Weekend Wrap - Crow-Eating Edition

This is my tenth year of blogging, that's seventy in dog years, but I'm convinced that I am about to write my least favorite blog post ever...  

Koepka Kharmelion - Where's that Brooksie I've so come to enjoy?  Yanno, the one that coughs up final round leads.... We all kind of knew this would be different from April, as no one has ever confused the affable Viktor with Jon Rahm.  

Cue the obligatory hagiography:

For Claude Harmon III, the biggest surprise was receiving a call from Brooks Koepka last July to help him with his swing again. After more than two years without speaking, Harmon watched him

hit balls for 15 minutes at LIV Bedminster in New Jersey, but it was what Koepka said that left a lasting impression.

“I still feel like I can win majors, I still feel like I can be one of if not the best player in the world,” Koepka said. “You know, just gotta get my golf swing doing what I want it to do and just gotta get healthy again.”

Koepka completed a remarkable return to glory, shooting 3-under 67 on Sunday at Oak Hill to win the 105th PGA Championship by two strokes over Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler. In doing so, Koepka became the 20th player to win at least five majors and joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Wanamaker Trophy three times in the stroke-play era.

“This is probably the sweetest one of them all because all the hard work that went into this one, this one is definitely special,” Koepka said. “This one is probably it for me.”

If only he were serious that this is it for him....

We don't get much detail on their injuries, but this should have been a comeback we could savor:

The 33-year-old Koepka was considered washed up, done in by injuries that included a torn patella tendon in August 2019, a hip injury in 2020, and a potentially career-ending injury to his knee cap and patella tendon in March 2021. His short-game coach, Pete Cowen, said Koepka couldn’t compress down on his left side and the result was a two-way miss.

“It was almost game over,” Harmon III said.

No one knows,” Koepka said during his winner’s press conference. “There’s a lot of times where I just couldn’t even bend my knee.”

Should have, but won't be able to.... One amusing bit is his insistence that he found that one killer app to prevent a recurrences of his Augusta Sunday meltdown, but this is as close to masking sense of it as we'll get:

Koepka did admit to working at slowing down under pressure.

“I've got to slow down, for me,” he said. “I've got to start walking slower because my stride just wants to keep going. Want to be the first one to the ball and hit it and just play the quickest round of golf ever.

“I've got to take my time and really just kind of assess things, but it's difficult to say. I don't think my hands or my heart rate gets up. I don't think about the next shot. I always just think about what's going on. Like, if you walk down 16, I'm not thinking, oh, I've got to do this on 17 or 18. I'm just thinking, whatever the next shot might be and then until I run out of shots.”

Not the pressure I wouldn't think, just the inevitably sluggish pace of play which clearly discomfitted him at Augusta.  Of course, Koepka has always been a quick player, so this is lesson you'd have thought he'd have learned back on that European development tour, but whatev.

Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., to claim his fifth major title, as he held on to a 54-hole lead he wasn’t able to keep at the Masters last month. What impressed you most about Koepka’s week? And in hindsight, should we be surprised he won this one?

Sean Zak: How slow it was. It was a slow, plodding 72 on Thursday. Then nine pars to open his second round. Only on the back nine Saturday, when everyone was worried about Corey Conners,

did it start to get real. But this is what Koepka did at Bellerive and at Shinnecock and at Erin Hills. He works his way through the breaks of the game in the first few rounds, grabs a lead on the weekend and his grip is tighter than most. We should not be surprised in the slightest. He gave us a great warning in Georgia.

Zephyr Melton: His killer mentality is back. These sorts of performances were the standard in the late 2010s, but the last several years have shown a more vulnerable BK. This week, he showed us that he still has that mental edge that makes him so dangerous in golf’s biggest events.

Jessica Marksbury: After watching Koepka play so well at Augusta, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that he would contend this week. But it’s still so, so impressive to watch him, as Sean said, plod along. It wasn’t flashy, just consistently good. That even-keel-ness is enviable, and his mental strength is clearly his primary differentiator.

Josh Sens: But what stands out to me is the Ruth-ian call he made on Saturday night. He said he’d learned from his mistakes. He promised it would be different. He said he had it sorted. It sounded almost… inevitable? Not many golfers make those kinds of forecasts; everyone knows you shouldn’t tempt the golf gods and all that. One of the things he seemed to have clearly learned is not to be in a rush only to get stuck waiting on too many tee shots. The way he took his time over short putts, in no hurry to get to the next hole — the man was not going to let himself get Cantlay-ed again.

He had it in double-digits under par, which is pretty damn impressive given the obvious difficulty.

