Expect fireworks over final four holes

TELEVISION viewers have a treat in store when it comes to watching the US PGA Championship over the next four days.

I have never seen a more stunning golf course than Whistling Straits which may have its faults where the purists are concerned.

Come with me now and look at the last four holes, those that more than any others will determine the destination of the 86th PGA title on Sunday evening.

15th, 518 yards, par 4.

Known as Grand Strand, this is one of the longest par 4s in the game and demands a combination of raw power and accuracy with both the tee shot and the approach. The players will want to favour the left side of the fairway to avoid sunken sand dunes to the right. Depending on the wind, they will be hitting long irons or even three woods to a large, undulating green. That represents little more than half the battle, given that the large green has so many undulations and subtle breaks.

16th, 569 yards, par 5.

‘Endless Bite’ represents one of the few genuine birdie opportunities on the Whistling Straits course. But it also mercilessly punishes anything pulled or hooked, with towering dunes, the beach and the lake itself ominously nearby on the left. Most will play driver from the tee and should be able to take on the green if they have reached the sanctuary of the fairway and avoided all the trouble on either side. The approach must carry dunes and bunkers with a natural tendency to bail out on the right.

17th, 223 yards, par 3.

To stand on the dunes to the right of this green is one of the most awesome sights in golf. The views are staggering and the golfers will be hard pressed to concentrate entirely on the task on hand. They call it ‘Pinched Nerve’ and with good reason. Tiger Woods believes the towering dune to the right of the green is unfair, while Darren Clarke suggests that “if you miss it to the left, you could be dead and putting your ball in your pocket and moving on to the next tee”. The Great Lake is waiting down there so the safest course of action is to draw what will almost certainly be a long iron over Tiger’s dune. That should find the putting surface.

18th, 500 yards, par 4.

The tee shot is played away from the lake and ideally should be drawn on to the right to left breaking fairway. Pádraig Harrington was home here on Tuesday with a six iron second but that was to play the hole to absolute perfection. Swirling winds demand the use of an extra club to be sure of carrying Seven Mile Creek, which guards the front side of a green of more than 18,000 square feet. The PGA have the option of innumerable pin positions and if they choose some of the more concealed areas, mayhem may well ensue.

“There could be more chips off that green than any other in championship history,” says Clarke.

“You might be only 30 feet from the hole but have to pitch over a hill or a bunker.”

They call this one Diabolical and little wonder.

On the credit side is the natural amphitheatre the green shares with the adjacent 9th and will provide a dramatic climax.