BlogPGA weekend picks

Things you need to know for the final two days of the PGA:

Should the PGA of America start embroidering Rory’s name on the Wanamaker Trophy?

Not just yet, there is still 36 holes to play and anything is possible.  Watching Rory play is really fun and watching his interview after Friday’s round made be think that this was De Ja vu of 2000 and Tiger Woods.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could get the Tiger of 2000 and put him up against the Rory McIlroy of 2014?  This week Rory played great, he made an eagle, 12 birdies, 19 pars, 3 bogeys and one double.  His double bogey on the par 5, 10th hole because of a drive out of bounds could be the first time a major champion has made a 7 on his card since Tiger Woods made 7 on the par 3, 3rd hole at Pebble in the 2000 U.S. Open.

So why will Rory win?

Things are easy and fun for the kid right now.  In any other player other than Tiger, streaks tend to last six to ten rounds and then fatigue sets in, they get sloppy which leads to problems.  Don’t see that with Rory playing so well, gosh just look at some of these numbers  Rory is 41 under in his last ten rounds including last week’s Bridgestone and last month’s British Open.  These aren’t figures on easy Palm Springs courses, these are tough courses that hold the best events in the world.  Another thing to think about Rory, this is the fourth time that he has started a major with two rounds in the 60s and won the 2011 U.S. Open and 2014 British.  Of course he had a big disaster with the Masters.

So talking about the Masters, any chance of that happening?

No chance, Rory is a better player than he was in 2011.  As he said today in his press conference, that was the first time in the lead and he tried to protect the lead, which isn’t in his DNA.  He now knows what to do in this position and will do it this weekend.  Someone needs to play really well and take it away from Rory because he isn’t going to boot this one away.

So who can take it away from Rory?

Great leaderboard, probably the best of the year.  We have a great mixture of youngsters like Jason Day (one back), Rickie Fowler (two back) and Victor Dubuisson (four back).  We have a lot of grinders that always seem to win and don’t give an inch, guys like Henrik Stenson (four back) and Lee Westwood (four back).  Then we have some great veterans, who are in the sunset years of their career and looking to put a nice punctuation to their careers, guys like Jim Furyk (one back), Phil Micklson (three back) and Steve Stricker (four back).  This weekend won’t be easy for Rory, there are 15 players within four back of him.

So is it Jason Day’s time to win?

Maybe, but his thumb is still a problem.  I just can’t see him winning with this problem.

So how about Jim Furyk?

I have been saying it for quite a while, he is really due to put it together.  He has booted away a fair share in the last two years, but at the Canadian Open two weeks ago he played great, shooting a final round 69 and had it taken away by Tim Clark who shot 65.  It’s only a matter of time for Furyk to get the lucky draw and win, could be on Sunday.

So how about Phil Mickelson?

His year has been crap and he knows it.  Phil is not one like Tiger that sugar-coats things, he knows how bad things have been and wants to change that.  It started with his good final round at Bridgestone.  He knew he was playing well going into the week at Akron, but it didn’t show until his final round 62.  With his 36th hole eagle on Friday, I see some great momentum for him and like the old saying goes, you never know what Phil will do next.

Is there anybody else that can make a run?

Lot’s of players, but remember we haven’t talked about Ryan Palmer who is just 2 back.  Or Steve Stricker who made fun of his game when Tom Watson named him vice-captain for the Ryder Cup team and Stricker said that could still make the team with a win, so anything is possible. Also Henrik Stenson, Victor Dubuissen, Lee Westwood and Louis Oosthuizen are four back and can make up lots of ground with a 65.  The bottom line is that McIlroy needs to go out and make birdies on Saturday and Sunday, a pair of 70s probably won’t give him a victory.  He probably needs a pair of 68s.

Goodbye to Tiger, do we care?

There was not a single person in the media center that felt bad about Tiger missing the cut.  It was ugly this week, matter of fact Tiger’s game has been ugly since he came back at the Quicken Loans in July.  The problem with the media, Tiger would tell them how promising things were with his game and how great he felt, not something that we bought after his poor performance at the Quicken Loan, British Open and Bridgestone.  I personally think Tiger’s problems are more mental than physical and this week probably put a lot of doubts in the mind of Tiger.  I have a funny feeling that Tom Watson won’t have to say anything to Tiger Woods, he will be the first to say he can’t play on the Ryder Cup team.  Tiger seems like a golfer that got a heavy dose of Kryptonite and just like Superman has become very human.  Every part of his game is in disarray, I know he will win again one day but we may be coming close to the end of the Tiger career.  The hardest thing in the world to do is come back when your aging, that’s what made Jack Nicklaus last three majors so good.  Today I don’t think Tiger has any idea on what the future will hold but we have to wait until next year to see if Tiger can find a remedy for the “kryptonite” and find his way back.  One thing is certain, Wednesday was a very dull day at Valhalla until Tiger arrived.  In a matter of minutes, 7,000 people were rooting strongly for Tiger so he does and always will have the fan base.  But he has to be Tiger Woods again.

Check back with us tomorrow night for who will win the PGA Championship

Below is a list of the top-37 players on the leader board going to two under which is 7 shots back of Rory McIlroy