TheUSOpenatPebble
Beachwasagreat
spectacleandit
producedagreat
champion.Headingintotheweek,I
genuinelyhadnoideawhowould
prevailasit’sacoursethatisn’t
particularlysuitedtoany type of player.
Ifyoulookdownat
thelistofpast
winners,it’squitea
disparatecollection
ofgolferswith
differentattributes–
Woods,McDowell,
Watson,Kiteandso
on.It’snotahorses-
for-coursesplace.
IinterviewedGary
Woodlandonthe
Fridayafterhe’dtaken
theleadandasked
himhowhefeltaboutthefactthegolf
coursehadtakenawayhisbiggest
strength–powerhitting.Heactuallyfelt
theopposite–thatbecausehecouldhit
longironsfurtherthanmostonacourse
thatrequiredplacementoffthetee,he
hadanadvantage.Andsoitproved!
LastyearattheMemorialI stoodand
watchedWoodlandontherangeandhe
wasveryimpressiveindeed.I remember
thinkingatthetimethatitwouldn’t
surprisemeifhewentontowinaMajor.
Helookedsocalmandcomposedover
thoselast 36 holes,whichisimpressive
givenhehadn’treallybeeninthat
positionbefore.I wasfollowinghimboth
daysandheneverlookedlikehewas
goingtobuckle.OneofthethingsI do
whenI’monthegroundislookintoa
player’seyesandI feltaconfidence
whenI gazedtowardsWoodland.He
wouldhavebeennervous but he dealt
withitadmirably.
Heplayedsomegreatstuff,evenifhe
didhavetheoccasionalsliceofluck,and
holding off Brooks Koepka is verycommendable.I’mthrilledforhim,
becausehe’salovelypersonandhe’s
beenthroughsometoughtimesinhis
personallife,withhiswifegivingbirthtoa
stillborngirlin2017.He’sadelightfulfella.
SomethingI feelwarrantsdiscussion
istheMajorschedule.I couldn’thelpbut
feeltheUSOpencametoosoon,andthe
OpenChampionshipmightbedoneand
dustedbythetimeyoureadthis.This
season,a14-weekspanhascoveredall
theMajors.That’stoocondensed.The
USPGAmovingtoMayhasjammed
everythingupbetweenTheMasters and
TheOpen,likeabigoldroly-poly.
I’mnotsureitmakessensetohaveall
theMajorsbetweenAprilandJulywhen
professionalgolfisessentiallyplayedall
yearround.Inthelongrun,I feelhaving
themallsandwichedintheresoclose
mighttakeawayfromtheMajorsalittle
bit.Likeafinewine,theschedulecould
dowithbeinglefttobreathealittlemore.
TheotherwaytolookattheMajor
scheduleistofocusonthepositive
knock-on effects for the European Tour.TheFedExCupPlay-Offsusedtofinish
inSeptemberbutnowtheycometoa
conclusioninAugust,sothenewdate
fortheBMWPGAChampionshipat
Wentworthlooksafantasticone.The
latertournamentsontheEuropeanTour
schedulereallyhavethepotentialto
attract great fields,asplayerswillbe
abletotakesome
timeoffaftertheTour
Championshipand
makesurethey’re
refreshedforabigrun
betweenSeptember
andNovember.
Inthatspan,there
aremultipleEuropean
TourRolexSeries
events,theFinals
Series,theWGCin
Chinaandsomenew
high-purseAsian
eventsonthePGATour,sothatpartof
thegolfingcalendarlookspoisedtobe
asstrongaseverbefore.I genuinely
believewe’llseesomebigAmerican
namescompetinginEuropeanTour
eventsbetweenSeptemberand
November,andevenifit’sonlytwoor
three,thatsetsthewheelsinmotion for
moreoverthecomingyears.
Andintermsofhomeplayers,Justin
Rosehasalreadycommittedtothe
BMWPGAandtheItalianOpenand
PaulCaseyhasspokenaboutthefact
he’llbeplayingsomeEuropeanTour
eventslaterintheyear.KeithPelley
mustbeprettyhappy about how things
areshapingup.
Themovetooffervastlyincreased
prizemoneyforthewinnersinTurkey,
SouthAfricaandDubai–thelatter
comingwithawinner’schequeof£2.3m- alsolookslikeanexcellentonetome.
You’llrecallI mootedthatasanideaina
previouscolumn,notlongbeforethe
announcementcamefromthe
European Tour. Great minds and all that!
A former memberoftheEuropeanTourandtwo-timewinner,WayneispartoftheSkySportsgolfteam.HewritesexclusivelyforGolf MonthlyWAYNERILEY“Like a fine wine,the schedule coulddo with being left tobreathe a little”Illustration:
Peter Strain