From record to record and shot because it’s my turn. In just one day, the PGA of America has taken off the USGA disguise it had put on in recent years. Xander Schauffele (-9), leader of the PGA Championship after 18 holes, has signed the lowest card in history (62) in this Major and, in addition, the record for under par rounds in a first round has been broken. The 64 that were signed this Thursday surpass the 60 that were made in Medinah in 2006. It is also the second round in the history of the PGA Championship with more rounds under par, only surpassed by the 80 of the second round of the PGA of 2018 in Bellerive.
For tastes, colours, but it does not seem the best scenario for a Major. It is understood that the events where the best in the world come together should offer the maximum demand to try to get the best possible golf, to separate the wheat from the chaff, to identify the best of the week, as the USGA always defended, that old USGA that we miss so much.
It is true that you cannot fight against mother nature. If rains come, it is almost impossible to put hard and fast greens. What happens is that here in Valhalla, Louisville, Kentucky, don’t think that the universal flood has fallen. Yes, it has rained, but not that much. Tuesday it rained intermittently, Wednesday just a little in the morning and nothing in the afternoon and Thursday has been completely dry. Could something more really not have been done to increase the firmness of the greens and fairways? We don’t know, but maybe Valhalla is built on a terrain where it is not so easy to drain. We assure you that other courses with the same weather we have had here, would have been harder on Thursday. The slow greens, that’s something no one can understand…
With all this, we have a leader at -9, the top 10 has been reached with -5, 31 rounds have been signed below 70 strokes and no less than 84 at par or better. We’re sorry, but these are not Major values. It lacks substance. And the worst thing is that it doesn’t look like it’s going to improve, quite the contrary. We’re getting worse. Friday and Saturday come rains and storms, so it will be impossible to get out of this loop of birdies and red numbers.
Aside from this debate, we insist that there will be opinions for all tastes, the truth is that the classification is beautiful. Schauffele (-9) leads with authority, with a three-stroke advantage over Tony Finau (-6), Sahith Theegala (-6) and Mark Hubbard (-4), and four over seven players including Rory McIlroy, Tom Kim, Collin Morikawa or Robert MacIntyre. In addition, five strokes away are Scottie Scheffler or Brooks Koepka. There’s spice and good one…
Having said this, with the conditions expected in the coming days, it should not be ruled out that among so many roosters some secondary act ends up sneaking in that was not counted on to win the tournament. That’s what these conditions have, they equalize everyone more and the putter tends to be much more decisive. Surely Jack Nicklaus, designer of Valhalla, twists his face at what is happening on his course.
We will see if the PGA can pull some card out of the sleeve, but it seems very unlikely. The lowest result in the history of the PGA Championship is the -20 with which Jason Day won in 2015 at Whistling Straits. This week is in serious danger.
