My Five Takeaways from the 2016 PGA Championship

That's it. The 2016 major season has officially ended and what a year it was.  For just the fifth time in the last 81 years, four players captured their first major title in the same calendar year. Four truly deserving champions.  It's a little bittersweet that all the big tournaments are over, but now we can finally look forward to the Olympics (Playoffs?) Ryder Cup.  Anyways, here are my five takeaways from the season's final major.  Enjoy.

5. Weather shakes things up.

(AP Photo/Mike Groll)

The 2016 PGA Championship began on Thursday and carried into Friday with everything pretty much going according to plan.  Saturday came along though and proved to be very frustrating for both players and fans.  Heavy downpours caused afternoon groups to barely play a hole or two, with some not teeing off at all.  At different points during the afternoon it looked as though there would be clear patches to play through but storms just kept coming. There were several different options, but the PGA decided to play 36 holes on Sunday and that’s just what they did, starting at 7am.  In what was just over a 12-hour day, the championship concluded with a marathon that would not have been possible without the work of the Baltusrol grounds crew and staff.

4. Missed cuts from big names.

(Getty Images)

5 of the top 20 golfers in the world missed the cut this week, highlighted by tournament favorites Rory McIlroy (4^th) and Dustin Johnson (2^nd).  Dustin played exceptionally poor by his standards right out of the gate, and never recovered on Friday.  Rory had a chance to make the cut, standing in the 18^th fairway on Friday afternoon.  But a wayward second shot and several bad chip shots dropped him below the cut line in disappointing fashion.  Even Mr. Consistency Matt Kuchar failed to play the weekend.  For Dustin this was a bit of a fluke in relation to this year, but Rory has just not been able to piece together any sort of momentum throughout the season.  A big part of this has to do with his putting, which has failed him miserably, especially from the 10-15 foot range.  Other notables this week included Sergio Garcia, J.B. Holmes, Chris Wood, and Shane Lowry.

3. Baltusrol lived up to its reputation.

(Getty Images)

Just your old fashioned, tough, major caliber golf course.  Baltusrol played as such a venue should, challenging players on the front nine and leaving some opportunities down the stretch on the back nine.  It’s unique feature of back to back par-5s to close out made for some great action throughout the entire tournament, particularly on Sunday afternoon.  The course’s layout really made the field think this week as we saw a lot of irons and woods off the tee to ensure accuracy.  It’s honestly one of the things I look for in a course that hosts a major championship—to be able to bring out the creativity in players instead of allowing them to rip the driver every single hole.

2. Jason Day continues major championship success.

Yawn.  Another major, another top-10/top-5/runner-up for Jason.  His 2^nd place finish on Sunday marked his third top-10 in a major this season, and his 13^th overall in 25 career tries.  That’s right.  Jason Day has finished in the top-10 in over half of the majors he’s ever played in, with only 3 missed cuts.  Day becomes just 1 of 14 players this season to make the cut in all four majors, leading the group with the only cumulative score under par at -9.  What really continues to impress me though is how mundane it’s become, as if it’s almost natural that he continues to play well on golf’s biggest stages.  He is one of the frontrunners of the next generation that I feel has a great chance to win the career grand slam.

P.S. – This is hands down the shot of the year.  It’s going to fly completely under the radar because he didn’t win but given the circumstances, given the conditions, you won’t find a better one this season.  2 iron from 260 yards uphill to set up eagle.  Stupid, stupid stuff.

1. Jimmy Walker is a major champion.

(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Well, cross another one off the list of guys good enough to win a major that hadn’t done so.  Jimmy Walker becomes the 5^th straight first time major winner and did so in very impressive fashion.  His wire-to-wire victory was the first at a PGA Championship since Phil Mickelson did so at the same venue in 2005.  All throughout his final round he looked calm and collected, and played a consistent round that was mistake-free.  He didn’t dazzle us, but he got the job done and executed everything according to his game plan.  Walker has been on some kind of run the last three years, capturing his first PGA Tour victory at 34 years old in the fall of 2013.  Since then, he has collected 5 additional wins, including that coveted major championship this past Sunday.  A great win for a terrific player.  Jimmy Walker, 2016 PGA Champion.

