PGA Championship 2014 – McIlroy aims to become the first player in 6 years to win back-to-back majors

Valhalla Golf Club is the location for the last major of the season, the 96^th PGA Championship. It will be the third time the Louisville, Kentucky course will host this particular major. It held the tournament in 1996 and 2000, with both tournaments needing a playoff to determine the winner.

Will McIlroy continue his momentum at Valhalla?

Rory McIlroy is the clear favourite coming into this tournament. His fine form at Hoylake in July helped him capture The Open title, the third major of his career. He followed that up with a fantastic performance at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational last weekend, opening his final round with four birdies on the first five holes to snatch the lead from Sergio Garcia and ultimately, take the title at Firestone.

With his form indisputable, the Holywood man will be looking to hit accurately off the tee on a course that will not be nice to wayward shots. In his PGATour.com preview of the Valhalla course, Mark Immelman suggested accuracy was the key when teeing off; “I believe that the really low scores will come from the guy who plays from the fairway. Players who miss the fairways in the correct spots should still be able to score but I believe that the long and accurate driver will have an advantage. So time spent on tightening up the accuracy with the driver will prove advantageous and I would highly recommend it.” McIlroy should take note of this. His season’s Driving Accuracy Percentage is 59.74%, leaving him in 116^th in the stat ranking.

The new World Number 1 has stated that he is in the best form of his life and he will be hoping to become the first player to claim back to back majors in six years. To win at Valhalla would be no mean feat for the Northern Irishman. It’s tough enough to win back-to-back titles in the space of a month but to win 3 in a row will be something special and in this age of golf (with a list of world class players) it could be one of the most significant streaks in the history of the sport. Then again leave it to the Irish to make something special (just ask Pádraig Harrington).

Never settle for being second best when you know you deserve to be first

That’s a saying that no doubt sums up Sergio Garcia presently. For the second tournament in a matter of weeks, Garcia played second fiddle to his fellow European. Last weekend, he dominated the first three rounds and fell flat on the fourth, a round that nearly cost him more than just the title. A wayward shot on the third, hit the engagement ring of a female spectator and sent the diamond loose into the long grass.

Garcia is probably the name that tops most journalists’ list of “Best player to never win a major,” a list Sergio will be hoping to come off of this weekend. He has all the attributes to win here at Valhalla. He also has the experience of playing at the Louisville course, as part of the ill-fated European team at the 2008 Ryder Cup and at this tournament in 2000 where he finished tied 34^th.

However, hearing him talk about the course would make one question his confidence. “I’m not going to lie to you. It’s not my favourite golf course in the world,” claimed Garcia ahead of the Bridgestone Invitational. If he wants to be in contention for the title, Garcia needs to forget about the past and concentrate on the challenge ahead. With Driving Accuracy Percentage at 63.95% and 70.11% Greens in Regulation Percentage, Garcia can make a substantial challenge to win his first major.

Tiger’s season in doubt

It was the sight that nobody was hoping to see, Tiger Woods crouching over with an expression of agony. After three months out of action due to back surgery, the unbelievable happened – Tiger withdrew from the Bridgestone Invitational with a back injury. At the time of writing, the former World Number 1 has not ruled himself out of this weekend’s tournament.

Woods is no stranger to short turnarounds, however, at 38 years old he seriously needs to consider whether competing at Valhalla will do him any favours in the long run. His season is effectively over. He would need to win this weekend to make the playoffs for the FedEx Cup. He would also need to play some spectacular golf over the next few weeks for captain, Tom Watson to consider picking the 14-time major winner for his Ryder Cup team.

As Steven Cook quite rightly posted in his column for Bleacher Report, it would serve Woods best to sit out the remainder of the season and prepare himself for Augusta next April rather than risk his health, and potentially his career, searching for that 15^th major title.

 Ones to watch

There will be plenty of talent on show this weekend at Valhalla Golf Club and there will be many players who will be wanting to make an impression ahead of the FedEx Cup playoffs and also the Ryder Cup.

Adam Scott (above) will be looking to build on from this tied eighth finish at Firestone and mount a challenge to win his second major title and regain the number 1 spot in the world. He has been impressive in the majors in the last four seasons (a win and eight top 10s). Expect to see the Aussie make a challenge at Valhalla.

Phil Mickelson has had a poor season this year but he will be happy with his fourth round performance at the Bridgestone Invitational, scoring a 62 to leave him at tied 15^th, scoring 10 birdies and bogeying two. He will relish his pairing of Tiger Woods, should his old rival make it to the tee.

Fellow American, Keegan Bradley will also be looking to make an impression in Louisville. A poor back 9 last Sunday cost the Vermont native his slim chance to claim the Bridgestone Invitational title. A good performance this weekend will boost his chances of making the Ryder Cup team. Although Keegan will undoubtedly be looking win back the title he won in 2011.

