User ID
  Forgot User ID
or Register Today!
Betting Tools

PGA Championship could use separation

Join Now





``They come fast and quick once the U.S. Open hits,'' Graeme McDowell said.




Ten days later, he won his first PGA Championship.

``They used to have the British Open and the PGA back-to-back, which was really kind of silly,'' Nicklaus said. ``I was fortunate to be able to get back.''


``It was a big change,'' Nicklaus said. ``I think a lot of the guys got back, and I think they were probably pretty tired from the British Open and I think they were pretty tired from ... the weather just absolutely beat them down. I guess I was a young guy and I handled those conditions pretty well.''


But the PGA Championship can do better - not only for the players, but for the marketing of a major that lags well behind the other three in popularity.

McDowell was trying to pay a compliment to the PGA Championship last year at Firestone when the truth got in the way. Asked about the final major of the year, he said, ``There's not a guy standing on the range that wouldn't put it head-and-shoulders over any tournament in the world - apart from the other three major championships.''





There are roughly two months before the U.S. Open, and then a month before the British Open - and barely time for a nap before the PGA Championship.

``It is quick,'' Padraig Harrington said after the British Open. ``You think of the guys who are going to play next week (in Canada) and that's four big tournaments in a row. It's a lot of golf. The great thing about being at the PGA and the U.S. Open is they tend to set the course up very uniformly. You can definitely go play these tournaments from a yardage book. ... We know what we're going to get.''




Here's why October works.


In between would be the final major of the year - a real ``Super Bowl'' to end the U.S. season.

For those who care nothing about golf except for the majors - and it's a larger population than the PGA Tour wants to believe - this gives them one last event to anticipate in the fall. And in Ryder Cup years, the matches could be played in August instead of a month later. That could help avoid weather issues, particularly in Europe. The only concern is shrinking daylight, though the PGA could reduce the field. Even at 124 players, it would still be the strongest of the majors.

Here's why it probably won't happen.

``I assume these things are based on TV ratings, financials, things like that,'' Harrington said.



``That's true. They don't look like they need (money) that week,'' Harrington said. ``But it's all part of making a tournament prestigious. If they move it to October, could they make it a bigger tournament? Who knows? But it wouldn't be a bad thing for us.''

It wouldn't be a bad thing for anyone who loves golf.

The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2014
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

News: 2015 Golf Major Props
Stricker has surgery to alleviate hip pain
Masters races to keep field under 100
The shots that defined the majors
Scott picks Kerr to be new caddie
Willett narrowly earns spot in Masters
Golfer, 103, may be oldest to record ace
India's Arjun Atwal wins Dubai Open
Open goes back to The Australian course
MORE HEADLINES Gold Membership
corner graphic
2014 VI College Bowl Betting Guide