INTRO
By Brian Hewitt, Editor-In-Chief
Finally, in what has been an uncharacteristically unpredictable season of major championships, the PGA of America, batting cleanup, steps to the plate. This association of golf professionals has dedi- cated itself to the growth of the game and traces its
roots all the way back to a luncheon in New York City at
the Taplow Club in 1916. Now, it is about to stage its 92nd
PGA Championship in Wisconsin. The venue is designer
Pete Dye's iconic Whistling Straits, hard by the Badger
State's windswept Lake Michigan shoreline.
At stake are Ryder Cup berths, the potential identification of the PGA Tour Player of the Year and enough fame
and fortune (read: prize money) to make (Y. E. Yang upset
Tiger Woods last year) or break (neither Tom Watson nor
Arnold Palmer won a PGA) a career.
Okay, so the failure to win a PGA Championship didn't
keep Watson or Palmer out of the Hall of Fame. But this
August event has served to significantly distinguish relatively little-known winners like Yang, Shaun Micheel, Rich
Beem, Mark Brooks and Wayne Grady from higher-profile
players like Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Steve Stricker. None of the former group has
ascended into the game's Pantheon; none of the latter
has won a major.
What follows in the pages of this special Global Golf Post
section are 10 stories behind the stories, written by our
staff and correspondents, about notable PGA Championships. The words are accompanied by compelling images
and innovative digital design, a presentation format we
believe marks a progressive and important step forward
in the continuum of golf journalism.
Partnering with us again in this effort are the good
folks at Nike Golf. It is our hope that you enjoy this section
as much as you told us you liked the previous pre-major
editions we have produced throughout 2010.
ON THE COVER The par- 4, 445-yard fourth ole on the Straits Course – named Glory – runs south- ward along bluffs that rise 40 feet high above the Lake Michigan shoreline.
(Clockwise from the top left) Unknown Y.E. Yang stared
down Tiger Woods in the 2009 PGA Championship at
Hazeltine; although Arnie was never crowned a PGA
champion, he’ll always be the King; the treacherous
223-yard 17th, aptly named Pinched Nerve, is regarded
as one of Pete Dye’s most intimidating par 3s.
