What a strange final day at the PGA at Southern Hills.
A group of nervous players lacking major experience tossed the Wanamaker Trophy to one another and kept dropping it in turn, before Justin Thomas stepped forward and said: ‘Well, if you don’t want it…’
Here are some other talking points.
Justin Thomas beat Will Zalatoris in a play-off to win the US PGA Championship on Sunday
1. A Good week for English golf
Yes, the longest drought goes on. By the time the next PGA is staged in upstate New York it will be 104 years since the last English winner.
But four players in the top 13 and ties is not exactly terrible, is it? It was disappointing that a different Matt Fitzpatrick turned up after an exceptional first three rounds but that can happen when you have never been close to the lead in a major.
He is just 27 and one of those studious, fiercely ambitious types who will learn and be ready when the next chance comes along.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood ended three under at Southern Hills
Incidentally, the next major to be staged is the US Open at Brookline — where he just happened to become the first Englishman in 102 years to win the US Amateur in 2013. Tommy Fleetwood followed up his best finish at the Masters (14th) with his best finish at the PGA (tied fifth, with Fitzpatrick) and had a cute line as to whether this meant he is back to his best.
‘If I can continue this trend at the next two majors, it will certainly be a good summer!’ said the man who has finished runner-up in the US Open and the Open. Too much can be read into five birdies in the last seven holes to clamber over a great many bodies but there were lots of encouraging signs for Fleetwood.
Good to see Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose (both tied 13th) book their exemption spots next year as well and set themselves up for the majors to come.
2. A tale of two caddies
Leeds United fan Billy Foster, the veteran bag man for Fitzpatrick, must have been wondering whether the stars were aligned when his day began with his football team’s unlikely survival.
Over the last 40 years, the man who carried the bag for players of the stature of Seve Ballesteros, Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn and Lee Westwood has done everything in the game bar win a major.
While the Yorkshireman left the scene following yet another nearly moment, Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, who caddied for Phil Mickelson for 25 years, was collecting the traditional winner’s flag from the 18th green while his employer Justin Thomas was revealing what happened on Saturday night, after he had shot a third-round 74.
Thomas’ victory was inspired by a pep talk from his caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay
Bones had forcefully taken Thomas to one side and told him that he had no chance of winning if he continued to be so hard on himself.
‘I wouldn’t have won without his rallying call,’ said Thomas. There are some who think caddies get paid too much, with Bones collecting $260,000 for his part in the American’s win. Clearly, Thomas is not among them.
3. Classy Mito
Who knows what will happen next to Mito Pereira, the gentle Chilean who did what is known in the vernacular as a ‘Van de Velde’ with his double bogey at the 18th to throw away the PGA.
Like the Frenchman at Carnoustie in 1999, the 27-year-old was a class act in dealing with his loss, as he made the television rounds and spoke with brutal clarity about his prolonged attack of nerves.
I got invited by Jean van de Velde to a barbecue at his French chateau in the days that followed his Open meltdown, where I listened to him tell funny stories as he tried to put it all in perspective.
Chile’s Mito Pereira looked set to win a first major title but double-bogeyed the 18th
But you could see the pain in his eyes. Let’s wish Mito well. He has got some hard days and weeks ahead.
4. Major winners with a ‘Z’ in their name
It has long been a staple question at pub quizzes, and if you would like to have a bash at the 11 names, I won’t reveal them until the end.
But it surely will not be long before the list becomes a round dozen.
Everyone goes on about the weakness of Will Zalatoris when standing over 5ft putts, but if you have got the mental strength to cope and still achieve what he has over the last couple of years, you are going to get the job done one of these days.
What a ball striker, too, and just 25. It is becoming ridiculous how many good young Americans there are.
