USPGA Championship Has Potential To Emerge From London's Shadow

Last August drama unfolded at Atlanta Athletic Club as PGA Tour rookie Keegan Bradley came back from five shots behind with three holes to play to beat journeyman Jason Dufner in a three hole play-off by one stroke. No one believed that there could be a way back for Bradley after he chipped into the water on route to a triple bogey six at the par 3 15th. Jaws dropped as Dufner then hit his tee shot on the same hole into a similar watery grave as Bradley birdied the 16th. Dufner then bogeyed 16 and 17 while the youngster holed a 50 foot putt for birdie on the penultimate hole prior to winning the play-off. 

This time around the year's last major has slipped so far under the radar that a lot of people seem to be unaware that it is even taking place. The Bridgestone Invitational was played rather unnoticed as the London Olympics got under way but Kiawah Island will be hoping for more attention on this week's golfing show-piece. In four years time The PGA Championship will most likely be moved to a later date to accommodate the Olympic Games' golf tournament. However this year the PGA will have to try and lift the profile of one of the sport's main events as London 2012 takes centre stage. 

This tournament will not come to the fore-front by advertisement or promotion as the Olympics has already moved into the spotlight, and rightly so. The only way for golf to steal a bit of the limelight is for drama to unfold on the Ocean course as a field that includes the world's top 103 players fight it out. In recent years this has been the most open major with a variety of different winners. In the last eight years there have been winners from four different continents and the last three tournaments have been won by players from Asia, Europe and North America. That pattern would suggest that maybe this is the year for an African or Australasian golfer. 

The African players have been in rich form over the last few years with four different winners in the last five years. Ernie Els was the last one to be added to that list when he won The Open Championship last month. Charl Schwartzel and Trevor Immelman have been recent winners of the Masters while Louis Oosthuizen won the Open in 2010. However no African player has come out on top in the US Open or USPGA since Retief Goosen won the last of his majors in the 2004 US Open. 1994 was the last time the continent yielded a champion in the season's final major when Zimbabwean Nick Price won his second title. 

Australasia has not produced a major winner since Geoff Ogilvy came out on top in the 2006 US Open and South America has only ever produced two major victors in the shape of Argentines Angel Cabrera and Roberto de Vicenzo. Traditionally the United States of America have dominated this event and the trophy only left the States three times before 1990. However since then the hosts have failed to win nine times. Last year Bradley ended a run of three foreign winners and the new crop of US golfers will be hoping to continue their winning run this week. 

The big guns will be out in force this week with the likes of Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Dustin Johnson looking for a maiden major. More experienced major winners Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Els will be after adding to their already large tallies while youngsters like Bradley, Webb Simpson, Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson will be on the hunt for a second title. This tournament has a tendency for a surprise performer and there are many talented golfers in the field that will secretly be thinking that they can win around the longest course in major history. Unheralded players like Dufner, Troy Matteson, Hunter Mahan and Rafael Cabrera-Bello have all had good years and could make charges. 

It may look as though the PGA Championship will slip to a conclusion relatively unnoticed but there is potential that a great story could arise from the 94th edition of this magnificent competition. Whether it is a first major since 2008 for Tiger, a first major for Westwood or Donald or a surprise victory from one of the world's lesser-known golfers, this could be one of golf's great weeks. 

Who Could Grab US Open Triumph at Olympic Club?

This year the US Open has one of the most open fields in recent memory with a number of players in the running to claim the title. Jed Gore: A Sporting Insight takes a closer look at the top contenders:

Luke Donald (England)

The World Number One is yet to win a major title but will have high hopes of silencing his critics this week. The 34-year-old Englishman has been extremely consistent over the past two years with four wins in 2011 and two so far in 2012. Despite having five PGA Tour victories and seven on the European Tour he has largely underperformed at major championships with just six top-ten finishes. However two of these came last year during his rise to the summit of the world rankings. 

This season he became embroiled in a battle for the number one spot with Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy before reclaiming the position with a win at the BMW PGA Championship while McIlroy missed three cuts in a row. Despite his excellent record on the major golf tours he has a poor record at the US Open with a best of tied for 12th in 2006 as well as two missed cuts to his name. Donald faces a battle against the long par 70 Lake Course course this week and may struggle to haul himself into contention.

Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)

The youngster from County Down has taken the golfing world by storm since he turned professional back in 2009 and briefly held the number one ranking earlier on this year. With six professional wins in four years he has improved every season, taking the US Open crown last summer by eight shots with a record low score of 268 at Congressional Club. At top of the PGA Tour money list this year he has performed excellently on the whole although has suffered a blip in form recently.

Three consecutive missed cuts, including the prestigious Players Championship and BMW PGA Championship, lost him the number one world ranking. Last week in Memphis McIlroy blew his chance of victory with a disastrous double bogey on the 72nd hole. But despite his poor recent form McIlroy is one of the leading names going into tomorrow's first round and should be confident teeing off as defending champion.

Tiger Woods (USA)

14 major titles. 35 major top tens. 73 PGA Tour victories. 100 professional wins. Over 250 weeks as world number one. 10 PGA Player of the Year awards.

