The PGA Championship returns to Whistling Straits on Thursday for the final Major Championship on the golfing calendar. The 97^th edition of the event returns to the man-made links of Wisconsin for a third time, bringing with it the highest quality field of any Major this year.

  Owned by American billionaire and Wisconsin native Herb Kohler, this stunning golf course has had quite the transformation since its days as a US Army antiaircraft training facility. The land was once flatter than a computer screen; so flat, in fact, it was home to a lengthy runway to help facilitate the influx of planes coming and going.

  It took the vision of the aforementioned Kohler, as well as chief designer Pete Dye, to put together one of Americas most beautiful and unique golf courses. Replacing the flat landscape is a golf course full of bunkers – over 500 in total – that vary in width and depth. Each of them offers a different challenge: some are 10 feet below the fairway and require great thought just to reach the green; many are above the green and require the deftest of touches to get up and down. They’re as much a part of the landscape as cheese is on a cheap pizza, dotted about everywhere without covering up the entire surface of the course.

  It goes without saying that much of the inspiration for the course comes from British & Irish links courses. Kohler is clearly smitten with many of their design features and personality; he’s admitted several times that his vision was to get back to the roots of the game, the very essence of where golf came from.

  In contrast to the Irish-inspired course is the most American of landmarks: the vast and beautiful Lake Michigan. Eight of the holes run alongside the lake, helping to make it one of the most visually arresting golf courses you’re likely to find. These holes can and will provide extra intimidation for the players, knowing that one bad swing will result in your ball spending the rest of its days getting confused looks from some of Lake Michigan’s wildlife can be unnerving.

  One thing you can be sure of is Whistling Straits providing some late drama - in the two previous PGA Championships hosted here both were won via play-off. The 2004 PGA edition was contested by eventual winner Vijay Singh and American’s Chris DiMarco & Justin Leonard. Then, six years later, Martin Kaymer pipped Bubba Watson in another tense play-off. That was also a tournament shrouded in controversy – Dustin Johnson played himself in to what he thought would be a three man play-off only to be penalised two shots for grounding his club in a bunker. Exciting times should lie ahead in 2015!

  That drama comes from the course being such a hard yet fair test, attracting both low scoring and complete disaster in equal measure. In 2010 the average score per 18 holes was 72.94, just under a stroke over the par score of 72. Compare this to the most recent US Open at Chambers Bay, which many believe overstepped the boundary between fair and punitive, and you see a clear difference: Chambers Bay’s par was 70 and the average score was 72.77, almost 3 full shots over. These figures clearly illustrate that if players play well then the opportunity for scoring is going to be there, if they don’t they’ll be punished.

  Every player will aim to be in a relatively commanding position coming down the final four holes on Sunday. If they’re not and they need to go through that stretch level-par or better then it’ll be a real struggle. In 2010 the average score for the 15^th, 17^th and 18^th were all over par, the 18^th being the toughest hole on the entire course. As is so often the case, the majority of the scoring was done on the par 5’s, of which there are 4. Failure to come through those without some decent scoring will greatly inhibit a players ability to go low. 

  Harrison Ryle

  harrison.ryle@foremostgolf.com

Chris Wood stormed to victory at the Lyoness Open yesterday to claim his second European Tour win. The Englishman shot a bogey-free final round 67 to finish 2 shots clear of Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello.

Gregory Bourdy had led entering the final round and, after a birdie on the first hole, looked like he was well set to secure the victory. However, the optimism was short lived and he would double bogey the second hole, eventually carding a 78 to finish outside of the top 5. 

It was left then to the 27 year old Wood to hold his nerve and secure a win that had been a long time coming.

So, what was in Chris' bag?

Fabian Gomez earned his maiden PGA Tour victory at the St.Jude Classic in Memphis. The Argentine shot a final round 66 to finish four shots clear of Englishman Greg Owen, another player looking for his first PGA Tour win. 

Owen was 2 shots clear of Gomez after 7 holes but was unable to match his playing partners level after the turn in what was eventually a fairly comfortable win for the 37-year-old. 

Phil Mickelson carded a 65 to finish in a tie for third. 

Finding a comparison to Tiger Woods in the entire world of sport is difficult. The breathtaking heights Woods reached in the early parts of his career, most notably from 2000-2001 when he won all four Major Championships in a row, had never been seen before and may never been seen again. Not even Jack Nicklaus, the only man who should ever be mentioned in the same breath as Woods, managed to achieve such a feat on the way to his 18 Major Championships. You can make reasonable arguments that Lionel Messi, Sachin Tendulkar or Roger Federer have all reached similar peaks in their respective sports but that doesn’t wash with me. Messi, great though he is, has had times during the peak of his career where people were unsure if he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo. The same logic applies to Tendulkar with Lara and Federer with Nadal.