24-year-old Patrick Reed will be looking to win himself a belated birthday gift this weekend. A solid 9-under par at Firestone left him at tied-fourth, which included an impressive eagle shot on the par four 17^th. More displays like this will help the young man get his first major. With two wins under his belt so far this season, he will be looking to improve on his tied 35^th at the U.S. Open and his early exit from The Open in July.

With so much on the line this weekend, expect some good golf to be played with top scorers expected to go into double figures. Putting will be challenging as players come up against some difficult hole locations. However, this will make good viewing over the weekend for us spectators.

WGC Bridgestone Invitational – Tiger looking to capture past glory but Rory is the man on form

It’s the last stop before the final major (PGA Championship) of the season, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Tiger Woods won here last year earning him his eighth career victory at this particular tournament. This is a course he knows very well. Tiger will be looking to put behind him his recent lacklustre performance at The Open and try to make his way up the FedEx Cup rankings and also into the automatic points position for the Ryder Cup team.

This weekend’s tournament will be Tiger’s third since returning from back surgery. His first was at the end of June at the Quicken Loans National where he didn’t make the weekend cut. The second was his 69^th placed finish at Hoylake just two weeks ago. Woods knows he needs to raise his game if he wants to be in contention for the big prize at the end of the season, the FedEx Cup. He has also stated his intentions to be part of Team USA at the Ryder Cup in Gleneagles this September. However, Captain Tom Watson has stated that his game will need to improve dramatically if he is even to be considered as a captain’s pick.

You can never count out Tiger though. He has dominated here in the past. When he won the tournament back in 2000, Woods leveled Jose Maria Olazabal’s course record of 61. He also broke Olazabal’s tournament record, marking a score of 259 (-21) over the four rounds. To say Tiger has fond memories of this course is arguably an understatement. A positive mental attitude can help a player a long way, especially with such a narrow course like that at Firestone. It is set up nicely as a warm up for Tiger to go for victory and psych himself up to win that elusive 15^th major at Valhalla next week.

In his path to victory stands the contender to his golfing throne, Rory McIlroy. Fresh off his victory a fortnight ago at The Open, the Holywood native is looking to build on that victory and put himself in the frame to collect his second major this year (his career fourth) next week. A win at Firestone will set McIlroy up nicely for him to regain the major he won back in 2012 at Kiawah.

McIlroy put a poor year behind him in May when he won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, his first tournament win since 2012. Since then he has settled into his Nike clubs and has dropped a certain Danish tennis player from his side (two additions in his life which were cited by some as the cause of his substandard displays during 2013 and early 2014). His victory at The Open returned the discussion of him being a young golfer with huge potential and a bright future in the game and not of his poor game and missed opportunities.

The heavy hitter will have to look for accuracy this weekend rather than his power if he plans to keep his shots on the green. His greens in regulation have been 67.78% so far this season on the PGA Tour. His driving distance has been an average of 307.5 yards (third highest on the tour) and his accuracy 59.64% (125^th on the tour). It is a mixed bag but with the form Rory has been in, it would be hard not to see him at the top of the leaderboard come Sunday.

A name that may be somewhat of a dark horse to take home the win on Sunday evening is that of Matt Kuchar. A man who is under that list of great players to never win a major, the fourteen-year veteran is hitting that prime age to finally get his hands on a cherished major. He has had a solid season so far with nine top tens in eighteen events. He has a single win this season, the RBC Heritage back in April. His performances at the majors this year have been good with a tied 5^th at The Masters and a 12^th place finish at the U.S. Open with a poor tied 54^th at The Open.

Still “Kuch” (as he is affectionately known as on the tour), can look at his stats for this season with a smile. Driving accuracy at 67.65% and a putting average of .536 shows his game could be well suited to this course. The only aspect of his game that diminishes his chances is his driving distance (281.9 yards) and playing alongside McIlroy and his long distance driving, may dishearten him. He has two top 10 finishes at Firestone in the last four years. A good four rounds this weekend and he could be fighting for the top spot.

Rickie Fowler will be another name to keep an eye on this weekend. The 25 year old has had a varied season between low finishes and not even making the cut but has produced on the big stage. He tied for 5^th at The Masters and tied for 2^nd at both the U.S. Open and The Open. It will be intriguing to see how the young golfer goes into this tournament, head held high after two impressive performances in succession or deflated after getting so close to the prize. My money would be on the former, Fowler has improved over the years and will want to add another title to the lone tour title he won back in 2012, the Wells Fargo Championship.

There will be plenty of talking points after this weekend in the lead up to the PGA Championship next week but you can be sure that there will be some good golf played this weekend as players attempt to scramble up the FedEx Cup table and aim for a play-off place. While members of Team Europe and Team USA will be looking to get their names into the automatic places for September’s Ryder Cup. With so much on the line, it’s all to play for at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.