Keen to produce a good show at PGA Championships

As we come to the business end of the year 2017, it is time for the final Major of the season – the PGA Championships. This is PGA’s own event and it generally attracts most of the Top-100 players in the world. This time I read that 97 of them will be there at Quail Hollow. So it is indeed a very strong field.

It has been a mixed bag for me this year. I managed to lock my 2018 card will in time and had a couple of good results, including the Tied-2nd at the Memorial, which was really solid. Before that there was T-3 at CIMB late last year, when the 2016-17 PGA Tour season got underway. Those apart I have had some Top-20 finishes all ensuring a FedExCup play-off place and a card for next year, but what I have missed in 2017 is playing all the Majors.

After missing the Masters and the US Open, I got into The Open at Royal Birkdale, but things did not go my way. I was on the wrong side of the draw both days and got the worst of the weather. Well, that does happen, but it was a pity because I was playing well and it was putting that let me down.

Now onto the final Major of the year – the PGA Championships, where I have great memories from the Tied-5th in 2015. In many ways apart from my wins at Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open that year, it was the PGA performance that brought me into the spotlight at a higher level and got me closer to the US Tour.

Now here I am in search of my maiden win and I know it is closer than ever before. I am playing well and have been in contention and it is a matter of closing the deal. Hopefully that will happen soon.

For the present the focus is the PGA Championships and then the FedExCup and some events in the Fall season. After that I want to work more on my game and take it to the next level. This week the favourites will include my friend Hideki Matsuyama, who last week shot a final round 61 to win the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, his second WGC title after the WGC-HSBC in October 2016.

Since October 2016, Matsuyama has won six times, including three times on the PGA Tour – plus the specially sanctioned Hero Challenge in December 2016. He also won twice in Japan.
He has had a Top-10 in each of the Majors in last four years and last year he was T-4 at the PGA. So, he would be a big favourite to win his first Major. I will not be surprised if Matsuyama wins this week.