US PGA Championship / Paul Krishnamurty / 08 August 2009 /

Hazeltine will be a monster but don't let the length fool you, shorter hitters have a chance here...

As the scene of our only victory in the modern era of the US Open, Hazeltine holds a special place in British golfing history. Tony Jacklin's success in 1970 was the first time this Indiana course had ever hosted a major championship, and after substantial re-designs, Hazeltine was awarded the 1991 US Open and most recently, the 2002 PGA Championship.

Bearing in mind all the changes in the layout and technology since those earlier tournaments, plus the fact that courses are set up with specific characteristics for either US Open or PGA, only the 2002 result is of any real use to form students looking for clues towards how Hazeltine will play next week. And if that result is anything to go by, we could be set for a clean sweep of shock major champions in 2009.

Seven years on, memories of that enthralling finish remain crystal clear. How could anyone forget Tiger Woods playing the brutally tough final four holes in four under par, which still wasn't enough to overhaul rank outsider Rich Beem? Equally I'll never forget Beem's eagle on the 12th, the only one on that hole all week, which transformed the tournament. Nor his impressively nerveless finish, holing every important putt.

At 7,674 yards, this par-72 will be the longest course ever to host a major. However, it is essential not to fall into the trap of assuming that this automatically means a massive advantage to the biggest hitters. In fact, the result from 2002 suggests the opposite, with Tiger the only player in the top-five who could be even vaguely described as a powerful hitter. Beem was an average hitter at best, while very short and straight types Chris Riley, Fred Funk and Justin Leonard finished third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Basically, while driving it long and straight will offer an advantage on certain holes, accuracy is more important to avoid the numerous hazards on this course. Penal rough, strategically placed bunkers and water await wayward drives, and with the greens firm, often the only chance of holding them or attacking the pin is to be playing a controlled approach shot from the fairway. This looks certain to be a typically tough major venue, with patience and sound course management essential. I doubt we'll see significantly more than the 2002 total of eight players finishing under par.

As three of the four par-5s are well over 600 yards, again driving distance is not everything. Very few players will be trying to reach in two, and for those that do, such a strategy may be of dubious value anyway. Where length may be prove an advantage will be on the risk/reward par-5 7th and short par-4 14th holes. Again though, a case could be made for either aggression or caution. Indeed on that reachable 7th in 2002, Leonard laid up four times, and went on to make birdie every time.

Another interesting stat of note from 2002 is that all of the leading seven players were American. Granted, there were far more Americans in the world's top-50 in 2002 than there are today, but it does still suggest home-based players will have an advantage in the hot August conditions. The highest-placed Europeans, Sergio Garcia and Pierre Fulke (another very short-hitter), finished a distant 10th.

In short then, Hazeltine's history would suggest we're looking for accurate Americans with good course management skills. That is, unless Tiger gains revenge for that extremely unlucky performance on his last visit to this course. But given the improbable success of Rich Beem, not to mention the recent major-winning exploits of Cabrera, Glover and Cink, there's plenty of sense in focussing on outsiders.

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