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.