I say this to illustrate how stunning it is for a fan of Tiger Woods, or a fan of golf in general, to see the greatest singular talent the sport has ever seen crumble like a poorly played game of Jenga. It tells a great deal about the current state of Woods’ game that we are unsure if the 80 he shot yesterday, in the first round of a tournament he has dominated previously, is the nadir. Everyone has bad days, every sportsman or woman has had days where they just don’t have ‘it’. Maybe they woke up on the wrong side of the bed or didn’t have a strong enough cup of coffee. This isn’t just one day though.

Ever since Woods won the US Open on one leg in 2008 he’s had trouble with his knee, Achilles and most recently, his back. There have been positives, he won 5 PGA Tour tournaments as recently as 2013, but they’ve been mixed in with the injuries that have crippled his progress. These issues have forced him to reconsider and reconfigure what was once the most beautiful swing in golf. To find the magic formula, the formula that he hopes will take him back to the top of the golfing world, he’s cycled through swing coaches like a rich man does boxer shorts (if you can afford it you only wear them once, right?)

The issues he’s having grappling with a new swing are clearly both physical and mental. Mentally, to me anyway, he looks shot. As a young man he always seemed content with the world, like there was nothing he’d rather do than be out on the course competing. He had this wonderful, light-up-a-room-when-he-walks-in sort of smile. Now, he looks like the stresses and strains that come with being one of the most over analysed human beings on planet Earth are taking their toll. He’s only 39, retirement age for athletes in most sports but young for a golfer, yet he looks about 50. He stands in front of the mic after another tough round and he looks exhausted, his eyes heavy and his shoulders slumped.

Then there’s the physical aspect of his game. Obviously those injuries are going to take a toll, they would on anyone, so if he had to make changes to his swing to prolong his career then so be it. He’s also much, much bulkier now than he was in his peak years. Back then he was fairly wiry and supple - his swing flowed beautifully like a piano concerto, all the individual parts blended together to compose the most graceful tune. Now it seems choppy, he can’t quite get the body to do as he wishes so he fights it throughout the swing. With his barrel chest and tree trunk arms he can’t get them to rotate like they once would.

It isn’t too late, of course. Anyone with the natural ability Tiger Woods had, and I assume still has somewhere, can conceivably achieve anything. I hope this was just another blip on a long road to where he wants to be.

We want the great athletes to end their careers by drifting slowly in to the night, Father Time eroding the skills they once possessed with every passing day. Tiger Woods is currently experiencing the exact opposite. That’s sad.  

 Other day 1 observations

•          Monty! – How about the 51 year old Colin Montgomerie shooting a one-under 69 to sit tied 14^th. He may have played better from tee to green than any other player, the only thing costing him a really low round was a couple of makeable putts he missed. This could be to do with the greens but I’ll discuss that in a moment.
•          Rory – He played average. His main issues came on the green where he seemingly couldn’t make anything all day. At +2 he’s got to put together a solid round tomorrow to ensure he isn’t too far from the leaders over the weekend.
•          Spieth – He shot a quietly impressive round of -2 to leave him in an excellent position. The only lower score during the afternoon was three-under so that underscores how happy he should be.
•          Stenson – The only European surrounded by a wave of Americans at the very top of the leaderboard, he’s got the perfect temperament to deal with the testing conditions so this could be the weekend he breaks his major drought.
•          The Greens – Several players were outspoken in criticising the greens. I must admit on television they looked very odd, I’ve never watched a golf tournament where it’s so difficult to distinguish between the fairway and the green. Obviously that doesn’t guarantee they play poorly but, judging by the opinions of those that have putted on them, they’re not in the best shape. Definitely something to monitor over the weekend. 

Harrison Ryle

harrison.ryle@foremostgolf.com

Rickie Fowler claimed his third victory of the season at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday. 

  It's been a breakout year for the 26 year-old California native, who showed the true extent of his potential with wins at The Players Championship & The Scottish Open earlier in the year. This victory didn't come easy though. 

  He was involved in a ding dong battle with Henrik Stenson for the entire round. The Swede held the lead until his tee shot found the water on 16, a disastrous stroke that ended up costing him a double bogey and in turn the Championship. 

  After a survey earlier in the year labelled him one of the most overrated players in golf, Fowler has bounced back with incredible poise and maturity to prove the doubters wrong. Until he wins a Major he’ll always be just shy of the McIlroy-Spieth-Day trio but he’s certainly a contender for best of the rest. If he carries this form in to next year you have to feel it’s simply a matter of time before he joins that illustrious group of golfs finest young talent. 