The numbers stack up in favour of one of golf's greatest ever players despite form-hampering injuries and his much-publicized private life problems. Two wins on the PGA Tour this season have helped him rise to number four in the world rankings and is seeming to hit some good form. The man he tied at 73 PGA wins two weeks ago at Memorial, Jack Nicklaus, said that Woods' chip-in on the 16th was 'the greatest he had ever seen'.
The golfing legend also appears to have his old swagger and confidence back. After his win he said: "Boy, I hit it good. I never really missed a shot, I had the pace of the greens really nice and made a few putts."

Tiger is definitely one of the red-hot favourites this week and will be hoping to add a fourth US Open to his list of major wins and move one step closer to his goal of over-taking Nicklaus's record 18 major victories.

Lee Westwood (England)


The world number three has been on excellent form recently but at 38 years of age time is running out for him to claim his maiden major title. His 39 professional wins prove he has what it takes but is yet to find the winning touch when it matters most. The 'perennial nearly-man' tag has haunted him for the last few years although that view is vindicated by the fact he has 8 major top-tens in the last four years. His putter has been his nemesis and he has been left to rue missed opportunities and think of 'what might have been' on numerous occasions. However, he is on good form this year and will be expected to mount a serious challenge again this week.

Bubba Watson (USA)


The winner at Augusta in April, Bubba Watson has excited golf fans all over the world with his stunning long drives and outrageous iron shots. His shot from the trees at the second play-off hole in The Masters will go down in history as one of golf's most magical moments. In the world top five for the first time in his career, the left-hander will be hoping to add to his major wins this week.

Playing in a 'dream' group with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson he will be sure to offer up some great entertainment. Four PGA wins in the last two-and-a-half years show that he definitely has what it takes and his length off the tee will definitely set up some birdie opportunities over the next few days.

Phil Mickelson (USA)


'Lefty' has not been in the best of form since his Masters triumph in 2010 but is always capable of making a challenge at major championships. Despite having never won the US Open, he has five runner-up finishes and still has it in him to win another major, as showed by his run at The Masters where he finished in a tie for third. However, without a win since February, coupled with dropping out of the world's top ten; he may not be at the top of his game.

Justin Rose (England)


The Englishman has enjoyed an excellent start to the season with a win in the Cadillac Championship and a runner-up finish to Luke Donald in the BMW PGA Championship. He has risen into the world's top ten and finished tied for eighth at Augusta. With the spot-light on the bigger names, Rose may just be the European to watch out for this week.

The Others


As well as the favourites listed above there are many golfers holding high hopes for this week. Exciting US youngster Rickie Fowler recently gained a first PGA Tour win, Hunter Mahan is a double winner this year, as is Jason Dufner. South Africans Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Ernie Els will be looking for a lofty position on the leaderboard as will German ex world number one Martin Kaymer. Amongst all these great sportsmen going for glory is 14-year-old Andy Zhang, the youngest ever player at the US Open who qualified courtesy of Paul Casey's withdrawal through injury.

All these factors look set to make sure that the next few days are as dramatic as ever as the best golfers from around the globe go head-to-head for one of the game's biggest prizes.

Americans Gunning for Sawgrass Glory

When Phil Mickelson holed the winning putt to win the Players Championship in 2007 no one would have predicted that the next four winners of the historic tournament would be players from outside the US. However since then there have been two European winners (Garcia, Stenson), a South African (Tim Clark) and the first ever Asian winner in KJ Choi. But this year there appear to be many Americans who are ready to buck the trend.

2001 champion and 14-time major winner Tiger Woods is in the field hoping to hunt down a second PGA win of the year. After his much-publicised slump he is appearing to be finding his feet again, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this season. His old rival Mickelson will be looking to add to his one title, although has recently slipped to 10 in the world rankings. Despite the fact that these two great players will still be challengers; times have changed.

A new generation of American golfers have broken through. Finally winning major titles, Keegan Bradley's PGA Championship win last August was a first US win in seven attempts and Bubba Watson backed it up with his stunning Masters victory. Bubba has risen to number 4 in the world but is not in the field this week while Bradley has become a force to be reckoned with after his major triumph as a rookie. But he is not the only young American with realistic ambitions of winning the 'fifth major championship'. 

Hunter Mahan has two wins already this season, one of them the prestigious WGC World Match-Play Championship, defeating world number one Rory McIlroy in the process. He has climbed into the top five of the world rankings for the first time and is a serious contender for this week's title. Another American on the rise is Webb Simpson, who was beaten so dramatically to the money-list last year by Luke Donald. Last season he announced himself on the world stage with two PGA wins and defeats in two play-offs; being one of the most consistent players on tour and rising into the world top 10. Last week he led going into the final round at the Wells Fargo Championship but shot a 73 as he missed out on a three-man play-off by one shot. 

The winner of that play-off, Rickie Fowler, will also be on a high after winning his first PGA tournament at the 67th time of asking as a pro. Other players looking to add to their PGA Tour win list like Jason Dufner, Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar, Ben Crane and Ben Curtis will surely mount a challenge to put recent Sawgrass history  right for US golf.