On the eve of the final PGA Championship ever to be held in the hot summer month of August at the Bellerive Country Club near St. Louis, let’s take a look to the past and consider some of the previous champions of golf’s final major tournament of 2018. The men’s golf tour will move this championship back to the month of May beginning in 2019 to avoid competing for viewers with the NFL’s August preseason schedule.
Some of the greatest names in golf history have won this title. The best golfer in modern history, Jack Nicklaus, has five wins to hold the record for this event. Tiger Woods has won the PGA Championship four times, while Hall-of-Famers Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Nick Price (who won the 1992 PGA Championship on this course), and current star Rory McIlroy have won it twice apiece.
The victorious golfer will attempt to hoist the extremely heavy Wannamaker Trophy (it weighs a whopping 44 pounds!) after vanquishing a field of 143 other golfers this weekend.
For most of the sports world, the focus will be (of course) on Tiger Woods and his quest to return to the winner’s circle again. Woods has played quite well this season, but he must string four solid rounds together to win this major.
Fan favorite Phil Mickelson (the 2005 PGA champ) is also in the field and could thrill us with his always-entertaining shot-making skills. This assumes that Lefty can keep his tee shots in play this weekend.
While the majority of golf writers and fans will focus on the current list of leading players such as Dustin Johnson and the returning champion, Justin Thomas, the PGA Championship has spawned a few “Who Dat?” winners over its 100-year history, too.
Remember Y.E.Yang? In 2008, he hit that terrific final shot on the 18th hole to vanquish Tiger Woods. Five years earlier, an unheralded Shaun Micheel grabbed the Wannamaker in 2003 with a spectacular iron shot within a few feet of the final hole to snag his one and, to this point, only PGA Tour win.
The year before in 2002, it was Rich Beem who found himself in the winner’s circle by holding off a late-charging (you guessed it) Tiger Woods.
More recently, 2011’s winner was Keegan Bradley, who became one of only three golfers to win a major championship in his first attempt. Unfortunately, Bradley’s anchored “belly” putter has been banned a few years ago, and his career has stalled ever since.
So while the announcers will tout the likes of Jordan Spieth, Ricky Fowler, and Jason Day, I’ll roll out a few overlooked golfers who might be fun to watch this weekend if they could, somehow, prevail to win their first major championship:
Pat Perez – 30,000 to 1 Known for his hot temper, Perez truly is a hot and cold player who might get on a four day roll. Then again, maybe not.
Whee Kim – 20,000 to 1 This young man is playing great golf this summer and has come close to victory a few times. Plus, his name is really fun to say!
Brandt Snedeker – 15,000 to 1 Tom Watson’s foil in those American Express commercials has struggled in recent years. He would be a crowd favorite Sunday.
Matt Kuchar – 8,000 to 1 Same goes for Koooooch! Most golf fans would shed a tear of joy if Matt finally claims his first major this weekend.
Bryson deChambeau – 7,500 to 1 Love him or not, Bryson is one tough hombre. If Mr. Physics gets on a roll, he could slide-rule the field after 72 holes.