Rochester, NY. Major championships define legacies in golf. There are only four such events and each has a stature unique to itself. The Masters has its Green Jacket. The U.S. Open and The Open Championship are the two oldest majors and each represents the broadest of constituencies with the U.S. Open the national championship of the country with the most players and courses. The Open Championship represents the remaining global golf community and is tied to the foundations of the game with its continuous involvement of links golf at its core.
The PGA Championship is the third oldest of the majors having started in 1916.
It is the highest title for those who call themselves professional golfers and it represents the broadest swath of individuals from those working daily with ordinary golfers to those touring the planet in search of fame and fortune.
Through the years a number of players have competed in the PGA Championship and it is their respective failure that has provided a critical missing ingredient when assessing their overall careers.
On the eve of the start of the 105th PGA Championship it helps to look back at five stellar players and the intersection each has had with the event.
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Palmer’s Pain
Arnold Palmer accomplished a good deal in golf, both on and off the course. Winning a total of seven major championships and being responsible in elevating golf globally. Completing the career Grand Slam was a major emphasis for The King and his performance in the PGA Championship was the only setback in a glorious career. Arnie finished in the top ten six times along with three runner-up finishes. Claiming the Wannamaker Trophy would have only added to Palmer’s status as one of the game’s most accomplished players.
Watson’s Woes
Tom Watson’s career was a stellar one. Early on in his career he had a propensity to lose leads at key events. That changed with victory at the 1975 Open Championship. Momentum hit its stride when defeating Jack Nicklaus in classic battles at the 1977 Masters and Open Championship and the 1982 U.S. Open. Watson had ten top ten finishes, but only one runner-up finish.
During the height of his time as golf’s number one player it appeared Watson would finally win the PGA Championship after establishing a five-shot lead going into the final round of the 1978 PGA Championship at Oakmont. Unfortunately, Tom squandered that lead and eventually lost to John Mahaffey in a three-way playoff with Jerry Pate. That defeat is rarely mentioned given Watson’s highly successful career but that failure in 1978 proved to be the closest he would come to completing the career Grand Slam.
Interestingly, Oakmont would play a major role in his career as Watson was unable to defend his U.S. Open title there after entering the final round tied with Spain’s Seve Ballesteros.
Jordan’s Journey
The storyline for Jordan Spieth is not finished. Spieth has resurfaced as a key player and early on was able to secure three different major championship victories. Two of which came in 2015 and his play that year also featured a tie for fourth in The Open Championship and a classic battle with Jason Day at the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
For the 29-year-old Texan there will be a number of PGA Championships in which he can attempt to join golf’s most elite club – career Grand Slam winners.
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Norman’s nightmares
Besides Tiger Woods, no player has been ranked number one longer than Greg Norman. For a period of 331 weeks, the Australian was the game’s premier player.
The Shark had extensive success in winning various events globally but his vast potential was unmet with notable poor closings at the major championships.
Norman would finish in the top ten at the PGA Championship six times. Two of those finishes were heartbreaking ones. Norman had a four-shot lead entering the final round of the 1986 event. Unfortunately, Greg was defeated at the 72nd hole by a bunker shot from the frontal bunker by Bob Tway. What appeared to be a victory was cruelly yanked away.
Ironically, seven years later the PGA Championship would again return to Inverness. Norman was again in the hunt but again he would come up short, losing in a playoff against Paul Azinger. The ending was one Greg would not soon forget as he three-putted the second hole of a playoff and saw the Wannamaker Trophy again escape his grasp.
The two failures at Inverness provide a key summary of Norman’s career and what it could have been.
Faldo’s failure
The Englishman would claim six major championships during his highly successful career. The PGA Championship proved elusive as Faldo would achieve five top ten finishes with a lone runner-up finish in 1992 at Bellerive.
While there have been other international winners of the PGA Championship, no Englishman has captured the event since Jim Barnes did so early on in its history with wins in 1916 and 1919.
