Photo: Instagram/pgachampionship
(Podcast length 4:21 mins)
Golfers have caddies to up their game and you have us. Let's dive into the PGA Championship.
Transcript
1. Yes, it's a little odd that the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) Championship is the only "championship" in sports in the middle of the season. It wasn't always that way. Citing weather and the inability to compete with the NFL season's allure, the tournament moved from the season's final Major to the spring. Technically speaking, it's not a championship but simply a tournament name. The Championship isn't just any 'ol tournament; players have to qualify by meeting criteria that includes, but are not limited to, winners of the last five U.S. Opens, Masters and Players Championships and the top 70 leaders in official money standings on the PGA Tour. MAKE IT HAPPEN
2. Initially slated for Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey, this year's Championship will be hosted at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, OK. Southern Hills was slated for the 2030 Championship, but the PGA moved the tournament to Tulsa after the capital insurrection on January 6, 2021. This will be the fifth Championship hosted by Southern Hills, the first golf course to host five PGA Championships. It is estimated that the Championship will have an approximate $120 million impact on the combined Tulsa and Oklahoma economies. FIFTH TIME’S A CHARM
3. One person happy about playing at Southern Hills is tournament favorite and Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, who says the course is his favorite. Scheffler will be competing in a field of 156 golfers, which includes Tiger Woods. Woods won the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. Not in the field of 156 is Phil Mickelson. Mickelson was slated to play but dropped out this week. Rumors suggest he dropped out to prep for playing in the new Saudi-backed league that he previously criticized. Mickelson has lost over $40 million in gambling over the past four years, so maybe he's upping his game to a league with higher earnings? ALL THE DRAMA
4. The biggest tournament in golf, The Masters, is known for its cheap concessions. We're talking $5 beer and $1.50 sandwiches. Well, the Championship is not The Masters, with fans taking to social media to complain about the $18 beers and $6 water. Fans can bring in one sealed bottle of water per person. (Also, the $18 beer is a 25 oz. beer, so there's that). GOOD TO THE LAST DROP
5. The cherry on top of an already exciting week of golf has a charitable element. Two of music's biggest names, Eric Church and Pitbull, will be headlining two separate private concerts to benefit local and PGA-related charities, including First Tee Tulsa, Tulsa Day Center, Tulsa Dream Center and PGA Reach. TIME OF OUR LIVES
BONUS: Let's get a bit technical. If you've ever watched golf, the broadcasters have talked about making "the cut." The cut means that not everyone makes it to the weekend. In the Championship, of the 156 players that start, only the lowest 70 scores will make it to play on Saturday and Sunday for a chance at the win.
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