Glory's Last Shot

I'm not sure when the PGA of America decided to start using this moniker for their annual championship, but it seems like it was about 6-7 years ago.

At first, I found it groan-inducingly cheezy. "Glory's Last Shot." Eh.

But I think it's growing on me.

The PGA Championship has none of the familiar earmarks of the other 3 majors. Augusta has an annual "home course" that every golfer now knows like it was their own. The US Open has sadistic set-ups, and the prestige of being a "national" championship. The British has links-style golf, of course, plus all the years of history.

The PGA has... well.. um... things.

But that's unfair, because the PGA Championship has consistently delivered the most exciting finishes of any major. Perhaps it is because the course is set up hard, but not impossible.

Perhaps it is, because guys do go "all out" on the year's final major.

Whatever it is, I know this much, you guys in Wisconsin should be proud of the show Whistling Straits put on back in 2004. The course looked sensational to the rest of the country who had never seen or heard of it. And the crowds were off the hook.

Don't sleep on the event this year, even though I understand another PGA is coming in 2015 and the Ryder Cup in 2020. (I know, you've already got the babysitter lined up). I hope you golf fans to appreciate the fact that many of us in so-called "major markets" like DC and Philly either don't have a regular tour stop, or have to share an event.

Then, someday when you have a few pennies saved up and your game is as good as it's going to get, plunk down and play the place at least once in your life. It's beyond words.

Here was a little video log of my visit last spring - about 30 pounds of pizza and donuts around my waist - with good buddy Roger Derflinger from the DC area. We happened to get paired up with two nice chaps from Chicago who worked for - wait... BP! - and were originally from Scotland.

Talk about a perfect day!

Warm summer sun, that gave way to a little blanket of fog that covered us for about 2 holes on the front, giving way to a glorious afternoon of gentle breezes til sundown.