The 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive was a hit. What a tournament. St. Louis really brought the energy and the players loved it.
As a volunteer, I had the chance to go to the tournament every day and experience almost every part of it. Working to help give the best experience to fans, enjoying my time walking the course to view it and see how the PGA put on such an event, following players while viewing the crowds that followed them, and finally, on Sunday, posting up on the 18th green to see all the players finish.
Monday was an experience. Being in awe of the grand structures the PGA built for this venue was incredible. Incomprehensible really. The structures were so large, it was amazing. You literally had to see it to believe it. With a 50,000 square foot apparel shop, it’s one of the largest pop up retail shops in the world. Once you got over that, it was time to walk the course. The grounds crew did such an amazing job, the course was absolutely beautiful. Fairways that looked as if someone put down green carpet, greens that were silky smooth, rough that looked nearly impossible to escape from. Championship week was upon us. Seeing Dustin Johnson during the calm Monday practice round was unreal. Just piping shots down the middle of the fairway, getting to the green in 2 on the par 5’s with ease, I immediately thought he was going to be a contender.
Tuesday was a rough day. Lots of rain accompanied by lots of delays and eventually suspension of play for the day. Arriving as soon as the rain stopped and leaving just before it started again, was pure luck for us. In that time frame, seeing Tiger Woods for several holes was surreal. It’s like coming in contact with a mythical creature. You are just star struck. Having never seen a “Tiger Crowd”, WOW. They are massive. Imagine a protest against Trump, and then imagine that protest times ten all following Tiger. It’s the most massive mob you can imagine in your mind, all moving as one. Before Tiger arrives, you can see the rough, you can see the cart paths, but as soon as he arrives, it’s all gone. Just a sea of people all trying to get a glimpse. Justin Thomas said in his interview after Tuesday’s practice rounds, that he has never seen so many people come out on a Tuesday. Even with the rain, Bellerive set a new record for a Tuesday practice round attendance of 35,000 spectators.
Then Wednesday rolls around and the crowds just got bigger. One pro said it best, “You would have thought it was a Saturday round.” Again, Tiger crowds are at it. But there are also other crowds following Dustin Johnson, Jordan Speith, Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, and Rickie Fowler, just to name a few. Even John Daly has a crowd that follows him, but a much rowdier one.
Thursday was a the start of the tournament, and by now, the players are ready to get it started. Spectators keep hearing how the players think this course might be too easy for a major, announcers are predicting super low scores for the day, but none of that happened. Gary Woodland shot the low score of the day at 6 under. Followed by Fowler at 5 under, a couple 4 under, and several 3 under scores, and the rest of the field playing very mediocre. Tiger was at even par after round 1 was over. The course was still wet from all the rain on Tuesday. The greens were slow, the fairways didn’t allow for any roll.
ST LOUIS, MO – AUGUST 09: Gary Woodland of the United States plays his shot from the second tee plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on August 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Friday was a different story, people started shooting well as the course was drying up and the greens were rolling more true. Woodland stayed atop the leader board at 10 under. But then, the rain came back. A storm that nobody predicted was coming, and hit the course hard. It ended several peoples’ round early. Woods only got through 7 holes of the second round. Fowler only got through 11. Brooks Koepka had himself a day, finishing before the rain and tying the lowest score in a major tournament with a 7 under round. Moved him to second place following a 1 under first round score.
On Saturday, big moves were made. Players who didn’t finish their second round started at 7 am on their respective holes. Following the finishing of the second round, players would have to be cut, and then reseeded for the 3rd round, which would start early in the afternoon. Woods finished his second round in the morning at -4, well above the Even cut line. Rickie Fowler finished at -3, to put him tied with Koepka for second place at 8 under. Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, John Daly, and several other big names, would not make the cut of Even par. The Third round kicked off at 1:15pm on Saturday. Normally they play two to a group, but in this case, to try and finish the third round on Saturday, they played three to a group. They also teed off of holes 1 and 10 to hurry things along. Both plans proved to be effective as they got the third round in on Saturday. Koepka finished atop the leader board with a 4 under round, putting him at -12 for the tournament. Woods, who had now played 29 holes on Saturday, finished with another 4 under round , putting him at -8, and moving him tied for 6th place, accompanied by Stewart Cink, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, and couple others.
Sunday, the leader board was tight all day. With Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Gary Woodland, Tiger Woods, Justing Thomas, and John Rahm, all giving it a run. Tiger woods shined as he shot a low round of 6 under par, the best final round score of his career. Tiger was 3 under after the front 9, with 4 birdies, one bogey, and not hitting a single fairway. This proved to be the struggle for Tiger. We can only imagine what would have happened if he hit more fairways. He shot 3 under on the back 9 as well, with 4 birdies and bogey. Entering Sunday, Woods was +2 on the back 9, so he had to shoot low on the back to give himself a chance in the final round. He did just that. He also left a couple strokes out there. One birdie putt sat on the edge of the cup, which was heartbreaking to watch. A par putt lipped out, leaving him a tap in for bogey. Take those away, and we have a playoff. But through the “Tiger Roars”, Brooks Koepka was lights out. He stayed within his game, stayed mentally strong and shot a 4 under round, with minimal errors. He became a 3 time major winner at the end of the day with a final score of 16 under par, winning the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive. He had several chances to completely seal the deal, missing a couple of birdie putts, but they proved to be unnecessary as he won by two strokes in the end, over Tiger Woods. Adam Scott bogeyed the final hole, 18, to give Woods the solo second place finish, after missing the fairway way right and landing in the 17th fairway.
Aug 12, 2018; Saint Louis, MO, USA; Tiger Woods celebrates after making a birdie putt on the 18th green during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Bellerive Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
What a tournament, and St. Louis showed up. Several players in interviews couldn’t believe how loud the fans were, and how many came out. Several said it was the biggest showing for a tournament they’ve seen. Koepka and Thomas both said they wish they had this kind of crowd every tournament. They loved our enthusiasm. Tiger gave a lot of appreciation to our city and fans for the support and positivity on the course. Hopefully the PGA recognizes this and doesn’t hold mother nature against us. It’s clear that St. Louis can show up for golf, more than some of the other popular cities. We aren’t just a baseball city or just a hockey city. We are a sports city. We love sports in general.
Congrats to Brooks Koepka on winning his 3rd major championship and 1st PGA Championship.
