REVIEW
Superb final round of three under par 69 sees Padraig finish in a tie for 4th at the PGA Championship. He got off to the perfect start when he hit it to seven feet on the par five 2nd hole for eagle and followed that with a birdie on the par four 4th hole where he hit it close. A couple of dropped shots followed but he picked up two more birdies to be out in three under par. He held on well coming home on the treacherous back nine with one birdie and a bogey to secure his highest finish in a Major in many years. Playing with his good friend Shane Lowry, they fed off each other as Shane also tied for 4th with Phil Mickelson rolling back the years to win. Five Major champions occupied the first four places.
Padraig plays another gritty round to be just outside the top twenty going into Sundays final round of the PGA Championship. On a day where the course somewhat relented, he got off to a nice start with a tap in birdie on the par five second hole but followed this with two dropped shots to be out in one over par. A dropped shot at the par three 13th was followed by a birdie at the par four 14th hole where he holed a nice putt. He then braced himself for the final gruesome run in which he covered in a very credible level par. He plays in the final round at 12pm local time, with Ryder Cup hopeful and good friend, Shane Lowry.
Padraig adds a very credible second round of 73 to look forward to the weekend at the PGA Championship. He got off to a steady start on the back nine as he went out in one under par. He dipped under par at the par three 13th hole where he hit it to four feet. He picked up two more shots coming home but also dropped four shots as the tough conditions started to prevail. A three putt at his last hole from a reasonable distance will leave a sour taste but he will be well placed going into the weekend as the luck of the draw sees about a two shot swing between morning and afternoon tee times.
Opening round of one under par 71 leaves Padraig in a tie for 16th place going into Fridays second round. He got off to a steady start with eight pars and a lone birdie to be out in one under par. He dropped a shot at the par four 10th hole but the highlight of the day was an eagle three on the par five 11th hole where he holed from 20 feet. The course is the winner so far with the wind meant to change over the weekend so level par could be a winner.
Padraig plays this week at the PGA Championship which is being held at the iconic ocean course at Kiawah Island. Pete Dye designed the course and it is famous for an epic Ryder Cup match in 1991 which went down to the wire and is known as the “War on the Shore!” It also hosted the 2012 PGA Championship and is a very demanding links course which plays to 7.676 yards and a par of 72. Five of the six hardest holes on the course are on the back nine and if the wind blows it is an extreme test of golf. Padraig won the event back in 2008 to complete his career three major wins so far. Your defending champion is Colin Morokawa.
Tee Times – Thursday at 1.14pm and Friday at 7.49am with Phil Mickelson and Jason Day.