Form Guide - 2005 US PGA Championship
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2005 US PGA Championship | Preview | 10 Aug 2005
The Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey will host the 87th staging of the PGA Championship when the Championship’s high class field tees it up on Thursday August 11th.
Baltusrol has played host to many National USGA events, the first of which came in 1901 when it was the venue of the National Women’s Championship and the last of which was the 2000 US Amateur Championship. In between there have been seven US Open Championships the last of which was in 1993, although two of those were on the layout that existed before A.W. Tillinghast built dual courses there in 1922. This will, however, be the first time the USPGA Championship has been played here.
Further changes have been made to the course in the ensuing years, more especially by Robert Trent Jones and his son Rees, but to a great extent much of the Tillinghast magic has been retained.
Long rough and narrow fairways and a long golf course suggest quality driving will be a prerequisite for victory this week. Even Tiger Woods described the course as brutal in his first look last week. The layout will measure some 7392 yards for this week’s Championship.
The fight for the PGA Championship will of course be of most interest this week but there are tournaments within tournaments this week as several players stake their final claim on a Presidents Cup placing for either the International or USA sides.
Oh, by the way, if you are wondering how Baltusrol got its name, it is the combined and shortened version of the name of the man who originally farmed the original land the courses now occupy, a Mr Baltus Roll.
Tiger Woods
Woods is looking to add this event to the two majors he already owns in 2005 along with his runner up placing at the US Open. He has twice won this event, in 1999 and in 2000. Woods is in the most impeccable form at present with five consecutive top threes including his brilliant win at St Andrews. His last start was when runner up to Singh at the Buick Open and the dual between the number one and two players in the world will be one of the most intriguing battles of the week.
Vijay Singh
Singh, like Woods, is playing superbly of late. He is a two time winner of this event and is the defending champion following his playoff victory at Whistling Straits last year. He has been 5th, 6th and 5th in his three majors this season and comes off an emphatic win over Woods at the Buick Open two weeks ago.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson has not played well in recent weeks after a start to the year which saw him win three of his first 8 starts but since Augusta he has not been quite as sharp. He was runner up at the PGA in 2001 but that has been his best in twelve starts in this particular event. Having won the Masters last year he now has the comfort of knowing it is not the impossible dream it (winning a major) once appeared to be. He will need to improve here however if he is to figure. It was just a reasonable week at the International.
Retief Goosen
Goosen has shown in the past that he plays the traditional US courses well. Like Mickelson he has not played quite as well in recent weeks as he did early in the season but it has hardly been bad. This has not been a good tournament for Goosen but this may be a golf course that better suits his style of play. His good last day to win at the International will provide a boost of confidence given that he has struggled on Sundays of late
Sergio Garcia
Garcia perhaps surprisingly missed the cut at The International but with a 3rd place at the US Open and a 5th at the Open Championship he is in good enough form to challenge here. Garcia ’arrived’ in tournament golf at this event in 1999 just a month after turning professional when runner up to Woods and it may just be that he could ’arrive’ in major golf this week. He has missed his last two PGA cuts but we can expect much better this week.
Adam Scott
Scott has yet to shine at this level although he did record his equal best major finish at this event last year when 9th. Scott charged home after a slow start in Sweden two weeks ago to finish 5th but in three majors this season his best is 28th at Pinehurst. He has played well enough to be considered and at some stage he must step up to the plate in major golf.
Padraig Harrington
Harrington won two months ago at the Barclays Classic in New York but in his one start since the passing of his father just prior to the Open Championship, he has struggled. Harrington has won twice in the US this season and he is certainly good enough to win a title like this on a golf course that would probably suit his game. There is however the concern of the lack of play in recent weeks.
Jim Furyk
Furyk has a real chance here to add to his one major victory. After two great weeks just prior to the Open Championship where he missed the cut, Furyk bounced back at the Buick Open when 6th. This is just the type of layout that will suit Furyk and I feel he is a great chance to challenge the two favourites.
Kenny Perry
Perry probably still feels the PGA Championship owes him one as it was in this event in 1996 when he let a great chance slip after making a mess of the first playoff hole against Mark Brooks. He won the Colonial in May and since has continued to play well since. Winning a major is not beyond Perry and on a golf course where quality driving may well determine the outcome, then the man who combines accuracy and distance the best of all on the PGA Tour has a distinct advantage.
David Toms
Toms already has a PGA Championship to his name and although he missed the cut at the recent Open Championship, his recent form overall has been good enough to be considered a chance again this week. On a golf course where length will be important, his perhaps lack of it may count against him in the final analysis.
Chris DiMarco
DiMarco, having been beaten in a playoff for this event last year against Singh and Leonard and again against Woods at Augusta this year, is probably owed one. Golf doesn’t work that way unfortunately and his missed cut last week in Colorado provides a further complication in trying to work out his chances.
Angel Cabrera
Cabrera has moved to another level in 2005 in terms of his world ranking and his length from the tee will help him here. He has not exactly excelled in six starts in this event but he has missed only one cut and he is perhaps the best form of his life right now.