Lots to muse upon, so seems silly to squander pixels needlessly:

Koepka battled injuries, his swing and his confidence over the past year-plus, but he’s now followed up a lackluster 2022 major season (two missed cuts, nothing better than T55) with a T2 and a win. Is there a chance this version of Koepka is better than the one that ruled the major championships a few years ago?

Zak: I don’t think so? And I’m not sure we’ll ever know. We only have two more events this year where BK will play against the best players on the planet in a 72-hole, 144-person tournament. That’s no LIV critique. It just is what it is. I think he’ll need to win the final two majors to elevate above where he was at his peak a few years ago. I’ll bet against it and hope that he does it. It’s way too fun watching him make it look easy.

Melton: I can’t imagine this version of Koepka is going to be better than BK 1.0, if only because of the scar tissue he’s now built up. Five years ago, there was zero doubt Koepka would win if he got to the top of the leaderboard. In the time since, we’ve seen some lackluster Sunday performances. Although he reversed that trend this week, the scars from those wounds remain.

Marksbury: I don’t think this Koepka is better than the previous version, but chip-on-the-shoulder Koepka has proven to be the best version of Koepka, at least in terms of major performance. I can’t help but wonder if the defection to LIV, plus the close-call at the Masters, may have given him just what he needed to re-awaken that aspect of his personality to channel it accordingly.

Sens: Maybe not better, but an even more impressive climb to the top. He sounded so completely defeated in that Full Swing episode. Better or not, though, he’s obviously back. Can’t wait to see him in the final group with Rahm or Scheffler at LACC.

Look, the guy won three majors in four years, so even if he played just as well as he did from 2017-19, it's still a longshot that he could rack up that kind of total.  I also maintain a bit of skepticism just because, when facing down Jon Rahm, it didn't go quite as well.  Hovland and Corey Connors just don't offer the same challenge, so we'll just have to see how he plays at LA and Liverpool.

The good news for Brooksie is that it'll be hard for us to hold lackluster performance in the LIV events against him, since he never did much in normal PGA Tour events either.

Geoff has a long list of relevant numbers:

20: Players to win five or more majors (Koepka joins the group with his win Sunday).

3: Players with three or more PGA Championship wins in the stroke play era (Koepka, Nicklaus, Woods).

44 of 72. Greens in regulation hit by Koepka.

32 of 56. Fairways hit by Koepka.

316’3”. Feet of putts made by Koepka. 

0. Three putts by Koepka.

0. Double bogeys by Koepka.

All impressive, especially those last two.  No doubt you heard much blather about who he tied at five majors, though the category errors are profound:

Of that impressive list on five majors, only Seve played a reasonably full schedule thereof.  The two triumvirates (Braid and Taylor) played only the Open, and Lord Byron retired once he had earned enough money to buy his ranch.

That said, if he can stay healthy, who knows where he might end up on this list?

The Legend of Michael Block -  Hard for a mere blogger to do it justice, I'll just excerpt his description of the scene when he made that ace that so electrified the proceedings:

“Rory hits. He misses the green right. I'm just like, oh, yeah, you can't go there; right? So I'm

over my tee shot, and the crowd goes crazy. Like, the crowd went nuts and I had not even hit yet. So I had to step back. I'm, like, this is pretty cool; right? This huge reception, and I haven't seen hit.

”So I sit back for a second. I'm, like, this is cool, but I've got this nice flight at 7. I could hit a hard 8, but all day long when I tried to hit anything hard, I was pulling it. So I was, like, I'm going to flight a little 7 in there into the breeze from 150. It was playing about 167 in my head. So I hit it, and it's just right at it, but I can't say it, just like now, and all of the you sudden it disappears, whatever. I'm like, cool. I'm like, thanks, guys. Rory is walking down the pathway 20 yards away from me and turns around and starts walking back towards me with his arms open to give me a hug. And he goes, you made it.

“I go, what? I'm like, seriously? He's like, yeah, you did. He had to tell me five times that I made it. So it was a pretty cool experience to have Rory be telling me that I made a hole-in-one in front of God knows how many people that were supporting me.”

Wow!  All I can say is that Employee No. 2 took one of the worst-timed biological breaks ever....

That TC panel couldn't come up with much, to which I can completely relate:

PGA professional Michael Block was the talk of the tournament, as the 46-year-old teaching pro from California turned heads with not only his play, but his easygoing, relatable persona (and an unbelievable ace on Sunday). Block, who tied for 15th, wasn’t short on publicity this week, but was what he accomplished an overrated or underrated storyline from the PGA? Can you put what he did into context?

Zak: The context will come over the next decade or so, when no other PGA pro does what he did. And when PGA Championships pass without a single club pro making the cut. That’s the reality!

He broke reality this week. It is not overrated in any sense. Did it get overplayed? You can have that opinion, but I’d call you un-fun. It was a delightful appetizer or dessert, or both!

