The season’s second major is upon us as the world’s best head to western New York and Oak Hill Country Club for the 105th PGA Championship. Oak Hill underwent a facelift in 2019 and shares very little resemblance to the version that last hosted the PGA Championship back in 2013. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early reports show some similarities to last season’s PGA at Southern Hills and commonalities with Brookline Country Club, which hosted last season’s U.S. Open. It’s a stretching Par-70 that can play up to 7,394 from the tips. With an estimated 600 trees removed during the remodel, sightlines around Oak Hill should be quite different than in years past. These small, bentgrass greens have been reshaped, and the shaved runoffs create a difficult challenge, which should be the case in a major. The creek that runs through the course forces accuracy and plus carry distance on a handful of holes. Those who can’t manage will be forced to lay up, making this course play even longer than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rough has been described as dense, and the fairways narrow, which leads me to believe driving accuracy will be challenging for all this week. Anyone who pieces together four rounds of ‘long and straight’ is always in contention no matter the week, but with this layout and the elevation changes into these small greens give me long over straight at Oak Hill. Also, the fairway bunkers are true hazards after the redesign. Going for the green is not always a viable option depending on one’s placement in each trap. If you want to understand the architecture of Oak Hill, check out this video<\/a> from the team over at The Fried Egg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re into #trendz, we have a few that I think are worth looking into this week. Of course, an all-around game where a golfer gains strokes throughout the bag supersedes all trends, but they’re noteworthy nonetheless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For more course details, check out Ron’s<\/a> course preview<\/a>. It’s the best in the business, bar none. Here’s an important tidbit about Oak Hill:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Golfers will need to be strong with every club in their bag. On such a long course with dense rough, combined with the cooler May conditions of the upper northeast, both distance and accuracy off the tee will be crucial. Every golfer in the field will be forced to scramble for par or bogey from difficult positions throughout the week. With birdie opportunities rare, elite ball-strikers should rise to the top.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With greens only 4,500 square feet on average, there will be plenty of 20-40 yard recovery pitch shots that will test players’ short-game skills. Along with being immaculate in design, the greenside bunkers are so penal and steep with the same thick rough on their faces that balls can even get lodged on the slope creating near-impossible recovery shots. Perfectly placed “tear-drop” mounds surrounding certain greens can also have the same effect causing difficult lies.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My goal with this piece is to touch on the golfers I’m targeting this week. There are millions of ways to bet on this beautiful game, so I’ll share my opinion on the best way to bet on each golfer in my player pool at this week’s event. When pricing out finishing position bets (T5, T10, T20s, etc.), I’ll often lean towards BetMGM<\/a> even if there’s a better number elsewhere because of MGM’s advantageous dead-heat rules. So know the rules of the books that you’re betting on! <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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