What is the PGA Championship, and what should it be?

[Carl Rogers]

The last major should be an international affair, in keeping with the globalization of the game.

Every effort should be made to hold it on very different types of courses.

I keep wondering how much longer will American hegemony be tolerated by the rest of the world?

I,too, like match play.

[V. Kmetz]

In my last contribution to this topic, back in May I isolated that month as the best to reinvigorate this tournament:

Then revisiting the topic, what Jeff Warne said struck me, and I am even more "steeled" in my thinking that without any change of format and the same general rota of courses, this tournament would bump a gazillion Q points if it was played three to four weeks after the Masters in May.

"It's the 4th best major..." - Respectfully Jeff, no, it just comes fourth on the calendar, where there is no chance for a Grand Slam except once every 25 years and where nearly the same exact field plays the week before at Firestone, and just two weeks before that, overseas.  And the only custom by which you can say that without challenge is that it is, currently, so CLEARLY #4, that the matter isn't capable of question.  Tell us what's the 3rd, and you're going to get a three-party debate.

"One of the majors has to be" - I don't find that to be true when I think of the Triple Crown in Horse Racing and in your own remark, "The first three majors each have their own unique identity."  Why? and if they do, why can't the PGA... why can't the PGA be the one that goes for two weekends?  54 holes of stroke play, with a 36 hole cut and a massive international field, to establish a 16 or 32 man match play field the next weekend.

"Still a great spot to be in." - No it isn't, August precludes a lot of climate sites from hosting, there's a bit of seasonal fatigue in the playing public, which is also the viewing public, and as I said, the golf junkies have been getting their tournament fix in the preamble weeks.  In many Eastern and Northern environs, it is a vacation month and a family month.

"Many of the suggested formats would risk it falling out of major status." - I agree with this moreso than any other item of your post, but I still think a creative solution could be made to create a bounty of what is now, a deficit...a medal play format that traditionally doesn't test with the scoring rigor or course excitement of the other three majors."

'It's fine." - To me, it's not; and though I see no consequence for either of our positions (I'm sure it will just roll on whether it moves dates or changes format or not) it's just slowly "disappearing" into the realm of the meaningless...another disposable event that doesn't linger long or well in the mind...the commercial sports machine churns on...

"The first three majors each have their own unique identity." - and this is perhaps WHY the PGA SHOULD NOT COME LAST IN AUGUST; the other three(3) will be fine if they were last, even if they were in August.  Of course the Masters has to be in April, so it can be first or second...(the PGA was played in February for a stretch) Perhaps, given the calls for international cognizance, the history of the game and its unique, venerated venues, it would be indeed appropriate to let the Open Championship conclude the Golf season.

"the PGA has some site similarities to the US Open,but it's not an Open" - precisely...why isn't it?

cheers

vk

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

On another, maybe related, question... Why does the PGA Championship avoid the West Coast?  It's been nearly 15 years (1998 at Sahalee) since the event has crossed the Continental Divide.  And, the next 5 years hold more of the same.

In fact, since the PGA switched to Stroke Play in 1958, it's been contested in the Mountain or Pacific time zones only 6 times:

1967 Columbine CC - Columbine, CO
1977 Pebble Beach GL - Pebble Beach, CA
1983 Riviera CC - Pacific Palisades, CA
1985 Cherry Hills CC - Cherry Hills Village, CO
1995 Riviera CC - Pacific Palisades, CA
1998 Sahalee - Sammamish, WA

[Michael Dugger]

I look at it as a more forgiving U.S. Open.

We let the players go out there and throw up some nice scores, rather than the blender that the U.S. Open is.

It's always a world class field played on a high quality, usually storied venue.

Nothing significantly different or better about it than the Tour Championship or the Players Championship.

But what are they suppose to do about it?  Play it at the same course every year?  

[Paul Gray]

A week of knock out match play would be my own personal ideal. Ensure it's seeded, much in the same way that a tennis tournament is, to ensure most of the top players progress whilst the odd early exit would provide the 'giant killing' excitement. By my reckoning one week allows you to have 128 competitors (50 best in the world plus 78 through Various means of qualifying maybe)

Ideally play it at the very best outside the U.S and Britain. Royal Melbourne is the first place to leap to mind but, given the matchplay format, you couldn't always ignore the big stadium courses. Variety therein could be an appealing characteristic, thus turning a lack of familiarity into a virtue. Give it a year on a stadium parkland course, the next go for something more traditional and so on and so forth. Held in the right locale, you could even flirt with the idea of more than one course for the week.

[Jud_T]

Paul,

Ever watch the Accenture match play?  While I would love a match play event,  at this level with today's depth of fields 18 hole matches are essentially a coin flip.  You're mathematically guaranteed to get a random final pairing.  I like VK's idea of a stroke play element followed by a match play section, a la the Amateur.  I think you need to get it down to a 5 or 6 day event though.