93rd PGA Championship: August 11-14, 2011

[salsadancer7]

"His right arm...fortunately he's only 22 years old so his right wrist should be the strongest muscle in his body. I think he can play...if he warms up properly this morning...and I think that he did, and he's got it strapped up, I mean I still think he's a factor in this tournament."

PGA Championship: His right wrist taped, Rory McIlroy returns for the PGA Championship's second round - OrlandoSentinel.com

Maybe he can exercise it by tweeting...since he is good with that.

 

[riffjim4069]

Well, Tiger is +9 and getting ready to be cut. He was actually as high as +11 before hitting a few good shot and putts. Has Tiger hit rock bottom yet?

 

[riffjim4069]

Phil has played reasonably well and it tied for 15th at -1, but he just dumped one in the water on the 18th.

 

[riffjim4069]

Stricker has dropped back 3-shots and a lot of little names on the leaderboard right now. I get the feeling the leaders are going to fall back over the weekend, and the leaders still have to hardest holes to play (17 and 18).

Phil had a double-bogey on 18 to drop back to +1. He was still in the running...but I'm not so sure after his double on the 18. My DVR is set to record 18-hours of golf this weekend.

 

[riffjim4069]

Is Tiger Woods finished for the year?

Unless Tiger decided to play at the Wyndham Open next week, this could be the last we see of Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour this season - he won't be playing (not eligible) in the FexEx challenge later this month.

Woods failed to make the cut coming in at +10. Additionally, I'm wondering why he would return this year given his performance:

- Score of 77 is a career-worst 1st round in a major

- Started 3-under thru first 5 holes (finished +10 over last 13)

- 2nd time in pro career he recorded double bogey or higher on 3 holes in a single round (2007 Bay Hill)

So is Tiger finished this year?

 

[riffjim4069]

The course is playing tough once again. Phil is back to Even Par with a the leaders getting read to tee off.

 

[riffjim4069]

Well, Phil was at -2 at one point but he bogied a couple holes on the very tough final four holes to finish at Even Par. Plenty of not-so-big-name players on the leaderboard (Jason Dufner -7, Brendan Steele -6, Keegan Bradley -5), but I think they'll fall back a couple shots on the back nine. I think we'll wind-up with several players tied for the lead at -5 but who knows. Regardless, I think Phil is too far back to be a serious contender tomorrow - especially the way he is spraying the ball off the tee. Elsewhere, Lee Westwood has crept his way back up to -3 and tied for 7th. Also, Steve Stricker is still handing around at -4. I think Westwood has the best shot of winning his first major.

This course has some birdie opportunities, but disaster is always right around the corner; water comes into play on 9 of the holes and the sandtraps are absolutely nasty - players are going to lose a half-shot, on average, if they wind up in one. I foresee a lot of choking tomorrow afternoon on this course.

 

[riffjim4069]

Well, the 56th-74th players have teed off. Michelson is scheduled to go at 12:30pm, Lee Westwood at 1:10pm, Steve Stricker at 2:20pm and the leaders group at 2:40pm.

 

[riffjim4069]

Wow! What a finish...Jason Dufners blows a 4-shot lead in the last 4-holes and Keegan Bradley, who double-bogied 15, came back with birdies on 16 and 17 to eventually send it into a 3-hole playoff where he wins the PGA Championship. Lot's a "little names" on the leaderboard but at least the Americans win our first major since the 2010 Masters. This golf season was even stranger and more unpredictable than last year. I, for one, surely thought Tiger and Phil would be more competitive in the Majors this year.