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PGA Championship: Brendon Todd must learn from past failures

By Tim Letcher

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 06: Brendon Todd of the United States waits with his caddie Don Gadberry on the ninth tee during the first round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on August 06, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 06: Brendon Todd of the United States waits with his caddie Don Gadberry on the ninth tee during the first round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on August 06, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Brendon Todd finds himself at the top of the leaderboard at the PGA Championship. But can he learn from past mistakes moving forward?

It seems like every week on the PGA Tour, the name Brendon Todd is at the top, or near the top, of the leaderboard. Now, with the season’s first major taking place, some figured that might change. But on Thursday at the PGA Championship, Todd kept doing what he has done virtually all season long.

Playing among the afternoon groupings, Todd was able to shoot a 5-under par 65 to tie Jason Day for the 18-hole lead after day one at TPC Harding Park. And, for at least nine holes, it was an un-Todd-like performance.

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Usually the steady one, Todd was up and down on his first nine, which is actually the back nine. He opened with a birdie on the 10th hole, making a 15-foot putt to immediately get under par. He followed that on his second hole of the day, the 11th, by making a 29-foot putt for birdie to get to 2-under.

Todd would par the 12th and 13th holes before suffering his first bogey of the day at the 14th hole, dropping him back to 1-under par. He bounced back with a par at 15, then birdies at both 16 and 17, moving to 3-under on the day.

However, he closed his first nine with a bogey at 18. He would shoot a 2-under par 33 on his first nine holes.

Todd’s second nine started just like the front nine, with a birdie at the first hole.

He then parred three holes in a row before another birdie, this one at the fifth hole, moved him to 4-under on the day.

After a par at the sixth hole, Todd birdied the seventh hole to move to 5-under on the day and into a tie for the lead. He would par both the eighth and ninth holes to finish his round of 5-under 65.

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Those who have been paying attention to the PGA Tour know that the challenge for Todd is closing the deal. Twice in recent weeks, Todd has held the lead in a tour event after 54 holes, only to lose on Sunday. That includes last week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis.

Todd needs to prove that he not only has the ability to get to the top of the leaderboard, but to stay there. If he can do that this weekend, he would earn the biggest win of his professional career and silence some critics in the process.

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