Huggan Kisses

John Huggan is the longtime golf writer for the Scotsman and a man with delightfully strong opinions.  John Strege, a colleague of Huggan's at Golf Digest, links to his Friday column and it's a cracker... covering just about everything of note in golf with the blessed exception of Dustin Johnson.  Shall we have a look?

The PGA Championship - Not a fan thereof, it turns out:

THE runt of the litter, fourth of four both chronologically and in the minds of just about

everyone in the game, the USPGA Championship can brag all it wants to about the statisticalstrength of its field, but there is no doubt that the PGA of America’s annual pride and joy is the least anticipated of golf’s premier events. Some of that has to do with the nonsensical date it occupies on the calendar. A mere three weeks after the Open Championship is no place for any major tournament. But, mostly, its place – just off the medal rostrum – is the result of a lack of any kind of distinct identity. 

The Masters has its permanent venue in Augusta National. The US Open is (although not this year) supposedly all about the rough and the narrowness of the fairways. The Open Championship is always played on a links. What does the USPGA have? Miserably humid weather and no easily discernible resonance.

Fair enough, but it of course used to have a distinct identity as a match-play event, but that couldn't survive in the age of television.  So yes, it's unquestionably the fourth of four, though as tired as I am by Glory's Last Chance™ I do think the fact that it's the last major for eight months has some salience.  But John is spot on about hot and humid weather, as the PGA has an inexplicable fondness for Southern venues (Atlanta Athletic Club, Kiawah, Southern Hills, Quail Hollow) that seems unwise given its August date unless, of course, seeing Tim Herron in a soaked golf shirt sends a tingle up your leg.

But in this excerpt I think he misses a fairly significant change:

So, while the other three majors are easily recognizable, what Uncle Sam’s nieces and nephews

like to (erroneously) call “the PGA,” is not much more than a jumped-up PGA Tour event. It looks pretty much the same. It sounds pretty much the same, bar the ever-dwindling band of foreign journalists in the media centre. And it asks pretty much the same questions that we see week after week after week on the world’s biggest, richest and, sadly, most homogenous circuit.

No, it's not a weekly Tour event, the PGA has morphed into what the U.S. Open was in the dreadful days of Tom Meeks.  The U.S. Open has actually shown great imagination in the Mike Davis era, both in the choice of venues and in the course set-ups.  They have and will continue to introduce new venues, think Torrey Pines, Chambers Bay and Erin Hills, not to mention going back to the future in bringing the Open to Merion.  But even more substantively, Davis has introduced a number of set-up innovations, such as graduated rough and driveable Par-4's, forcing the players to make risk-reward driven decisions.

The PGA of America, in contrast, seems to be doing little more than recycling traditional U.S. Open venues such as Oak Hill, Southern Hills and Baltusrol.  Their set-ups display no imagination, and the logo of the PGA Championship could easily be the silhouette of a golfer holding his wrist in pain after hacking out of 6" rough.

Now the PGA of America does talk about doing interesting things with its flagship event, but it's only talk, something at which Mr. Bishop excels. 

Tiger - Most of John's remarks were written before Tiger's desultory play and back injury, so we'll just skip over.  But there was this:

Woods, of course, could do the right thing and play a couple of European Tour events to warm up for what would be his eighth appearance in the biennial contest against the Europeans. And, if you believe that is even the remotest of possibilities, take a look outside your window. There may be a pig or two flying past.

Not.  Gonna.  Happen.  Evah.

Euro Ryder Cup Picks -  Forget the Langer boomlet, per this:

Equally outlandish is the notion that European captain Paul McGinley will “burn” one of his picks on the newly minted Senior Open champion, Bernhard Langer. That isn’t going to happen, especially if the current situation remains in place a month from now. Does anyone seriously imagine McGinley will leave out Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Stephen Gallacher or even an out-of-form Lee Westwood in favour of a man who last played a Ryder Cup match in 2002? Me neither. As McIlroy diplomatically pointed out a few days ago, the estimable two-time Masters champion may be dominant on the geezers circuit but that is a far cry from what goes on amongst the under-50 set.

Well, Gallacher isn't the strongest way to make the case, but I do agree that it won't happen.  And of course Westwood showed signs of life last week.

U.S. Ryder Cup Picks -  Here's John on our Phil:

Then there is Phil Mickelson. Depending on the make-up of his nine automatic qualifiers come next Sunday evening, Watson will have a decision to make regarding last year’s Open champion. Should he show faith in a man who has played on every American Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup side since 1994? Or should he pay more attention to the sad lack of form displayed by the five-times major champion over the last few months? For what it is worth, it says here Watson will do the right thing and make sure “Lefty” is on the plane to Perthshire.

And that was written before Phil's Sunday 62, making it a mortal lock.

Valhalla -  After stating that it has no business holding a major of any kind (and parenthetically noting the PGA's ownership of the club), he does throw it this sort-of bone:

As for the final counting event for the US side, one thing Valhalla does have going for it is some (brief) history. Back in 2000, Woods and Bob May put on a memorable display down the stretch and into what became an epic play-off. It was one for the ages, with perhaps the only jarring note lingering questions over just how Woods’ wild drive (some things haven’t changed) off the 18th tee came to somehow reappear from the oblivion to which it appeared to be headed. Like the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and Jim Furyk’s backswing, it remains a mystery to this day.

Does anyone else remember that as being particularly controversial?  

Ryder Cup Venues -  He takes his side to task in this last excerpt, though our guys are admittedly just as bad:

So, a bit like the Ryder Cup that manages to be the most watchable event in the game despite a string of execrable venues (the last time, for example, the matches were played on a top-notch course on this side of the Atlantic was in 1981 at Walton Heath – since then, unremitting mediocrity) there is hope for the USPGA. The field, as we will no doubt hear over and over again during the coming days, is statistically well endowed. Barring withdrawals, it will be the first time that the top 100 players on the world rankings will gather in the one place at the one time. How very, very exciting.

And the Nicklaus course at Gleneagles will give John little reason to reassess that record.

So what did everyone thing of John's piece?  You have to admit it, it's more snark per gallon than you typically get anywhere else except....well, Unplayable Lies.