PGA Championship 2021: Rory McIlroy’s revival, Jordan Spieth’s resurgence amongst 10 storylines at Kiawah
The 2nd essential championship of the year has arrived, and despite a topic that lacks some momentum on the head going into this match, there are easy some excellent storylines (as continually) for the 2021 PGA Championship. There is plenty to see forward to this week as the PGA returns to the Ocean Direction at Kiawah Island after a 9-year hiatus.
Rory McIlroy has obtained correct two more majors since that romp in 2012 (whenever you happen to had below 2.5, congratulations on in a technique hitting that), and he is over once more taking half in very finest-participant-in-the-world more or much less golf coming in. He obtained his final birth on the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks in the past and has emerged as the honest a runt-stunning approved to tear it aid this week at Kiawah.
McIlroy is one amongst a handful of attention-grabbing participant narratives main into what can own to be an superior week. Kiawah is a uncommon path, and gallery sizes are initiating to swell. Oh yeah, the profession huge slam is once more on the line this week with someone who could perhaps perchance perhaps at voice be the No. 1 participant on this planet.
Let’s snatch a see at all of these storylines and more as the PGA Championship gets underway later this week.
Watch the 2021 PGA Championship starting place Thursday with Rounds 3-4 streaming are residing over the weekend on CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports App and Paramount+. Study out the up up to now PGA Championship agenda for the approach to request the year’s 2nd essential all week prolonged.
1. Spieth’s slam: Since Jan. 1, nobody on this planet has performed better golf than Jordan Spieth. He has one PGA Tour victory to point to for it, but whenever you happen to is liable to be a strokes-obtained nerd (love me), then one other one shall be coming. There are correct two golfers who’re averaging over 2.0 strokes obtained per round this calendar year: Spieth at 2.2 and Daniel Berger at 2.1. Spieth comes in off a nice high 10 on the AT&T Byron Nelson (the place he did now not putt smartly) and can merely manufacture his fifth tear on the profession huge slam. Handiest 5 golfers own ever done it, and rather than 2017 when Spieth went to Quail Hollow new off his Commence Championship decide at Royal Birkdale, here’s by some distance his very finest probability to hitch them.
2. Where art work thou, D.J.? Conversely, since Jan. 1, Dustin Johnson — easy the No. 1 participant on this planet — has a worse strokes-obtained number than Cameron Tringale, Chris Kirk, Charley Hoffman and Abraham Ancer. He doesn’t own a high 10 since the Genesis Invitational in February, overlooked the prick back at the Masters and is coming into this week after a unhurried withdrawal from final week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. Johnson is the perhaps participant in the topic to flip a swap on the final minute and decide a match by 5, but beware of a sport that’s now not precisely been in attach for the previous couple of months.
3. Monster galleries: Although galleries at golf tournaments aren’t aid to their traditional robustness, it could perhaps perhaps be demanding to teach whenever you happen to’ve got got been looking ahead to the final month. Surroundings aside the legit concerns for these in attendance, or now not it’s undoubtedly a extensive element for the events themselves apart from for the stars alive to. We did now not talk about it a ton, but it with out a doubt’s now not a coincidence that Rory McIlroy, who struggled in a fan-much less world, obtained the loudest (and perhaps most-attended) match since the pandemic started on the Wells Fargo two weeks in the past. He and a handful of others will thrive on the lathered-up galleries in attendance at Kiawah.
4. Embarrassment of riches: I’ve heard Jim Nantz talk about this on multiple times, and or now not it’s one thing I modified into once pondering and writing about 9 months in the past as smartly. We’re smack in the center of a tear of seven essential championships in a 12-month stretch in some unspecified time in the future of which someone has the flexibility to determine on a profession’s rate of majors. No one has doubled up yet — Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama are your present champs in that 12-month stretch — but when one amongst them does at Kiawah, we are able to nearly undoubtedly attach in thoughts this two-year tear for what that golfer did on the seven majors that were performed.
