92nd PGA Championship Whistling Straits, in Kohler, Wisconsin, looks like a course from the British Open Rota and not a typical lush PGA Tour stop. The main difference is that you cannot bump and run your approach shots you must fly them in. The tee shots are demanding because there is plenty of out of bounds, hazards, fescue and over 1000 bunkers.
There is a chance for 30-40% rain Fri-Sat. The par 72 layout measures 7,507 yards. I doubt any 59's will be shot this week. If they play it all the way back, I project a winning score of around 284, but more than likely the PGA sets this up easy day one and day two and 280 which is -8 under par is more realistic.
YE Yang is the defending Champion, but the talk is still all Tiger. Last week was his worst performance as a professional. But, I don't think it was nearly as bad as it scored, because during the last two rounds Tiger tanked it, did not take his time on his shots and just wanted the tournament over with. I think he'll make the cut this week, but I'm not laying -240. We can see that he practiced after rounds last week, got to Whistling Straits early this week and is putting in plenty of prep time. He needs a good showing this week to get on the Ryder Cup by points or by Captains selection. I would think that if Tiger were to miss the cut, Pavin will not select him.
Also, do not like Tiger's pairings for the first two rounds, Vijay Singh and YE Yang. Neither are playing well and sometimes this is a key handicapping factor. I will not play Mickelson over Tiger, he is not sharp and if he doesn't play well he has a new excuse, the psoriatic arthritis.
[B]Adam Scott -130 [/B]vs Sergio Garcia
Sergio has announced that he will be taking 2 months off for much needed rest after this event. Which means he has no plans to play in the Ryder Cup, which means if he won this event he would be forced to play more? Not a good sign.
Scott and Sergio are super strikers of the golf ball and with a little bit of putting and short game be right in the hunt come Sunday. But, Sergio once again showed last week that he is struggling with the putter, not breaking 30 putts in any round last week at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. He averaged 30.5 putts for the week, while Scott averaged 28.5. Advantage Scott.
[B]Rickie Fowler -135 [/B]vs Camillo Villegas
Fowler has played very steady for most of the year and his game is sharp coming into the final major of the year. He was T33 last week, conversely Villegas was T71 at 11 over par and did not break 70 once.
There may be more to the story than we know. Villegas is caught in-between a legal battle involving Taylor-Made and Cobra and Villegas is being sued as well.
[B]Jerry Kelly -150 [/B]vs John Daly
Kelly a Wisconsin native has played this course more than most on the PGA Tour. Last week he showed solid form with a T3 at the Turning Stone Championship.
Daly is in this event because he is a former PGA Champion, not because of his current form. No brainer here.
[B]Louis Oosthuizen [/B]-130 vs Charl Schwartzel
A trend that I use occasionally that has produced winners in the past, including last year's PGA winner, is to look at the final two rounds on the weekend from the previous tournament. Oosty fired 68 and 65 to sneak into the Top 10, only a couple of other players matched or were better. In fact Oosty improved after each round, 72, 70, 68, 65. The Open Champion should like the look and feel of this week's PGA Championship, especially if the wind blows. Schwartzel has been burning matchup money consistently after the Masters and has not found his tee game.
[B]Edwardo Molinari -115 [/B]vs DJ Trahan [B]1st Round[/B]
Molinari won the Scottish Open last month and is a potential Ryder Cup Euro Team member, with solid results this season. Trahan has fallen off the map this year, missing the cut in 6 of L9 starts and not qualifying for any major this season. He is wild off the tee ranking 133rd in Driving Accuracy and I believe he will not find Whistling Straits to his liking.
