– The 106th edition of the PGA Championship has left us with three big names. Interestingly, they coincide with the three players who reached the 72nd hole of the tournament with chances of victory, starting of course with the winner, Xander Schauffele, probably the world player without a Major in his record who had gathered the most merits to finally win it.
The other two: Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland. DeChambeau’s impact on the tournament week, however, has gone a bit further. Because of his explosiveness. Because of his staging. Because of his way of celebrating and interacting with the fans. Because of that newly discovered vocation, as the player himself has confessed, of an entertainer who entertains, “in addition to playing golf well sometimes,” he pointed out.
And then the debate about charisma and other nonsense opens up again. The American media, for example, have been keen to point out the need for the world of golf to have, more or less, the hook of this player more often, who certainly had the massive support of the fans in Kentucky. We can go round and round these issues a thousand and one times: Aren’t Scheffler or Schauffele, even Hovland, too inexpressive? Isn’t a catalyst like DeChambeau needed to get the audience out of their seats? Isn’t the Californian one of those players you would pay a ticket to go see?…
All this is very well, but let’s not forget that at the end of the day, around the last bend of the road, the cold numbers, the result, the birdies and the bogeys are always waiting. Bryson’s hook is based on results. The theatre (welcome as it may be) and the ‘mad genius’ label are notable ingredients, but accessories after all. There is no charisma that can be sustained without that sixth place a month ago in Augusta, without his second place this week in Valhalla, without that victory in the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot. It is worth making the point, making it clear, because it gives the impression that sometimes the true and fundamental focus is lost. No, there is no charisma that can be sustained only on fireworks. Let’s go back to the beginning: interestingly, the three big names of the tournament coincide with those of the three players who reached the 72nd hole with chances of victory. No one would have remembered DeChambeau if he had finished in the position of Brooks Koepka, to put on the table the name of another player who is not exactly the life of the party.
In other words: if there is a player who has redoubled his charisma (what a treacherous word) in this PGA, that has undoubtedly been Xander Schauffele.
– Schauffele, by the way, has become the 233rd winner in the history of the Majors. It’s the most exclusive and important club, no doubt. From here it’s about climbing positions, because that club has its private lounges with restricted access. For example, the number of players who have won two majors is significantly reduced: there are only 87. Scottie Scheffler was the last to enter that group. Schauffele will do it soon… Or maybe not, the Majors are loaded with the devil.
– And the machinery of the stars and stripes continues. American golf has now strung together the last five Majors, all since Jon Rahm won the 2023 Masters. In addition, it adds its 285th victory, of the 468 majors that have been played to date, more than sixty percent of the total. The thing about the United States, by the way, in the PGA, is almost abusive, as it adds 88 victories in 106 editions. We will never tire of saying it: all these numbers, these overwhelming figures, are the real engine of that wonderful madness that is lived every two years, the Ryder Cup, David against Goliath, the Gallic village against the Roman Empire.
