This past spring, Phil Mickelson romped to victory in the Masters at Augusta National. It was his second consecutive win in a grand slam event, his third major title, and the second time he would don the green jacket. At that moment he was the best male golfer on the planet.
Fast forward to June for the playing of the United States Open at the Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York. For 71 holes, Mickelson continued what he had started at the 2005 PGA Championship at storied Baltusrol. Tiger Woods had missed the 36-hole cut, Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk had faltered down the stretch, and stage three of the Phil-Slam was just about in the bank.
Or so we thought …
One month ago at the British Open at Hoylake, it was 2000 all over again. Tiger Woods showed he was a better golfer and a more determined thinker than anyone else while Phil Mickelson was just another also-ran. Sergio Garcia didn”t have a Sunday game and once gain, Jim Furyk couldn”t seal the deal.
Which brings us to this coming Thursday, when the final major of the year, the 88th annual PGA Championship tees it up at historical Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago. With all that has gone on over the previous 12 months, this has all the makings of one very special golf tournament.
Woods, the No. 1 player in the world rankings and the holder of 11 major championships, is fresh off his dynamite British Open triumph and Buick Open win. He won the PGA at Medinah in 1999, has a history of solid play in Chicago, and is looking to break out of his second-place tie with Walter Hagen in his quest to eclipse Jack Nicklaus” record of 18 major titles.
Mickelson, the defending champion, needs to prove that the 72nd hole at Winged Foot was a long-forgotten aberration. Will he be able to get major No. 4 and show that he is the equal of Tiger Woods? Or will he be subjected to career comparisons to other three-major talents such as Nick Price, Larry Nelson and Julius Boros? Pretty heady company, but each of the aforementioned threesome played in the shadows of Nick Faldo, Tom Watson and Arnold Palmer. Could the same fate await Mickelson?
Chicago is Jim Furyk”s kind of town. He won the 2005 Western Open at Cog Hill. He won the 2003 United States Open at Olympia Fields. His accuracy game and deft putting touch is made for the PGA and Medinah. Yet right now, in the prime of his career, he has too many also-rans. With that one Open title to his name, he has one less major than Andy North, Hubert Green, Mark O”Meara and John Daly. Is he just another Davis Love III or Paul Azinger with lots of close calls or is he ready to get to the next step and get closer to a Hall of Fame career?
And then there is Sergio Garcia. In 1999, he almost ran down Tiger at Medinah, carving wild shots off tree roots and bounding after his ball with all the joy of a young Seve Ballesteros. Some seven years later, he has gotten no closer to the big prize than he did that Sunday afternoon at the PGA. There was the U.S. Open at Bethpage in 2002 (won by Tiger). There was the British Open at St. Andrews in 2005 (won by Tiger). There was the 2006 British Open last month at Hoylake (won by … well, you get the picture).
Sergio has a whole lot more talent than one-hit major wonders such as Rich Beem, Ben Curtis and Paul Lawrie. Yet he hasn”t shown the knack for coming through in the clutch on golf”s biggest stages. When in contention, his Sunday scoring averages are deplorable, his putting stroke loses its dependability and his decision making goes south.
Mike Donald had a memorable weekend at the 1990 U.S. Open at Medinah before losing out in the end to Hale Irwin. Sam Snead (1949) and Frank Beard (1975) had similar close calls at Medinah. Hopefully Sergio won”t have a likewise what-if tale of woe.
Medinah is a traditional old-style American course that first opened in 1923. Its first professional was Tommy Armour and the assistant was Charley Penna. Founded by Shriners, Medinah is a 54-hole complex with its No. 3 course used for the PGA Championship. As one might be able to tell from our recap of its history, it has hosted three Opens and two PGAs. And it will host the Ryder Cup Matches in 2012.
In 2002 Rees Jones redesigned Medinah No. 3, lengthening it to 7,561 yards. To put it simply, Jones, the younger son of noted golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, has made a long and difficult course longer and more difficult. The PGA at Medinah will be the longest course in major championship history and its 17th hole, now a 197-yard par-3 over Lake Kadijah, will play 40 yards longer.
With all the anticipated drama behind this year”s PGA, it should be noted that 2006 marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the PGA of America. It was back then that Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and their contemporaries founded the organization and legitimized the role of the tournament and club professional in America.
The 88th running of the PGA Championship gets under way just outside Chicago at Medinah Country Club on Thursday. With all the dynamics of the past 12 months as well as the year”s final major contested on a tough and difficult course of historic note, this could well be a PGA Championship for the ages.