My Five Takeaways from the 2016 Open Championship

The 2016 Open Championship has come and gone and I'm pretty sure most of us are speechless at what took place, especially over the final two days.  Two men in their forties played some of the best golf that the game has ever seen.  Troon was also a fantastic venue to watch on TV because it really exposed some of the world's best players.  The Open Championship is always a tough test for anyone involved, and like all major tournaments it is surrounded by story lines.  Here are my five takeaways from this year's tournament:

5. I’m officially a fan of Andrew Johnston.

(Getty Images)

A lot of people may not know who Andrew Johnston is since he only burst onto the scene fairly recently.  The 27 year old Englishman, known as “Beef,” plays primarily on the European Tour. With his first win back in April he moved up the World Ranking, allowing him to play in both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship this past weekend.  Johnston seems to be a very likable guy, and his personality along with a very solid talent has already made him a popular player.  This won’t be the last time we see Beef in a major, but we can only hope he finds his way onto the PGA Tour someday.  Johnston finished solo 8^th.

4. Royal Troon: a tale of two nines.

(Getty Images)

The back nine played MUCH harder than the front nine this week.  The other day I remember seeing some ridiculous stat from Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) of Golf Channel. It said that in the previous two Opens at Royal Troon, the front nine played -28 while the back nine played +2,131.  The 11^th hole (seen above) in my opinion was one of the hardest looking holes I’ve ever seen, with a blind tee shot and railroad just steps to the right of the fairway. Rickie Fowler, my pick to win this week, made an 8 at the 11^th on Saturday that ended his Open abruptly.   Both Stenson and Mickelson’s success this week stemmed in large part from how well they played the back nine.

3. I’m convinced no one will ever break 63 in a major.

At the 1973 U.S. Open Johnny Miller set the all time single round major scoring record at 63.  Since then, the score has been reached 27 times but never broken.  The most recent was of course Phil Mickelson on Thursday, who came just about as close as anyone has ever come.  Phil rolled a mid range putt on the 18^th hole that curled around the back of the cup and stopped just outside to give him a 63.  It was crushing to watch, and had to have been that much more heartbreaking for Phil.  To be honest, I wanted it to drop partially because Johnny Miller wouldn’t be relevant anymore.  But anyways, it’s stuff like this that makes me truly believe that 62 is impossible to achieve.  Even Henrik Stenson, who made 10 biridies on Sunday, failed to break 63 after bogeying two other holes.  It’s a bit of a hot take, but I just can’t see it happening.

2. Another runner-up finish for Phil.

(Belfast Telegraph)

Second place is starting to get pretty synonymous with Phil Mickelson.  While most of his runner-ups have come at the U.S. Open, the others have been scattered throughout his career.  The most recent came yesterday of course.  Here’s the thing about yesterday.  Phil played beyond well enough to win.  So well in fact that his final score of -17 would have won all but 4 Open Championships...just 4 of the 145 times this tournament has been held!  If you told me that Phil, who started the day one shot back, would shoot 65 on Sunday and lose, I would’ve thought you were out of your mind.  Phil didn’t choke at all, he did everything he could possibly do.  It just wasn’t enough.

1. Henrik Stenson gets his first major.

(Matt Dunham/AP)

We may never witness another round like that in our lifetime.  No, seriously.  What Henrik Stenson did on Sunday at the 2016 Open Championship should go down as one of the five best rounds of all time, given the conditions and the circumstances.  Stenson and Mickelson had separated themselves from the rest of the field on Saturday, so going into Sunday everyone knew it would be a two man race.  And boy was it ever.  Going shot for shot, the two “old guys” fed off of each other and gave fans a spectacle like no other.  Stenson had to play the round of his life to hold off Phil, and he did just that by firing a 63.  He birdied 10 of his 18 holes. Stenson set the Open Championship scoring record and tied the all time major scoring record at -20.  He becomes the fourth straight first-time major winner, and the first male Swedish player to win a major.  He is my pick to win the PGA Championship in a couple weeks, and he should certainly be a favorite after a performance like that.