5. Rotten Kiawah? I’m now not announcing the Ocean Direction will be a monster, entirely that it could perhaps perchance perhaps be. When McIlroy obtained in 2012, he completed at 13 below but nobody else modified into once better than 5 below, and here’s on a path that performed to a par 72. If they pushed that number down, you would perhaps perhaps perchance’ve had correct one participant below par. The most crucial — as with most oceanside classes — is the wind. It howled in the 2nd round in 2012, and 74 or 75 modified into once a extensive get dangle of. If it doesn’t howl love that this year then certain, shall we peek the light PGA Championship ratings. However if it does, then the volcano-love inexperienced complexes, jutted-out water hazards and insane length of Kiawah (this will doubtless play with reference to 7,900 yards) must easy mean that the 1991 Ryder Cup is now not the entirely Battle on the Shore at this golf path.
6. First-time king: Presumably I’m the entirely one who cares this considerable about this particular storyline, but I’m continually intrigued in some unspecified time in the future of which golfers can snatch themselves into the one-essential club with a decide. Following three of four first-time winners on this seven essential stretch, the very finest names that is also half of them are Berger, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau. It is likely you’ll perhaps perchance perhaps also throw in Ancer, Will Zalatoris, Paul Casey, Tyrrell Hatton and Matthew Fitzpatrick, all ranked in the 30 on this planet and all with out a important championship decide.
7. Battered Brooks: Brooks Koepka has owned this match over the final 5 years. He lost to 19 total golfers from 2015-19, successful two PGAs in that span of time earlier than backing down the board in the remainder round at TPC Harding Park in August when Morikawa went on to determine on. Koepka completed T29 after flirting with the lead unhurried on Saturday afternoon final descend, but T29 shall be a herculean attach a question to this week. His torn-up knee has now not allowed him to squat down and browse putts, which appears, , rather crucial by reach of essential championship golf. It be extremely unlikely that he wins the golf match this week, but given his pedigree and up to date success at majors (four wins in his final 13 tries), he continually have to be regarded as a possibility.
8. Dimension an crude advantage? DeChambeau and his, uh, new coaching systems and routines were a storyline all year, they assuredly deserve to be this week at prolonged Kiawah. On the other hand, I’m uncommon to appear if a speak love Kiawah with water lurking in some unspecified time in the future of the note, in a technique neuters what DeChambeau (who has a sinister proximity from the center of the green number) is attempting to map. Right here’s a golf path you could perhaps perchance perhaps overpower, but you can have to map it in a tidy, strategic reach love McIlroy did aid in 2012. The leaderboard modified into once loopy diverse in 2012 (which is superior) with David Lynn, Keegan Bradley, Carl Pettersson, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Jamie Donaldson sliding in stupid McIlroy. I map now not judge there’s correct one attach of sport that matches here at Kiawah.
9. Pete Dye’s boy: Presumably the quietest smartly-known particular person coming into the week is Justin Thomas, who has been the 2nd-very finest iron participant on this planet up to now in 2021 and obtained earlier this year on one amongst Dye’s other masterpieces, TPC Sawgrass. There shall be some attention-grabbing parallels there, and Thomas’ iron play must easy carry the day at Kiawah on these greens which would perhaps be normally demanding to contain up onto. He’s now not flying in below the radar fully, but there’s a arrangement that nobody is talking about him as considerable as they deserve to be.
10. Rory, Rory, Rory: It be his match to lose. He’s unlikely to determine on it because of all americans appears to be unlikely to determine on out of a topic this size, but after successful Quail Hollow and with the reach he has dominated now not entirely the Ocean Direction but also PGA Championships on the total over the previous decade, you’ve got got to reveal all americans believes the match runs thru him. If he wins it, he will critically change correct the 13th golfer with 20 PGA Tour victories, including 5 essential championships. I judge you’ve got got heard of the other 12.