Can't get excited about the PGA Championship

[iacas]

5 hours ago, Groucho Valentine said:

No. I actually care much about about it either. I never have. Of the majors, the PGA championship has always felt the most frabricated and artificial to me. Its the only one of the 4 that needs the tag of being a "major" to make it significant. Take being a major away from the PGA, and its just another tournament. You cant say that about the Masters, US Open or Open Championship. 

Show up at a PGA Championship and you won't say that. It's nothing like a regular PGA Tour event. Heck, it's still nothing like a top level PGA Tour event like The Memorial.

Also, the PGA has the strongest field ever assembled (per the OWGR) this week, in any tournament.

I get that it doesn't have an "identity" but it's often a great tournament, and I think people are missing out by overlooking it.

[woodzie264]

40 minutes ago, iacas said:

I get that it doesn't have an "identity" but it's often a great tournament, and I think people are missing out by overlooking it.

Again, as stated in the OP, I'll watch it and I'm sure by Sunday I'll be an awesome tournament that I'll watch, it's just that this tournament doesn't cause me to walk into the office on Monday shouting "Happy Master's Week!" Or "Open Week!". I've never understand why subconsciously it didn't have the same feel as the others. 

[newtogolf]

2 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

Again, as stated in the OP, I'll watch it and I'm sure by Sunday I'll be an awesome tournament that I'll watch, it's just that this tournament doesn't cause me to walk into the office on Monday shouting "Happy Master's Week!" Or "Open Week!". I've never understand why subconsciously it didn't have the same feel as the others. 

I feel the same way, I'm always excited about the other three but the PGA just seems to lack purpose compared to the others.  This year it's worse because it's right on top of The Open and that weekend between Phil and Stenson was one for the history books.  

[kpaulhus]

2 hours ago, natureboy said:

Dunno if it's as true every year, but this PGA has a higher percent of the top 144 than the Players or U.S. Open and a higher percent of the top 75 than either as well. Can't be the strength / depth of field that's putting you off. Or do you just not like the types of courses they usually pick?

Not sure, really. Maybe because it's so late in the summer? It's way too close to the a open this year but I understand why. 

[Jakester23]

Im a fan of all the majors but this is my least favorite. I think it would be cool if they PGA would move this event all over the world outside of the US.  We already have the US Open and the Players Championship.  Or at least make it matchplay again.  I will be watching this weekend mostly to see if DJ can take world number 1.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Jakester23 said:

Im a fan of all the majors but this is my least favorite. I think it would be cool if they PGA would move this event all over the world outside of the US.  We already have the US Open and the Players Championship.  Or at least make it matchplay again.  I will be watching this weekend mostly to see if DJ can take world number 1.

1. Why would the PGA of America move the event all over the world? The Players isn't a major.
2. Match play can result in an awfully boring weekend if the top players miss the cut. And 128 -> 64 -> 32 -> 16 -> 8 -> 4 -> 2 is an awful lot of matches, and it limits the field to 128. Add more than that and you're looking at another round (already at 7).

[boogielicious]

7 hours ago, iacas said:

1. Why would the PGA of America move the event all over the world? The Players isn't a major.
2. Match play can result in an awfully boring weekend if the top players miss the cut. And 128 -> 64 -> 32 -> 16 -> 8 -> 4 -> 2 is an awful lot of matches, and it limits the field to 128. Add more than that and you're looking at another round (already at 7).

I'm looking forward to it. It looks like Sunday will be rainy around Boston, so I have a good excuse to sit and watch. It has a great field and should be a good tournament.

[Jakester23]

8 hours ago, iacas said:

1. Why would the PGA of America move the event all over the world? The Players isn't a major. 

They wont but i like the idea of seeing a major outside the US (besides the Open). It would be cool to see all the top guys playing the best courses in Asia, Australia, ect..  A major is most likely the only way to see it.

[Jakester23]

Maybe adding a few new courses would help. It seems like they rotate between only 4 or 5 courses and add one occasionally.

[iacas]

58 minutes ago, Jakester23 said:

Maybe adding a few new courses would help. It seems like they rotate between only 4 or 5 courses and add one occasionally.

?

I know you said "seems like" but just look at next year and the past seven years…

[Groucho Valentine]

14 hours ago, iacas said:

Show up at a PGA Championship and you won't say that. It's nothing like a regular PGA Tour event. Heck, it's still nothing like a top level PGA Tour event like The Memorial.

Also, the PGA has the strongest field ever assembled (per the OWGR) this week, in any tournament.

I get that it doesn't have an "identity" but it's often a great tournament, and I think people are missing out by overlooking it.

