Last major of the season for golf: it is the Pga Championship edition number 100, which begins today and ends Sunday at the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri. It will be four days of fire (perhaps interspersed with some rain) with the best players in the world. Golf will then continue to remain on the crest of the wave until the end of September, thanks to the Playoffs and the Ryder Cup.
In all these events Francesco Molinari, number six in the world order of merit, after his victory in the Open Championship, will be able to play a leading role. The 35-year-old from Turin is not a hero by chance, his every step is the result of talent but also of great work and with his usual modesty and grit he faces the Pga, where, this morning, he is at the starting tee together with the other two winners of the 2018 grand slam tournaments: Patrick Reed, Masters champion and Brooks Koepka, holder of the US Open.
Last year the blue finished second in this difficult competition, overtaken by an indomitable Justin Thomas, who also scored last week in Bridgestone. The games are open and the final scenarios will only begin to take shape on Sunday. Francesco however, despite the setback in the last match, understandable after so many triumphs, remains one of the favorites and one of the players in the best form at the moment.
“My attitude hasn't changed – says the Italian champion – I'm not obsessed with results or with control of my game. I rather wait for the results to arrive at the end of a hard work”. The "Italian machine", as it has been renamed by some commentators, is in its tenth consecutive appearance in the Pga, the only major where it has never left the cut.
The list of eligible candidates for the title is, as always, very long and obviously starts from world number one Dustin Johnson. Among the favorites Justin Rose, recovering from a small injury, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth. Tiger Woods, who is now 42 years old and has to keep a back battered by 4 surgeries at bay, has practically not tried the field and it is not known what he will be able to do.
In the last few races he has often given up in the final, as if he couldn't keep up for 72 holes, but he could have a miraculous flicker. To get back in shape these days you took a few ice baths, more and more fashionable among athletes and non-athletes; we will see the results. If he could score a victory it would be his 80th success on the American tour (although the race is common to the various circuits) and his 15th major, a goal that everyone hopes he can reach.
For the Americans it is also the last chance to join the team that will challenge the Europeans in the Ryders in Paris. Fowler and Webb Simpson are in the balance, threatened closely by Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau. Captain Jim Furyk will also be able to weigh players in view of the four wild cards he has available. It is difficult to think that he will give up on Tiger (who will still be in Paris as vice-captain), above all because the public are demanding him.
Meanwhile, this week's race is held on a par 70 course of approximately 6.700 metres, designed by Robert Trent Jones, 1897 and revised in 2005 by Rees Jones. Up for grabs are 10,5 million dollars, 600 Fedex points and a shower of benefits in terms of exemptions and invitations for the winner.
