2015 PGA Championship

Pete Dye’s Whistling Straits course along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline, with what looks like a million bunkers and zero trees, in a lot of ways is just like the Scottish links courses, most notable St. Andrews’ Old Course. But Whistling Straits is more beautiful than the typical links courses, lush and green and receptive. Sorry, St. Andrews, but it’s true.

I can see why so many tour players enjoy playing here, and we’ll get to see it again in the 2020 Ryder Cup. But for now we can enjoy the play in the 2015 PGA Championship being contested there. Great scoring coupled with the ever-present possibility of making big numbers. The leaderboard after two rounds is loaded with scores from Matt Jones’ minus 11 down to the eleven tied at minus 4, thirty-one players within seven shots. Stories? Tiger missed another cut; John Daly did his Tin Cup thing with multiple balls in the water followed by a water-flung 6-iron into Lake Michigan; Jordan Spieth got back into the hunt with a 67 on Friday; Dustin Johnson had a Friday meltdown; Phil and Bubba struggled haphazardly around the Straits with more birdies and bogeys than pars; and Rory demonstrated that his sprained ankle wasn’t an issue. I love golf, both playing and watching. And now that I’m taking an extended vacation from the playing, I still have the thrill of viewing stellar play and stellar courses like Whistling Straits.