2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Discussion Thread

[b101]

PGA Championship: Quail Hollow - 10th-13th August

This year's PGA Championship comes from Quail Hollow, which (you may have heard) is a favourite track of Rory McIlroy's. The Northern Irishman set the course record here back in 2015 with an awesome round of 61.

So, who do we think takes this one? Loads of interesting storylines heading in:

Will Jordan Spieth complete the Career Grand Slam?
Will we see yet another first time major champion?
How will the main contenders fare? Bar Spieth at the Open, we haven't seen much from the top 5 in the world at the last few majors. Matsuyama is in form, DJ or McIlroy could always go low and Jordan is coming off the back of that excellent Open win.
How will Kuch react to that Open defeat? 
Will Kevin Na ever stop moaning? Two months after his whiny fescue video at the US Open, Na's back at it with the greens at the PGA... (N.B. This is slightly tongue in cheek )

The course itself looks stunning. I haven't ever really watched the Wells Fargo when it's been on TV as I'm usually in need of a bit of a break after the majors, but I will be watching this one closely. Famous for it's finishing stretch of the Green Mile, it's a longer course than normally for the Wells Fargo, at 7600 yards (par 71), rather than the 7575 par 72 layout from 2016.

Let us know your thoughts - for a change, I'd like to see a major where there's a group in contention right to the end (think the Zach Johnson 2015 Open win) rather than the shootouts we've had recently. Not that they aren't great, but we've been spoilt for those in the last few years. It'd be great to see all of the big guns up there as well, but I'm not too fussed on who actually wins.

Also, if you are yet to do so, enter the Snell Golf PGA Prediction Contest - great prizes up for grabs!

 

Edited August 8, 2017 by b101

[boogielicious]

Fowler has won on this course before, so I think he will be comfortable that he can win on this course, but so have Harman, Hahn, McIroy and Holmes. I think a previous win on a course goes a long way to build confidence. I'm not sure how much tougher the set up will be.

Spieth is playing at a high level. DJ is getting better, but I still don't think he is back. Day is not playing well, so I don't think he will be a factor. Sergio hasn't really contended since the Masters.

It should be a fun tournament.

[Chilli Dipper]

The forecast portends soft playing conditions this week. Rory McIlroy is the best golfer in the world in soft conditions, and he has a great history at Quail Hollow; there's no reason to suggest he isn't a heavy favorite to win.

[Wally Fairway]

Long Drive Champion to be crowned today, during the practice rounds on the par 5 10th hole

https://www.pga.com/events/pgachampionship/pga-championship-long-drive-competition-returns-during-tuesday-practice

[skydog]

2 hours ago, Chilli Dipper said:

The forecast portends soft playing conditions this week. Rory McIlroy is the best golfer in the world in soft conditions, and he has a great history at Quail Hollow; there's no reason to suggest he isn't a heavy favorite to win.

Except that he's been playing well his last two events and still losing by ~7-10 strokes thanks to his average putting. I'm not convinced his comfort around Quail Hollow can make up all of that difference.

He is the odds on betting favorite though and the Vegas folks typically know best but I wouldn't be betting on him.

[GolfLug]

3 minutes ago, skydog said:

Except that he's been playing well his last two events and still losing by ~7-10 strokes thanks to his average putting. I'm not convinced his comfort around Quail Hollow can make up all of that difference.

He is the odds on betting favorite though and the Vegas folks typically know best but I wouldn't be betting on him.

He has been driving well...as in driving like a mad man. But I think approach shot distance control was not nearly as good by his own admission. 

For example he had pulverized one of his drives on  #16 at Firestone that I watched with less than 120 left but then couldn't get on the proper tier and rolled off the false front. So a birdie hole turned into a close call to avoid bogey. 3-4 holes like that and you are out.    