  So, what was in Rickie's bag?

  Driver: Cobra Fly Z+ (Matrix Prototype 70X shaft), 10.5 degrees

  3-wood: Cobra Fly Z+ (Aldila Tour Blue 73X shaft), 14 degrees

  5-wood: Cobra Bio Cell+ (Aldila Tour Blue 73X shaft) 18 degrees

  Irons: Cobra Fly-Z Pro MB (4-9; KBS C-Taper 125 S+ shafts),

  Wedges: Cobra Tour Trusty RF Grind (47-08, 51-08, 57-08 and 62-08 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts)

  Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Prototype

  Ball: Titleist Pro V1X

As the FedExCup play-offs took a break last weekend the onus was on the other tours to provide the headlines. 

On the European Tour Marcus Pieters saw off the challenge of Lee Slattery, winner of the Russian Open the previous week, to claim the KLM Open by one shot. Slattery had a putt on the 18th to force a play-off but could only miss left, handing the 23 year-old Pieters his second European Tour victory. 

Over in Thailand, pre-tournament favourite Kiradech Aphibarnrat won the inaugural Thongchai Jaidee Foundation tournament by a comfortable three strokes, continuing his excellent season. 

Sebastian Gros secured his full European Tour card for 2016 with victory at the Kazakhstan Open on the Challenge Tour. It's the sort of victory that can change a professional golfers life, offering them a springboard to bigger and better things in the future. 

18 year-old Lydia Ko became the second youngest winner of a Major Championship in the entire history of golf by winning the Evian Championship in France (the youngest, Young Tom Morris, was 17 years old when he won his first major, a tournament where only 12 people competed and his Dad, Old Tom Morris, finished in second place. So, yeah.) It took an incredible final-round 63 to win the fifth and final Major of the year for Ko, sending a warning signal to all of ladies golf that a dominant player may be emerging.  

What did all of these players have in common? They're all members of Team Callaway. The wins come with extra significance for Callaway because two of the players, Pieters and Aphibarnrat, won with the new Great Big Bertha Driver in their bags. 

Lydia Ko's Bag

  Jason Day cruised to victory at the BMW Championship to secure his spot at the top of the World rankings for the first time. The Australian was barely troubled over the four days; he came within a whisker of a 59 on Thursday before three more rounds in the 60’s left him 6 shots clear.

  With the win a formality much of the final day drama was focused on those trying to play themselves in to the top 30. Harris English, Daniel Berger, Scott Piercey and Kevin Na will all be at the TOUR Championship thanks to their performances over the four days. It was of particular significance to Engish who had finished 31^st and 32^nd over the last two seasons to just miss out on the lucrative season finale.

  On the equipment side of things the win will be a great boost to TaylorMade as Jason Day was using their new M1 driver.

  So, what was in Jason’s bag?

Jordan Spieth capped off one of the greatest seasons in recent memory with victory at the TOUR Championship. With the win he added the FedExCup to the 2 Majors he won earlier in the year. 

Starting the day a shot clear of Henrik Stenson, the 22 year-old rode his trademark putting to a final round 69 and a 9 under total, four shots clear of the field. 

There was much debate before the event about who should be crowned player of the year: should it be Spieth with his two Majors or the recently red-hot Jason Day? This performance should put all of those questions to bed. 

So, what was in Jordan's bag?

Summer has come and gone, Autumn is in in full swing and just over the horizon is the cold, wind, snow and rain of Winter. As golfers - calling myself a golfer might be generous - the winter can be a difficult time: attempting to play well when the wind is howling and you're being pelted by rain is tough even for the best players. 

Which is why we should all be thankful for the latest golf waterproofs from some of the games finest!

Above is the new Pro-Flex offering from ProQuip. As well as keeping you as dry as a bone, the Pro-Flex range is also made with Flex Technology: a premium stretch fabric that allows you the freedom of movement needed for your swing. 

It's available in both blue (as shown above) and grey if you're looking for something more muted. 

The new Galvin Green Albin is similar to its Pro Quip counterpart as it also guarantees a waterproof material without sacrificing playability. Gore-Tex stretch fabric is used to ensure you don't lose any of the flexibility and comfort you need to feel during your swing. Available in four different colours so there's plenty of choice.  

The Sunice Albany Classic has the classic look its name suggests it should. It claims to be 25% lighter and 25% stretchier than any GoreTex jacket available.

If you prefer something lighter then the Under Armour Armourstorm is the jacket for you. Don't let the lighter look fool you though, the Armourstorm technology makes it waterproof and breathable. 

Nike's offering is the Hyperadapt Storm-Fit, a jacket that's designed to repel wind, rain and snow so you can stay dry and comfortable. Also available in grey and blue.