Melton: Was it overplayed? Maybe. But it sure was fun to watch. It’s always cool to see a new personality inject some juice into an event. As far as context goes, that’ll become clearer in hindsight.

Marksbury: Underrated, for sure! It’s no secret I’m team #clubpro. My husband is one, and many of our friends are. What Michael Block accomplished this week is extraordinary. It’s so, so hard to just qualify for a place in the PGA Professional Championship, let alone get through that to the PGA Championship. Making the cut is everyone’s goal once they get there, and as we know, it’s rare. Actually contending like Block did is like a unicorn-level dream. It was a blast to watch him achieve something incredible, and to do it with gratefulness and humility, man. Gave me chills. It’s what sports are all about.

Sens: Ordinarily, I don’t have a lot of stomach for all the saccharine the networks sprinkle on these kinds of stories. But everything about Block’s run — that hole-in-one was almost enough to make me believe in fate — right down to his teary post-round interview, deserved the coverage. It would have been a hard one to overplay. And mercifully, we only got a few bad “Block party” puns from the media along the way.

I'm in shock....  Not that he could play that well, but that he could hold it together that well four four days.  You've got the ESPN/CBS cameras all over him, the pairings with Rory and Justin Rose then the ace on No. 15, yet he still has enough control to deliver that "up-and-in-for-the-ages" on No. 18?  A guy that likely plays mostly 36-hole events in a cart, to the extent that he even plays.  Wow!

Rory is a gracious man and obviously enjoyed the pairing, but your humble blogger couldn't help but be amused.  This is a man that absorbed a beatdown from Augusta National marker Jeff Knox a few years back, and now he watched a club pro steal his thunder on a Sunday at a different major.  It's a weird game we play, but Rory seems to be absorbing more than his fair share of it.

The TC gang closed with an appropriate query about this venue:

Oak Hill Country Club hadn’t hosted a PGA Championship since the 2013 PGA, but the East course, which had some work done since, seemed to be one of the stars of the week. How would you grade the host venue, and where would you rank it among recent non-Masters major venues?

Zak: This is what I want from major championship hosts: A) a course that makes pros uncomfortable on the tee AND hitting into greens; B) a course where double bogey is out there on every hole, but two great shots earn a look at birdie; C) a course where the championship committee can make any hole play wildly different on consecutive days. (On four consecutive days? WAHOO!); and D) a town that embraces their week to shine. This week was check, check, check, check. Four-and-a-half stars from me. Slot it right in next to Southern Hills and bring the event back there every 15 years.

Melton: The course was excellent. It was hard, but not U.S. Open hard, and it made for some great viewing. I’d love to see it host the PGA again in the future.

Sens: Grade A on the venue. Right there with Southern Hills, though I suspect we have an even better one coming up in June.

Marksbury: Totally agree with the ranking, guys! I liked it. A B+ from me, and the weather was the only real damper. The PGA has taken some heat for a seemingly uninspired list of future venues, but if they’re all set up to produce a week like this one, all will be well!

Obviously, Jess is a hard grader....

I would make two points here.  The first is to acknowledge the importance of the architecture to the week we enjoyed.  Oak Hill's set-up featured what was to me perfect rough, juicy enough to challenge the lads but not so deep that they couldn't advance the ball.  But what really made it work is the design of those restored Donald Ross greens, which allowed for run-up shots that were a delight to watch.   

The second point is a bit of a downer.  Because, as much as we loved the venue, I'm not at all sure when or if we see it again.  Despite Thursday's frost delay and all the rain, the PGA got quite lucky with the weather, both this week but, perhaps more importantly, over the winter and early spring.  In a more unfavorable (normal?) year would the rough have grown in sufficiently?  I don't know that the PGA can risk another May date in Rochester, which would limit the possibilities to the USGA, who can squeeze them in perhaps in 2074.  I kid, but there are precious few open years during your humble vlogger's normal life expectancy....

OK, just gonna scratch the surface on a couple of obvious issues.  I assume we'll be pondering these with perhaps a dollop more perspective in the days to come....

Wither LIV - First, that TC panel squandering another opportunity:

In large part due to Koepka, but with the help of others, LIV Golf followed a strong showing at the Masters (three in the top six) with another at the PGA Championship (three in the top 11). Is LIV Golf’s slightly lighter schedule allowing its player to stay rested and perform better in majors, or is this just a convenient coincidence?

Zak: I think the light schedule is a convenient coincidence. Koepka was upset before the Masters at the lack of reps he got in ahead of the first major. You don’t get to feel that way and then also applaud the light schedule. I don’t think Cameron Smith is thriving via the light schedule.

Melton: It feels like coincidence. If the trend continues over several years, then perhaps we can revisit this conversation, but the sample size is too small to draw any definitive conclusions at this point.