[krupa]

32 minutes ago, Wally Fairway said:

Long Drive Champion to be crowned today, during the practice rounds on the par 5 10th hole

https://www.pga.com/events/pgachampionship/pga-championship-long-drive-competition-returns-during-tuesday-practice

Is this the same long drive competition that Bubba was all pissy about 2-3 years ago?  If so, I hope he's gotten over himself and gives it a try:

Quote

Additionally, through PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America, the top three finishers will be granted charitable donations of $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000, respectively, to their designated USA based 501(c)(3) charities of choice.

 

[MuniGrit]

As good as Rory is with the driver, he is on the complete other end with approach shots and putting. He gets A lot of hype the week and fails to deliver in my opinion.

[saevel25]

21 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

He has been driving well...as in driving like a mad man. But I think approach shot distance control was not nearly as good by his own admission. 

For example he had pulverized one of his drives on  #16 at Firestone that I watched with less than 120 left but then couldn't get on the proper tier and rolled off the false front. So a birdie hole turned into a close call to avoid bogey. 3-4 holes like that and you are out.    

^This

He had a +3.8 stroke advantage over Hideki with his driver.
He lost 7.9 strokes to Hideki with his approach shots.
He only lost 2 strokes with the putter and 2.7 strokes with the short game.

Rory needs to get his approach shots nailed down more.

 

[DCrotty22]

Quail Hollow is spectacular as always but I have to say I'm not a fan of the changes. I actually always liked #1 as a starting hole, but they've turned it into a 524 yard (par 4!) monstrosity. Then they cut up #5 from an interesting par 5 to a mundane par 3 and par 4. In general, the course is looking barer than ever with seeming removal of a lot of trees. Still, one of my favorite courses and I look forward to seeing what happens out there this week

[b101]

4 hours ago, krupa said:

Is this the same long drive competition that Bubba was all pissy about 2-3 years ago?  If so, I hope he's gotten over himself and gives it a try:

Bubba will never get over himself.

But yes, it's the same one. A nice touch, IMO.

[Wally Fairway]

Long Drive results

 

[b101]

4 hours ago, Wally Fairway said:

Long Drive results

 

Nice to see some 'normal' yardages rather than that silly 400+ one DJ posted at the Bridgestone. Then again, I imagine that's pretty much all carry...

[MacDutch]

I predict Koepka, Rahm, Rory and Matsumatsu will battle for the win.

[iacas]

For the first time CBS will have Trackman on all 18 holes, cranking out data such as ball speed and curvature, and wireless Toptracer technology to track approach shots.

“I’m most excited that we can use the technology on all 18 holes,” Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, said during a conference call last week.

CBS also plans to use: ARL Virtual Eye, which shows Trackman tracing of ball flight over a hole graphic adjacent to live shots of players hitting tee shots; bunker cameras; a cable-mounted camera tracking action on the practice range and 4K coverage on DirecTV of the final three holes.

[b101]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

For the first time CBS will have Trackman on all 18 holes, cranking out data such as ball speed and curvature, and wireless Toptracer technology to track approach shots.

“I’m most excited that we can use the technology on all 18 holes,” Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, said during a conference call last week.

CBS also plans to use: ARL Virtual Eye, which shows Trackman tracing of ball flight over a hole graphic adjacent to live shots of players hitting tee shots; bunker cameras; a cable-mounted camera tracking action on the practice range and 4K coverage on DirecTV of the final three holes.

As long as they don't show the Protracer on every shot, that's great news. Every now and then is good, but could see them going overkill...

[DeadMan]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

For the first time CBS will have Trackman on all 18 holes, cranking out data such as ball speed and curvature, and wireless Toptracer technology to track approach shots.

“I’m most excited that we can use the technology on all 18 holes,” Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, said during a conference call last week.

CBS also plans to use: ARL Virtual Eye, which shows Trackman tracing of ball flight over a hole graphic adjacent to live shots of players hitting tee shots; bunker cameras; a cable-mounted camera tracking action on the practice range and 4K coverage on DirecTV of the final three holes.

About freaking time! CBS has always been way behind on this stuff. No more shots of a ball against sky, please!

[DCrotty22]

I'm heading to the course on Friday. The greens look great and this is arguably the most high profile event Charlotte has hosted. Awesome for the State of NC.