well club pros have done, and they’ve had good showings in the past, and so hopefully we can build on that”. He has to dominated the field in order to win and to avoid another collapse. “I feel like I wear out my 8- and 9-irons on the par 4s”. “And then on top of it, the guys are just younger and stronger and fitter and faster, and they are just long out there”.
Other favorites in the event include Sergio Garcia, who has yet to win a major title, Jason Day, and Rory Mcilroy. That puts a short club into their hand on every approach to the green.
Australian Day, trying to match Woods as the only back-to-back PGA victor since the event adopted stroke-play format in 1958, comes in with only one practice round and fighting illness as well as expectations. “So just the competition is really, really tough right now”. Whatever the reasons, (the kids were sick, the demands on his time as the defending champ and being the world No. 1 all take a toll on his schedule), Day is coming into the last major on the calender without much knowledge of the course and only one practice day here.
McIlroy acknowledged the length of the golf course is a challenge.
“I’m not going to lie”.
There is usually about a month separating the British Open and the PGA Championship – the final two major championships of the season.
Journalist and author David Shedloski of Columbus, Ohio, has been covering golf since 1986, first as a daily newspaper reporter and later as a freelance writer for various magazines and Internet outlets.
“I really look at it as I need to come back in, try and execute a game plan and try and win the tournament”.
“And unfortunately that’s not the case”. This time, it was not the world No1 himself who encountered pre-tournament problems.
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And the trio teeing off ahead of that offers two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, another American in two-time major victor Jordan Spieth and Spain’s Sergio Garcia, trying to win his first major title in his 73rd try and 70th consecutive major start dating to the 1999 British Open.