Michael Campbell
Campbell has earned the right to be considered a chance in every event in which he plays. The US Open winner added yet another good week at his subsequent major appearance when 5th at the Open Championship. He was 14th at his last event in Germany and will not suffer from the same lack of self belief that he has had in previous times at this event. He now knows that a win in an event of this sort is not beyond him.
Luke Donald
Donald is not quite as sharp as he was earlier in 2005 when he showed he was one of the best emerging players in the game. If he is as good as that tag suggests he is then he can figure, but he too may suffer from a lack of brute length on a golf course that appears as if it will require power.
Darren Clark
Clark has played very well over the last few weeks when he has played on either side of the Atlantic. His last start at the Open Championship was solid and although he has had a very poor record in this event he might be a chance to run into a place, although victory seems beyond him.
Mark Hensby
Hensby has been the revelation in world golf in 2005. Every hurdle that has been placed in front of him he has cleared with ease. 5th at Augusta, 3rd at the US Open and 15th at the Open Championship, when on debut on each occasion, have been simply superb efforts. He followed that up again with yet another first in Sweden when he won his first European Tour start outside the majors just two weeks ago. His only PGA Championship start resulted in a 68th place last year but it is a fair bet to suggest he will go better this year.
Davis Love III
Love has not done a lot wrong this season even though his profile has taken a dive. He missed the cut at the Open Championship but was a very good 6th at the US Open. His very strange week when failing badly at the International though was out of the ordinary in an event where he has often played well. That is a concern.
Tim Clark
Clark has made huge strides in 2005. He has moved inside the top twenty in the world after starting the year in 74th place. He was 3rd in this event two years ago and was 3rd at the US Open two months ago. He also won the Scottish Open in Scotland a month ago and could possibly run into a top five here. Clark a good solid week last week in Colorado.
Justin Leonard
Leonard let a great chance to win last year slip but he has gone on to win twice in 2005 and in fact his lead up form here is no worse that when he so nearly won in 2004.
Fred Couples
Couples has played sparingly in 2005 but when he has he has often done well. He was 3rd at St Andrews, 15th at the US Open and 2nd at the Memorial. He is a big event player although this event has proven to be a bit of a problem for him with only three top tens in twenty three starts.
Scott Verplank
Verplank is playing well but his record in majors generally is not good. He has produced some very good weeks in 2005 but he has not won an event in more than four years. He is one of the game’s great putters but he will need to be.
Colin Montgomerie
Montgomerie may be a risk given his injury in Scotland last week but he is back close to hi bets with his runner up placings at St Andrews and the European Open. If he is fit he might so well here.
Sean O’Hair
O’Hair, like Mark Hensby, has taken everything new in his stride in 2005. He is a genuine future star of the game and might just be a surprise packet this week. He is quite long from the tee which will be of assistance around Baltusrol. His putting though needs improvement but if he can have a good week on the greens then he has some chance of a good finish. His 15th place on debut at the Open Championship gives some indication of his ability to handle new situations.
The Leading Australasians
Stuart Appleby
Appleby is not really in good enough form to threaten here it would appear. He has now missed his last two cuts and will need some sort of turnaround if he is to reproduce the form that saw him record one of his best major performances when 4th in 2000.
Robert Allenby
Allenby improved two weeks ago when 4th at the Buick Open but missed the cut in Colorado last week. He needs a very good week if he is to stake a claim for consideration for a Captain’s pick in the Presidents Cup Team. I can’t be convinced that is going to happen however.
Nick O’Hern
O’Hern has the accuracy to keep him out of the thick rough this week but may struggle with the length of the course. He is a much improved player this year though and now has ’major’ experience on his side. He did miss the cut last week in Colorado but it would pay not to read too much into that.
Peter Lonard
Lonard returns from three weeks off, much of which he has spent at home in Australia. His recent form has been only fair, the last of which was when he faded over the final 36 holes at the Open Championship. To have such a lengthy break leading into this week is a strange lead up.
Rod Pampling
Pampling had a good solid week in the event he was defending in Colorado. The last few weeks have not been good to Pampling comparatively but he showed earlier in the year when 5th at Augusta that he can contend at near this level. A very good week here could also attract the attention of Gary Player, the International Presidents Cup captain, adding a further incentive for him to do well.
Geoff Ogilvy
Ogilvy was 5th at the Open Championship by far his best ever effort in a major. When making the cut at last week’s International Ogilvy recorded his 12th consecutive cut which further highlights the progress he has made in 2005. If he was the best of the Australasians this week it would not surprise. His lack of accuracy from the tee might be the biggest hurdle he has to overcome.
Richard Green
Green has undertaken a strange preparation for this event playing in Michigan then rushing back to Gleneagles then back here to New Jersey over the last two weeks. He has played well until placing this demanding schedule on himself making 23 consecutive cuts before missing in Michigan before finishing 62nd at Gleneagles.
Steve Elkington
Elkington is the last Australian to win a major and that was in this very event ten years ago. He is playing quite well of late, appearing to be fully fit and he certainly has a chance to be leading Australian.
