Jason Day finally won his first Major title with a three-shot win at the US PGA in Wisconsin this weekend. This year’s event was memorable for a host of things from Jordan Spieth’s skill to Rory’s return. Read on for a look at 5 things we learned from this year’s USA PGA Championship.
1. There’s a new triumvirate in town
Jason Day’s triumph – and the manner of it – showed that he has the game and the bottle to compete with the very best. With the likes of Spieth, Rose and Kaymer on his tail at the start of the fourth round he knew he couldn’t sit on his lead and he played so well that he forced errors from everyone else. He’s hit the woodwork so many times but now he has a major under his belt, others will follow. Along with Spieth and McIlroy we could be set for a special few years.
2. Spieth is something special
We knew that anyway – but two wins, a second and a fourth from the year’s four majors is astonishing. His short game was unbelievable at Whistling Straits – he might not have quite the same length off the tee as some of the other top players but when you can pitch and putt like this kid, it doesn’t matter. He has nerves of steel too – holing clutch putts just as well as Tiger ever did in his prime.
3. Rory’s still got it
True, this will have been a hugely disappointing year for Rory but after a two-month break he still played very well indeed to finish in the top 20 at -9. And he showed, briefly, why he can still hope to win more majors than Spieth and Day – when he played first five holes on Saturday in four-under he was back to his irresistible best. No surprise that he couldn’t keep up that pace but there is still the feeling that when all the best players play their very best… Rory wins.
4. These guys are good
A 20-under winning score (the first in major history) does not mean that Whistling Straits was easy, but that Jason Day was brilliant, as were the chasing pack. Indeed, plenty of players found it very tough, and most had a double bogey or two on their cards because it punished bad shots severely. The top players just didn’t play as many bad shots as everyone else – if anything, they are getting better, which is a scary thought!
5. The best holes are not the longest
Whistling Straits was a brilliant test. And while it certainly helped to be long off the tee on some holes, they were not the ones that changed the tournament. Instead, look to the 355-yard sixth, that McIlroy bogeyed on Saturday, or the 361-yard 10th and 404-yard 13th, that forced Grace and Rose to double bogey on Sunday. These holes are almost driveable for the biggest hitters, but anything off line was punished severely.