PGA 2016 - The Week of the Nearly Ones?

Two Majors in Two Weeks. Do we really need all of this excitement at once? I suppose at least we have the biggest spectacle of the year to look forward to…. No not the pitch and putt at the Olympics but the Ryder Cup of course. The Ryder Cup could well be in the back of many players minds at the fourth and final Major of the year, where a number of players from both sides of the Atlantic will be looking to impress and make the squad for the first week of October.

One name who will definitely be on the European team sheet is the surprise victor of the Masters Danny Willett. Danny has failed to reignite the flame that pushed him to the Augusta win and the last two Majors have gone to two of the biggest ‘nearly’ boys in golf, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson. Others in that category include the perennial nearly man Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler (35-1). Of those two I would certainly fancy Sergio. Rickie has had an abysmal summer of 2016 and although his game does seem to have made some improvements in the last month, he has actually made the cut a couple of times, the Spaniard, who is running out of time to claim his Major, looked solid at Troon with his fifth place equalling his US Open finish.

Speaking of Troon, I had the pleasure of attending the glorious Friday. Standing in a wooly hat and waterproofs for ten hours on the Scottish coast in a vicious wind was a shock to my Southern complexion but what a day of golf it was. Two players who caught the eye are paired together this week, Tony Finau (100-1) and Matthew Fitzpatrick. Finau, who looks like a cross between Craig David and a basketball player, must be one of the longest hitters of the ball in the game. His game unfortunately got worse throughout the Open weekend but this course will suit him and he finished tenth in this tournament last year. Finau is definitely one to look out for, as is Fitzpatrick (175-1). Young Matthew had a shocking time at Troon but his confidence and swing were extremely exciting.

Other groups you will want to follow for the next two days include the Major winners DJ and Stenson (14-1) and the trio of Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Phil Mickelson. Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy are the current favourites for this week’s competition at 8-1, and this is rightly so for the former, who has enjoyed some fine form since his US Open victory and finally ridding himself of the choker tag. McIlroy looked like he was going to break through at Troon, and although he did, it was too late, finishing fifth after a brilliant final round. Obviously it was Stenson’s final round at Troon that is definitely one for the history books, while the ever steady Phil Mickelson might still be recovering from his shock lose, having also played one of the best rounds in Major history. Day (10-1) seemed to put a disappointing Open performance behind him when finishing in the top 20 at the Canadian Open last week but I would be pushed to believe any of these five will be sitting at the top of the leaderboard come Sunday. So who will be? My favourite three are below:

• One player who has slipped nicely under the radar is JB Holmes (60-1) who finished fourth at Troon and third at Augusta. Hopefully he will not be another to fall into the nearly man category and come out fighting this weekend.
• Adam Scott (30-1). Adam has a fine record in the PGA Championship with four top ten finishes and he put in a respectable performance at The Open, finishing tied 43rd in a tournament that did not pay to his strengths. He was 40th when the tournament was last played at Balustrol in 2005 (Big Phil took that title) but should go better.
• Fat Boy Patrick Reed (55-1) is unfortunately another who could well earn the nearly tag if he does not cruise to victory soon. He finished 12th at Troon, his best Major finish yet, and has made the cut in the last two PGA Championships. Reed certainly has bags of confidence and maybe his Troon performance will spur him onto his first victory in two years.