It has been interesting to see the tour pros and their Southern Hills sand struggles in the PGA Championship. It reminds me of what I see at clubland in the Saturday comp. Apparently the granular nature of this yellow river sand with its many pebbles is messing with their ability to generate any spin from the traps. Many of these world best touring professionals have been unable to adjust their game to this new challenge on day one. Adam Scott had an absolute shocker from a greenside bunker which ended up miles away and almost in the hazard. Adam double bogied this hole and things went further south from there in his opening round.

The 2022 PGA Championship

Will Zalatoris looks very good in this major, once again, as he is making a habit of playing well in the majors. Rory McIlroy fired a great first round 65 to put him in real contention for the PGA Championship of 2022. Tiger Woods is limping his way around another major and doing his best to hang in there. Southern Hills looks a tough test over four days, with holes having been lengthened in an attempt to keep up with the pros’ length off the tee and the high-tech equipment. Cam Smith had a solid opening round 67.

Second Day at Southern Hills

Zalatoris continues on in his fine form and getting the best conditions in the afternoon. The strong winds died away, and the course played easier. Mito Pereira and Will Zalatoris both fired great rounds to sit atop the leaderboard. It was hard going in the morning in high winds and Justin Thomas played really well in these conditions. Bubba Watson turned the clock back for a rare fine round at the PGA Championship for him. Tulsa, Oklahoma is the host city for this major golfing event.

Australians who made the cut were Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, Jason Day, and Cameron Davis right on the number at 4 over par. Min Woo Lee shot a 5 over. Adam Scott 7 over. Matt Jones 10 over par and they missed the cut.

History tells us that players who have the lead after 36 holes at Southern Hills go on to win. So, Will Zalatoris could be a good thing to register his first major victory. However, Justin Thomas is only 3 shots back from the lead and Rory McIlroy is 5 back. They didn’t cut the greens on day two because of the predicted high winds. I suspect that the course will be set up tougher on the final two days and the current scores of between 6 and 9 under may well win it.

©GolfDom