PGA Championship: The most exciting major in the 2015-2017 run?

Finally, we come to the season’s last major, which will soon become golf’s second major, the PGA Championship. What I love about the PGA, is that it’s the most unpredictable of the four tournaments.

2015 at Whistling Straits

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The field is loaded, and you just never know how it’s going to end because most players capture their first and last major at the PGA. In 2015, we witnessed an amazing talent in Jason Day finally get his first major title at Whistling Straits.

Although he won by three shots, Jordan Spieth and Brendan Grace were right on his tail. Not only that, Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka weren’t too far behind either.

You had the intensity of Spieth trying to capture three out of four majors. This was in combination with a terrific player trying to grab his first.

This made for some great golf. In the end, Day held the Wanamaker trophy as the sun set at Whistling Straits.

2016 at Baltusrol

In 2016, at that time, one of the most consistent players in all of golf was Jimmy Walker. He was also one of the best putters on the planet.

He grabbed his first major championship at the PGA at Baltusrol. During the final round, Walker hit one of the most clutch shots in his career on the 10th hole. This is where he holed out from a greenside bunker which gave him a boost.

Although things were looking good, things started to heat up, when defending PGA champ Jason Day made a charge. An incredible approach shot on 18 led to an unforgettable eagle putt, to get to within a shot of the lead.

This put immense pressure on Walker, who only needed a bogey to drop a shot. This would then force a playoff against arguably the hottest player in the sport at the time.

Fortunately for Walker, a fantastic lag putt on the 18th green, led to a shortie that would seal the deal at Baltusrol. Although he has been fairly quiet since, Walker has had a very solid career with six PGA Tour titles including the PGA Championship.

2017 at Quail Hollow

We sunset the 2017 major season by bringing up this year’s PGA Championship which just concluded at Quail Hollow. One of golf’s rising stars and potential Player of the Year, Justin Thomas grabbed his first.

This season’s PGA was an excellent example of the unpredictable nature of the tournament. Thursday featured a tight leaderboard, but the next couple of days seemed to belong to Kevin Kisner who was on fire.

When Sunday came though, insanity ensued, as five or six players all had an opportunity to grab the Wanamaker. Kisner, Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari were all in contention among others.

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Heading towards the Green Mile was the moment when you started to feel that Thomas was the guy. A cringe-worthy par putt from Matsuyama on 16 led to a bogey, dropping a shot further behind Thomas.

On the 17th, the Kentucky native hit the deadly hole in the heart with a dagger. A gorgeous tee shot would end up being the shot of his life, as it left him with an excellent birdie try.

17 was wrecking players all day, as many were left with ridiculously long putts. Thomas’ shot was the type that a major champ hits, and he converted the birdie. This gave him a two shot cushion, and the PGA was all but his.

Some missed opportunities from Kisner made it official, and Thomas won his first major. Sure, in the end, he won by a couple of shots, but the entire tournament was exciting.

Wrapping it up

Overall, I feel that it’s definitely a tie between The Open and PGA Championship for which one was most exciting in recent years. If you were including the 2014 PGA, that was one of the best finishes you’ll see.

Let this show, that although the PGA Championship is always looked at as the underdog at the majors, it always manages to give us some thrilling golf. Which major has been most exciting overall? That’s entirely up to you.

However, the PGA Championship is the one major that nobody should ever sleep on. We’ll be waiting for you Bellerive Country Club.

Next: Wyndham Championship top 10 power rankings

Be sure to keep it locked here at PGN as we move on to the FedEx Cup playoffs and President’s Cup. You can also follow me on Twitter @ChiGolfRadio.