I went to one of the rounds back when phil won at Balty. Im probably going tomorrow afternoon if the weather holds up. Its always nice to see the players. Ive heard that it has "the strongest field of any tournament" argument for years. It just feels like marketing to me. Ive been to the US open too and the feel and energy on the grounds is completely different. I would even say even the barclays has a heavier feel to it. 

Edited July 28, 2016 by Groucho Valentine

[WUTiger]

This year's PGA does rank high on strength of field - a sports page story mentioned this yesterday.

The PGA simply has less mystique than the other three: It's an industry trade event so to speak. Harder for the TV moguls to build drama.

For those interested, here's a brief history of the major tournaments. The list for the majors has changes through the years.

Spoiler

History[edit]

The majors originally consisted of two British tournaments, The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship, and two American tournaments, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur. With the introduction of the Masters Tournament in 1934, and the rise of professional golf in the late 1940s and 1950s, the term "major championships" eventually came to describe the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, and the PGA Championship. It is difficult to determine when the definition changed to include the current four tournaments, although many trace it to Arnold Palmer's 1960 season. After winning the Masters and the U.S. Open to start the season, he remarked that if he could win the Open Championship and PGA Championship to finish the season, he would complete "a grand slam of his own" to rival Bobby Jones's 1930 feat. Until that time, many U.S. players such as Byron Nelson also considered the Western Open and the North and South Openas two of golf's "majors,"^[4] and the British PGA Matchplay Championship was as important to British and Commonwealth professionals as the PGA Championship was to Americans.

During the 1950s, the short-lived World Championship of Golf was viewed as a "major" by its competitors, as its first prize was worth almost ten times any other event in the game, and it was the first event whose finale was televised live on U.S. television. The oldest of the majors is The Open Championship, commonly referred to as the "British Open" outside the United Kingdom. Dominated by American champions in the 1920s and 1930s, the comparative explosion in the riches available on the U.S. Tour from the 1940s onwards meant that the lengthy overseas trip needed to qualify and compete in the event became increasingly prohibitive for the leading American professionals. Their regular participation dwindled after the war years. Ben Hogan entered just once in 1953 and won, but never returned.Sam Snead won in 1946 but lost money on the trip (first prize was $600) and did not return until 1962.

Golf writer Dan Jenkins – often seen as the world authority on majors since he's attended more (200+) than anyone else – has noted that "the pros didn't talk much about majors back then. I think it was Herbert Warren Wind who starting using the term. He said golfers had to be judged by the major tournaments they won, but it's not like there was any set number of major tournaments."^[5]

In 1960, Arnold Palmer entered The Open Championship in an attempt to emulate Hogan's 1953 feat of winning on his first visit. Though a runner-up by a stroke in his first attempt, Palmer returned and won the next two in 1961 and 1962. Scheduling difficulties persisted with the PGA Championship, but more Americans began competing in the 1960s, restoring the event's prestige (and with it the prize money that once again made it an attractive prospect to other American pros). The advent of transatlantic jet travel helped to boost American participation in The Open. A discussion between Palmer and Pittsburgh golf writer Bob Drum led to the concept of the modern Grand Slam of Golf.^[6]

                              For full discussion, see Wikipedia on Golf's Majors.

 

[Natural Patrick]

20 hours ago, iacas said:

Show up at a PGA Championship and you won't say that. It's nothing like a regular PGA Tour event. Heck, it's still nothing like a top level PGA Tour event like The Memorial.

Also, the PGA has the strongest field ever assembled (per the OWGR) this week, in any tournament.

I get that it doesn't have an "identity" but it's often a great tournament, and I think people are missing out by overlooking it.

I have to agree with Erik on this. How can you overlook the strongest field in the Majors. I was at Crooked Stick in 1991 and the memories will always be with me.
 

[natureboy]

19 hours ago, kpaulhus said:

Not sure, really. Maybe because it's so late in the summer? It's way too close to the a open this year but I understand why. 

I have to say when I think about the most recent two tournaments they were pretty stocked with good play and good competitive drama.

Maybe the PGA just lacks a bit of a distinctive 'narrative' / story / ambience that the others have built up over time?

I'm thinking that it's the lack of a consistent & distinctive identifiable challenge for the players in contention. At The Masters it's the course with the favoring of longer hitters / emphasis on 2nd shots and difficult greens. U.S. Open is the 'super hard' setup. The Open Championship is 'Links challenge'. PGA is ??? and a bit variable depending on the course. As I said above, though, still works fine for compelling golf.

Edited July 28, 2016 by natureboy