Marksbury: Small sample size, yes. But I think there might be something to it. Jordan Spieth made headlines recently for admitting he’s tired. Rory paid a huge fine to back out of the RBC Heritage. The PGA Tour’s designated event schedule has made the top players seemingly busier than ever. Add to that the long days, weather delays, media obligations … LIV players are definitely carrying a lighter load. How valuable is that? It will be interesting to see how things play out at the remaining two majors.

Sens: Nah, unless we’re going to blame rust for any LIV player who misses the cut. The schedule is a distant second to the simple fact we’ve known all along: LIV snagged a handful of the world’s best, including multiple major winners. The talent doesn’t just vanish because they’re now playing on teams with goofy names.

Jess, you're not very bright, are you?  Of course, she's not helped by asking completely the wrong question....  I'll get to LIV in a sec, but what Jess is pointing out is the insanity of what Jay and Rory propagated for 2023, requiring these guys to show up fourteen times on top of the majors.  Is LIV better than that?  Sure, if only because anything would be...

While I continue to believe that the LIV circus can't be good for competitive readiness, it's not like these guys lost their golf skills in a few months.  And, at least with this week's winner, it was never about his skill set in any case.... just about whether he could stay healthy.

But does it in any fundamental way change the status quo ante?  I'm not going to minimize that Jay Monahan's collar is likely a little tighter this morning, as each individual skirmish takes on a slightly different hue in the aftermath of Brooksie's win.  But does it make any other player decide to go to LIV?  If not, then we're stuck in Groundhog Day, and I'm still hard-pressed to see how LIV creates anything sustainable from their assets.

They've had some success in creating turnout at their events, but there's a reason they've stopped reporting viewership numbers, and you can't make those numbers work without a large TV contract in the U.S.  But, stay tuned....

Wither The Ryder Cup - The OWGR will be interesting because of this, but the Ryder Cup just went to Defcon-5.  For month I was dreading that European arbitration decision, envisioning that the Euros placing a LIVster on their Ryder Cup roster, unclear as to how Jay might react.  But I've just been informed, as they say in horror moves, that the call is coming from inside the house....

I can stall by excerpting this from the TC panel:

Ryder Cup captains Zach Johnson and Luke Donald both addressed the media at Oak Hill, and while they didn’t give too much away, they didn’t exactly close the door on LIV players representing their respective Ryder Cup teams. Based on what we know, will any LIV golfers play in the Ryder Cup? And how critical, for the U.S. specifically, is Johnson’s decision to include or exclude them if it comes down to picks outside of the top-six auto qualifiers?

Zak: Brooks Koepka will play in the Ryder Cup. I think his relationships with the Jupiter collective of pros — who will factor into the team building — will make it much easier to accept him. I don’t think Bryson has that going for him. And I don’t know that Dustin Johnson will be in as impressive of form, though I bet he’ll get a look.

Melton: It feels like Koepka solidified his spot on the Ryder Cup team with his performance on Sunday. But even if he (along with the other LIVers) doesn’t get included, Team USA has plenty of depth to win the Cup in Italy.

Sens: I partly agree with Zephyr. Koepka will be on the team, but an upstart European squad will win.

Marksbury: If Koepka’s not on the U.S. team, I think we’re in for some serious drama. Especially if the U.S. loses.

I start at a far more granular level, as I'm not even clear whose decision it will be.  Nominally it's Zach Johnson's, but exactly no one thinks he's got complete autonomy.  Prior to this I had assume he would have been instructed to ignore the LIVsters, and for quite a while that seemed like it could work.  Nobody was going to take heat over Talor Gooch, but a healthy Brooksie in 2017-19 form is a different kettle of fish.

Secondly, none of us are privy to the pillow talk Jay is receiving from his lawyers, including whether he has the legal right to exclude them from this event.  His ability to sanction them has thus far been upheld, but they still apparently retain their PGA of America membership, and this event is controlled by that latter entity.  It appears that it will require a Captain's pick, because this updated points list still has Koepka only in 22nd place, so at least Jay seems unlikely to face a LIVster automatically qualifying.  But that brings us back to Zach, who might not want to squander his captaincy on the internecine war.   

Jess's is an interesting take, though perhaps the most interesting aspect of it would be to ponder whether Jay would really care.  More substantively, if Koepka isn't chosen, whoever gets that last spot is going to be in an impossible position, no?  You better win your matches, otherwise each and every one of us can script those awkward press conference questions?  And if the lose without Brooks?  At least Phil won't be there, though they could be partying like it's 2014.

Developing, as the kids like to say.

Catch you all down the road.  They say that the cure for grief is time, so let's hope they know what of they speak.