Are you not entertained? McIlroy recovers to even-par as major golf returns

It's not quite the 'Miracle on Ice' but it's something special to get to savour the US PGA and the uptick in intensity that majors bring, writes Scott Michaux

Rory McIlroy on the 11th hole of the US PGA at TPC Harding Park. Picture: Jeff Chiu/AP

There’s a famous moment from broadcaster Al Michaels from the closing seconds in the mayhem of the United State’s stunning upset of the Soviet Union hockey team in the 1980 Olympics: “Do you believe in miracles?” The 'Miracle on Ice' remains one of the most iconic moments in global sports and inspired the major motion picture Miracle. They won’t be making any movies about the 2020 PGA Championship called the Miracle on Grass, but that it is taking place at all in the midst of a global pandemic is a major miracle. None of the 312 players and caddies in the field at TPC Harding Park tested positive for Covid-19 this week, and the show goes on.

At 7am Pacific Coast time, wearing a grey jumper that matched the overcast skies, left-hander Brian Harmon stepped to the first tee at TPC Harding Park and relaunched golf’s major championships for the first time in 13 months. Seemed fitting that his ball landed in the right rough, because that defines how hard it was just getting here.