Top 5 Moments of the 2016 MLB Season: Second Quarter

We’ve just crossed over the halfway mark in this 2016 season so as promised, it’s time to fire up some more top moments.  This was fun to throw together just like the first edition, and as always these are my own opinions.  So here are the top five moments we saw from the second quarter of the 2016 season. Enjoy!

5. The Baltimore Orioles set the MLB record for home runs in a single month.

On June 30^th, Hyun Soo Kim’s home run against Seattle propelled the Orioles past the 1996 Athletics for the most home runs hit in a single month.  Baltimore put up 56 in June, passing Oakland’s previous mark of 55.  The Orioles certainly have one of the better lineups in the American League, and a big part of their success from a power standpoint has been the addition of Mark Trumbo, who currently shares the MLB lead with Kris Bryant at 24 home runs.  It’s certainly an impressive feat and I’m sure AL pitchers are glad June is over.

4. Carlos Santana gives the Indians a franchise record 14^th consecutive win.

What a time to be a Cleveland fan. I don’t think anyone has had it better in the sports world over the last few weeks.  On June 17^th, the Indians beat the White Sox 3-2, and on July 1^st, they took Toronto to the absolute limit to secure their 14^th straight win. In the top of the 19^th inning, Darwin Barney (a Toronto infielder) gave up a solo shot to Carlos Santana that would deliver a Cleveland win.  The Indians have been the hottest team in baseball for almost three weeks now, and are starting to run away with the AL Central.  With so much history for a team that hasn’t won a championship in nearly 70 years, it was really cool to see them piece together a run like that.

3. Pete Rose gets inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

(Jamie Saban/Getty Images)

This was long overdue in my opinion.  Pete Rose has been the center of controversy for a number of years now and rightfully so.  Nevertheless, with 4,256 career hits, he is without question the greatest contact hitter this game has ever seen.  He had a Hall of Fame career, but his actions both on and off the field led to a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball.  On June 25^th though, Rose was inducted into the Reds’ own Hall of Fame to commemorate such an outstanding and influential career.  Here’s my take on Pete Rose.  He belongs in the Hall of Fame. He does not belong in Major League Baseball. Period.  The Hall of Fame and the MLB are not connected at all, and it is absolutely vital to put one of the game’s greatest, if not the greatest, hitters of all time inside.  His actions were illegal under MLB code, and for that reason he should never be allowed back in baseball.  But to keep him out of the Hall of Fame? It’s just wrong.

2. Ichiro Suzuki collects his 4,257^th professional hit.

He is our generation’s Pete Rose.  Perhaps the greatest contact hitter I have ever seen in my lifetime.  On June 15^th, Ichiro doubled off Fernando Rodney to register his 4,257^th professional hit, between his service time in Japan and the MLB.  With all milestones come some controversy though, as many wondered if Ichiro had dethroned Rose as the MLB’s new hit king.  Simply put, he’s not.  Rose is still the guy.  Unfortunately, Ichiro came into the league a little bit later on in his career than many others do so he will never be able to reach the MLB mark.  If he had played in America all along though, who knows?

1. Miami and Atlanta square off in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

This is a really awesome story from this past Sunday.  Over the last couple of months, a baseball stadium had been under construction at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina.  The stadium saw the first ever professional sports contest to be held at an active military base and it was truly something special to witness.  12,500 of the base’s troops, friends and family were on hand to witness the historic event.  It added a great touch to Fourth of July weekend as America’s pastime blended with America’s armed forces.

Honorable Mentions:

Mark Teixeira hits his 400^th career home run.

Adrian Beltre records his 1500^th career RBI.

The Angels tag the Red Sox for 21 runs.

The White Sox tie the MLB single-game home run record with 7.