The 2015 PGA Championship is now in the record books, literally, with a new record low score in relation to par. Jason Day shredded Whistling Straits with his final round 67 and blew past everyone with an astonishing 20-under par 268 winning score.
Here’s a look at the winners and losers from the final major of the season:
THE WINNERS:
Jason Day: He got the massive gorilla off his back and finished, as he said, “in style.” His last round 67 was a work of art and the consummation of many years of hard work. Jordan Spieth, who played the final round with Day, put it best: “He played like he had won eight or nine majors.”
There’s nothing but blue sky ahead for Day, gone are the images of him falling on the 18th green at Chambers Bay, a victim of vertigo. He’s healthy and happier than ever. Talk about upside…..
Jordan Spieth: Say hello to the new world’s No. 1 player. He pushed Day on Sunday. Day summed it up when he said: “This kid just doesn’t go away.” Spieth had an incredible run in the majors with two victories, a tie for fourth and a runnerup. In the process, he broke the cumulative scoring record of Tiger Woods. Spieth was 54-under in the four events.
Tony Finau: More people got an up-close look at the guy who is now the front-runner for Rookie of the Year honors on the PGA Tour. He’s massively long but displayed a bag-full of skills, including some deadly putting on Sunday. He shot rounds of 71-66-69-71. He wasn’t good enough to win the Golf Channel’s Big Break Disney back in 2009 but he was good enough to finish in a tie for 10th in only his second major.
Brian Gaffney: The club professional from Quaker Ridge in Scarsdale, N.Y., shot rounds of 71–73-78-71, finished five-over and was the only club pro to make the cut. He can now tell his grandchildren about the week he beat Tiger Woods in a major championship.
Whistling Straits: Great setting, but really a fake links course. There was nothing links-like about it but the beauty was amazing, the crowds were impressive and it was a scoring-friendly venue.
THE LOSERS:
Tiger Woods: Woods shoots 75-73 to miss the cut by two shots yet he keeps telling everyone he’s hitting the ball well. That may be the case but it was his putting that won him all those majors and if that’s now the issue, the future does not bode well for Woods. Shame on him for committing to play in this week’s Wyndham championhip then backing off and saying he had to consult with “his team.” If Woods was that wishy-washy about playing in the event, he should just skip it and sail off in the Privacy for a couple of weeks. He finally said “yes” on Monday.
John Daly: Daly shoots 73-82 and the only thing people will talk about is Daly flinging a golf club in Lake Michigan. He’s too old for that sort of temper tantrum. Daly just needs to go away. He certainly doesn’t belong in the field of any major championship.
Adam Scott: Scott is doing his best to try and fade into oblivion. He shot 76-75 and missed the cut by a mile. This was also the last major where he can use that broomstick he calls a putter.
Dustin Johnson: Johnson has a new, unofficial title as far as we’re concerned — Best Player In The World When There’s No Pressure. This one’s simple. Johnson went into the final round Sunday at nine-under par, somewhat within sniffing distance of the lead. What does he do? He goes out and makes a quadruple-bogey eight on the first hole. So then what does he do? Over the next 17 holes D.J. produced three more bogeys, six birdies and two eagles. Final tally was 69. Good golf once all the pressure was gone.
One Comment
Dr. J.J. Octave
Your comments in regards to D.J. are so off-base. Why? Your theme is that he can’t handle the pressure…”talk about the blind leading the blind”! — No pressure? He begins at 9 under and the first whole posts a ‘snowman’–Are you so unawares as to not realize how many players would have folded right there? No more energy…nor more hope…would have given up from the get-go, but not D.J. ‘man of steel’ re-focused resolve–he played one heck of a round after that. Rory-Jordan-J.D. just a small speculation…In my book they are ‘not’ the next Big-Three…D.J. however, will prove as always to be in the hunt…32 yrs. old and ‘solid’…You only wish you had his ‘resolve’ -his ‘nerves of steel’ and most of all his ‘talent’–I know there are a lot of ‘if’ when it comes to golf and can almost be assigned to any one round of golf, but just for the heck of it think on this…where would D.J. have been without the snowman–let’s say a ‘par’? Like 17 under par–uh-huh! But, only because of his resolve to come in with the top 10 in ‘another’ and I do mean ‘another’ major–I think it was tied for 7 wasn’t it…you are too quick to judge…nice try, but I’m not buying it.