Liguori: McIlroy-Spieth-Johnson Pairing Highlights 1st Round Of PGA Championship

Several youngsters, strategically placed, got their man.

Haigh said the rule suits the nature of Whistling Straits, where the myriad bunkers include some that are part inside the ropes and part out.

Johnson stopped and signed a handful of autographs for the kids, who had wedged themselves under a chain-link fence and protective green cover designed to keep spectators at bay.

“It’s a little sad that every time we talk about the PGA Championship here it’s like that Dustin threw it away”, Kaymer lamented to BT Sport. Winning the final two majors of the year has been done six times dating to the start of the Masters in 1934, and four times in the past 15 years.

“We wanted to work hard and give ourselves a chance and I felt like, if we did that, we could pull it off”, said Spieth of St Andrews, where he finished one shot short of a play-off.

They certainly did not make him mad or vengeful. “And we’re in the Midwest, too“.

“I know I’m in the 200s somewhere (in the world rankings), but as far as paying attention to it, no”, Woods said.

Johnson also won the 2007 Masters, although he said he’s more comfortable this time around coming off his second major victory.

Spieth and McIlroy will play alongside British Open champion Zach Johnson in an enticing grouping for the first two rounds at Whistling Straits. No under-the-radar stuff here.

“We’re all going to have bad days and it just so happened that Jordan had a couple of off days whenever we were playing together”, McIlroy told reporters.

The shine came off golf when Spieths bid for the Grand Slam ended at St. Andrews.

Spieth said he is “excited” that McIlroy successfully rehabbed from the ankle injury that knocked him out of the British Open.

It was just really a good experience just kind of seeing how it’s done, how it is to win a major championship.

While fans and media continue to harp on the majors Johnson has blown with mental gaffes or poor putting, he says he’s not anxious heading into the PGA Championship. “I don’t see any reason why I can’t bring the sort of form that I’ve shown in practice rounds and on the range to the tee on Thursday afternoon”. Koepka seems like a strong play with good odds this weekend. So I’ve only got two ligaments on the outside of my ankle instead of three.

“It’s a matter of how long is he going to have to go with it like this or is he going to have to get it surgically repaired”.

Perhaps that’s why his rhetoric going into the PGA Championship sounded as un-Tigerlike as it’s ever been. He can draw additional confidence from finishing in a tie for third in the 2010 PGA at Whistling Straits at 10 under. At one point in my career I’d like to be.

Golf’s forth, and final, major of the year tees off on Thursday with the opening round of the 2015 PGA Championship.

“But then I won this event first in 2012 and again last year, so that’s two out of the last three years which is quite an honour”.