The PGA Championship
Hear it here!
When it was over I repeated to myself what I always say about sports. It’s live human drama that’s unscripted and there may be something you’ve never seen before. What we all want is the drama. It may be a tight finish between names that are well known. It may be a comeback for the ages. It may be a last second happening that decides a big game between huge rivals. It could be a never-before-seen play or moment at any time during an event that will stand the test of time. It may even be thorough domination by a great player or team that can only be admired, even though the contest was never close.
Last week’s second golf major of the season, the PGA Championship at the Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia was shockingly bereft of drama. And who could have predicted that.
Of course, it was hardly without thrills and excitement for a 31-year old Englishman with parents of Indian descent unexpectedly experienced the biggest moment of his career by winning his first major title and only his second PGA Tour triumph. But for the rest of us it was a ho-hum affair and flat.
How strange the week developed. Going in, the hope was that Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler would a stage a showdown battle for the Wanamaker Trophy. McIlroy has been the darling of the sport as of late, winning back-to-back Masters and finally consistently showing the form of one of the top performers ever in the game. Scheffler of course has held the top spot as the World’s #1 for over 175 weeks. Lately he’s challenged virtually every time he’s played but has wound up as the bridesmaid, just missing first place finishes.
A McIlroy-Scheffler duel would have been a welcome attraction since the two have simply not been riding high at the same time.
Of course the much anticipated one-on-one scenario never occurred.
Instead, what we witnessed was a bunched-up leaderboard where entering the final 18 holes, 30 players were within five shots of the top, 22 within four, 10 within three, and six within two. Talk about drama with so many in contention, even though most of the names were relative unknowns. Maybe golfing aficionados were aware of many of the challengers, but to this writer, I had no idea who they were.
Then a post-round comment by one of the players set off a mini-firestorm. The player? Who else but Rory McIlroy who is never shy about making headlines. Rory, who had a bad first round claimed the PGA of America “protected” the golf course from yielding low scores with the setup the first two days. He was referring to the greens with a lot of undulations that would and obviously did, frustrate the pros playing the game. He claimed it was entertaining for the fans but watching and playing were two different things.
Even Scheffler acknowledged that approaching the green would be difficult because anything hit beyond the hole would present serious problems. In other words, the greens at Aronimink would be difficult to negotiate.
So, with so many having a chance to win entering the final round, you would think it would be a wild free for all, even though unknowns made up most of the contenders. Alex Smalley, the 63rd ranked world golfer who had been at or near the top all the way was the 54-hole leader. But the back and forth and ups and downs that were hoped for never really materialized. From the viewer point of view the excitement just wasn’t there.
Then the eventual champion, Aaron Rai (pronounced rye) bounced back from bogeys on the 6th and 8th holes to sink a 24-foot putt for an eagle 3 on the par 5 ninth hole. Then he birdied four of the back nine to establish a 3-stroke lead that looked much greater than it was because no one was there to make a run and Rai himself was as steady as he looked. He never wavered, and when he rolled in a 68-foot putt that curled from right to left for a birdie on 17, he stood motionless on the green and looked shocked at what he accomplished. It was the highlight of the final round even though the outcome had already been decided.
Rai looked to be a poised, humble golfer and as it turned out that’s precisely what he is as a person.
On the PGA title course he finished 9 under par, winning by three shots, and he was the only player who improved every day with scores of 70-69-67 and then a 65, his lowest score ever on any major championship round.
Justin Thomas rallied with a 65 as well Sunday playing early, and had to sit around and wait for a break that never came, as did runner up Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, and McIlroy himself.
We learned that Aaron Rai was one of the few golfers who wore two gloves, was married to Gaurika, who has eight wins on India’s women’s pro tour, and was a hard-working, extremely likable guy.
It seemed every big name in golf had nothing but supreme praise and respect for the new champion.
So while the final round of golf’s second major of the year lacked the usual excitement and drama, don’t tell that to Aaron Rai whose life changed on Sunday.
Once again, it also explained why reputation and momentum is irrelevant when it comes to athletic competition. It’s all about who plays the best. And it could be anybody. At the PGA Championship, that man was Aaron Rai.
A relative unknown wins the PGA
After sinking a 68 foot putt
Rory didn’t like the course
