Brennans Caddy Report-PGA Championship

I apologize to all those readers of the weekly caddy report for not having a report last week but the schedule got a little busy and I was unable to do it. I would first like to say that I think this years Canadian Open turned out to be quite a success. I know there were a lot of people who didn't think that Angus Glen would hold up to the PGA Tour players and that they would shoot very low scores. A -16 par winning score is a middle of the pack winning score on tour so I think the course held its own.

I know everyone was very pleased with the hospitality and the service with everyone at the host course and who knows maybe there will be another Can Open there in the future.  I thought that Mike had a good week even though it would have been better to have a little higher finish. The first round put him a little behind the eight ball but he had a nice comeback and considering all the distractions of the week it turned out to be a success.
 
After the Sunday round we headed out to PEI for a one day match where Mike played 18 holes against VJ Singh. It was a fun day that will be televised later in the summer so I won't say much about it but it was great to get back out to PEI and see how nice it is there in the summer. The match was played on Monday and there was a dinner that night for everyone involved in the event from sponsors to event organizers. The following day we flew back to Akron where the World Series was contested so needless to say it was a busy couple of days.

There really isn't much to comment on about the World Series as Mike played 27 holes and then had to withdrawal due to the soreness in his neck. It was unfortunate to not get to finish it off as that is one of the better events we play in all year but I know he didn't want to further injure his neck for this week's PGA Championship.
 
The story this week here in the Tulsa at the PGA Championship is the weather. The heat has set in and with the heat index we are talking about numbers north of 110 degrees. It is going to be important to stay hydrated and stay in the shade as much as possible out there on the course.

Tulsa is only 4 hours from Dallas so it was nice to be able to get in the car and drive up here on Monday and not have to deal with airports.  I came up on Monday afternoon and after registering and getting settled in went out and walked the course and got a feel for it. The last time we were here was a few years back for the US Open and the course is a bit different from then.
 
Tuesday is always the busiest day of any major as everyone plays 18 holes and wants to practice and get all their equipment sorted out.  We went out and played with Dean Wilson and Billy Mayfair and had a great day. Tuesday practice rounds are always really long as the guys want to hit lots of chips and putts around the green and get a feel for the slopes. It took us close to six hours which isn't out of the norm on these days. The important thing is to get comfortable with the course and come up with a game plan for the course.

On Wednesday we played nine holes very early with Dean Wilson again and then practiced for a few hours before leaving the course at noon. Mike realizes that you he needs to save his energy for the week which I think is a great idea.
 
The golf course is a good old fashion course that is quite tight and has some very fast slopy greens. It is what you would expect from a major championship course, with the only difference I would say is that the greens are a little softer than you would expect. I am guessing that with the heat this week there are going to have to keep them a bit softer so that they don't lose them. With this heat it would take long to have the greens turn brown if they didn't apply a lot of water to them.

The fairways and rough are Bermuda grass which is predominantly the grass here in the south as it can handle the heat. It is also makes the rough very difficult as the ball goes right to the bottom of the grass. When trying to play out of the rough it grabs your club so expect to see a lot of pitch outs from those who miss fairways. The greens as mentioned are a little softer but are still fast and have a lot of slope.

There are a few holes, like 9 and 18, that get all the attention from the US Open because since they were unable to mow those greens the week of, the balls would be rolling off the green. Southern Hills is a true test for the entire game from placing a premium on driving to putting. Putting as always will prove to be the key like any golf tournament but if you spend a lot of time in the rough this week it will be a long one.
 
The golf course has a great mixture of long holes to short tricky holes. There are some par 5's that are reachable and then there is one that is 650 yards that I think you will see some of the long hitters getting home. The 5th holes plays downwind and downhill and I wouldn't be surprised to see a few guys get to that green in two. The 8th hole is 245 yard par 3 that will play as one of the harder holes all week, either a rescue club or 3 wood potentially depending on the wind makes it a difficult hole. Hole 10 is a short par 4 that plays downhill off the tee and is only a mid iron to keep the ball in the fairway, then the hole doglegs back to the right. This will be a hole that you can make a birdie if you are in the fairway off the tee. 18 is a good finishing hole, also dogleg right that has a very elevated green. The second shot is very important to place the ball on the correct side of the hole as there is a severe slope from back to front. If you don't get the ball to the front of the green it will come back some 50 yards down the hill.

I think Southern Hills will be a good test and think par is going to be a pretty good score. I have a feeling that the greens may be a little firmer on the weekend and if so it will be tougher to make birdies.