Antepost
The Basics
Kiawah Island is a links-style course which is heavily affected by wind. The website states the course is probably the most affected by wind outside of the UK and Ireland!
Eight of the holes run parallel to the Atlantic Ocean and are fully exposed to the ocean breezes as they were raised above the dunes when the course was constructed.
2012 Recap
The 2012 US PGA Championship was dominated by Europeans with five of the top six (and seven of the top 10) coming from the UK or Sweden.
Morning starters on day one got the best of conditions as a rain softened course offered birdie opportunities. Day two was the polar opposite with winds of up to 35mph leaving only five players able to break par. As a result, only ten players were under par going into the weekend. A thunderstorm disrupted play on day three and meant players had to play some of that round and their final round on the Sunday. Conditions on Sunday were ideal as wind reached a max of 15mph and the sun shone throughout.
Rory had a three shot lead going into the final round and a bogey free last 18 holes meant nobody got any closer than two shots. A round of 66 gave him a convincing eight shot victory.
Trends
Age
Nine of the last twelve winners were in their 20s. The other three winners were in their 30s.
Major Virgins
Eight of the past 12 winners were claiming their first Major. However, it's not an event to record your first ever win in America - only one winner from the past 12 did not have a previous PGA Tour/Major win.
US PGA Exposure
Eight of the past 12 US PGA champions had recorded a top 8 finish in the event prior to winning. Nine of the past 12 had recorded a top 20 finish.
Debutants
Two of the past 12 US PGA champions were playing in the tournament for the first time.
World Ranking
Nine of the last twelve winners were ranked in the top 25 of the official world golf rankings prior to winning. Notable that we have seen two winners outside the top 100 also prevail.
2019: The top 6 were made up of five players within the world's top 30 and one who had won on the PGA Tour before.
2018: Four of the top 5 were in the world's top 30 and the other player, Tony Finau (ranked 37th), had won on the PGA Tour before.
2017: The top seven comprised four players inside the top 30. Two had won on the PGA Tour before and one who had not won but would win twice later that year (Xander Schauffele)
Preview
Course Info
Course Designer: Pete Dye
US PGA last played here: 2012
Type of Course: Coastal, Long, Demanding.
Fairways: Paspalum
Rough: Paspalum
Greens: Paspalum
Water Hazards: In play on a dozen holes
Par 5's: 2nd, 7th, 11th, 16th
Premium on: Ability to deal with wind
Significant Info
Continue to exercise caution in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals.
Weather
Available the week of the tournament.
Trends
Winning Score
Since Rory McIlroy won here in 2012 with a score of -13, we have seen winning scores at the US PGA range from -8 to -20.
Correlating Courses
Harbour Town Golf Links, home of the RBC Heritage is a course worth considering. It was also designed by Pete Dye and is close in proximity to Kiawah Island.
Course Form
Little to go on as the last tournament to be played at Kiawah Island was the 2012 US PGA. The only event prior to that was the 1991 Ryder Cup.
Recent Form
Counts for a lot at the US PGA Championship, 11 of the past 12 champions had recorded a top 20 finish in their two events prior to winning.
Nationality
The last five winners have been from the USA but prior to that we saw a mix of nationalities win.
Stats Analysis
Previous US PGAs tells us we are looking for a player with a good all round game. This year we are also looking for competent wind players who putt well on Paspalum greens.
Driving Distance
Morikawa's win last year bucked the trend of power players winning. Rankings in last four years have been 53-11-2-1.
Driving Accuracy
Up until last year we'd seen little emphasis on Driving Accuracy. Rankings have been 5-62-26-113.
SG: Off The Tee
Rankings have been 6-3-3-32. Preferable to be a strong driver, if not the best.
SG: Approach
Surprisingly, winners haven't been razor sharp with their approach play. Rankings in last four years of 22-1-11-23.
SG: Around The Green
No winner in the past four years has ranked inside the top 30.
SG: Putting
Rankings the past four years have been 1-59-23-4.
In Play
Tough Holes
The 4th and 18th rank as the two toughest on the scorecard but in 2012 the hardest were the 13th and 18th .
Birdie Holes
The 2nd and 16th played as the two easiest in 2012. Players need to take advantage of these par 5s.
Closing Stretch
The 17th is a long par 3 and the par 418th to finish can cause problems. Not holes to make birdies, they ranked 6th and 6nd in terms of difficulty in 2018.
Fast or Slow Start
McIlroy was t2nd here in 2012 after the first round. He was two shots behind after round two and was leader by three going into the final round.
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