Your Reaction: Justin Thomas Wins The 2017 PGA

After a dreadful Saturday, Quail Hollow finally found its footing Sunday and let the players attack.

Mutiple competitors made a valiant effort at the title.

CBS buried us in commercial breaks in a tradition unlike any other.

Justin Thomas separated himself artfully down the stretch with key birdies at 13 and 17 to take the Wannamaker.

As has happened too many times in recent years, a compelling finish might mask that the PGA Championship needs to up its game.

Your thoughts?

Comments

[MJR]

Suzy Whaley mugging for the camera during the award ceremony. Hard to believe a shrinking violet like that was able to take advantage of that...

[CroDad]

Fantastic final round! Congrats to Justin. First of a few I should think. Dude showed stones and maturity out there.

[KCW]

Got away with some pretty poor shots to be honest but the birdie on 17 was epic. No one went after that pin.

[MCARON]

MJR:
Noticed same thing. Funny thing is, she NEVER would have won if predecessor was more PC!

Congrats to JT. Broke logjam with some magical moments. Thankfully, putt dropped on 10 when it did! whew.
Shot that stood out, though was his 7-iron on 17....the only player in contention to take that pin on. Superb pair of deuces on back side. A highly deserving winner. Possible POY now?

FYI, PGA - I will not watch one second of Liberty National. Done with DVR'ing another one of your productions.

[sgary4]

Lots of leaderboard movement on the back 9 on Sunday, which makes for a great tournament. Quail Hollow's last 5 holes, and a bunch of others, make this a US Open-worthy course -- if the USGA doesn't screw it up. Time for the PGA Tour and the PGA to curtail their greed by squeezing every last nickel from CBS and forcing a nearly unwatchable TV production on us.

[Convert]

"Quail Hollow finally found its footing and let the players attack" Yet, after Saturday there were 15 players under par, after Sunday there were only 12. Clearly the course played tougher on Sunday, yet, golf writers think Saturday setup was bad and Sunday was good.
Why???
I know the answer. When golf writers like the leaderboard the setup is great, when Stroud and Kisner are on top there must be a problem.... If Jordan and Ricky were on top of the leaderboard Saturday night all would be right in the world.
The evidence is overwhelming...

[CT]

It may not be perfect, but the PGA has been good entertainment for us on a late summer Sunday

[CroDad]

I think with the victory JT just won Player of the Year honors no?

4 wins including a major and the year's not over.....

[Mooch]

Ryder Cup is looking like a pretty stiff challenge for the Euro's over the next 10 years or so...

[CroDad]

@Mooch

You make an astute observation. This generation of players are not only talented but they have a wonderful bond with each other. They are best of friends and crazy talented. It'll be interestin to watch the Presidents Cup this fall....and by the way those are words I've never typed or said in my life until just now.

[lloydcole]

Excellent play by a few contenders saved an otherwise turgid week.

[mark]

Still want an explanation for the Poulter situation

[FC]

Memorable win, with half a dozen door-slamming chips and putts.

2017 Golfer/Player of the Year, Justin Thomas.

[Hardy Greaves]

That's it, the season is over for me. Interest in the President's Cup? None. Interest in the Fed-X Cup? None. It's the middle of August, and the pro golf season is over.

Wow. In 2019, it's going to be over in July. That is a very sad thought.

[Matt]

Jordan Spieth still has something to say about that POY race if he finishes strong in the Fed Up Cup.

[Peter Norrie]

What if JT's putt on 10 had taken another 2 or 3 seconds to fall? One shot penalty?

[RickABQ]

Sounded like in his post-game interview that JT hadn't gotten the memo from the USGA that the ball doesn't go any farther now than before.

[Kentucky Blue Grass]

Again, the best major of the year by a mile. Well done, PGA.

[WJ]

Kevin Kisner is a hell of an interview.

[GreenwichGolfer]

Why can't we have that every week. What a blast and what a joy to watch. Kudos to JT !!!

[West Coast Vibe]

Awesome event.

[John C]

Cannot wait until 2019 when there will be nothing to talk about at this time.... except developing pennant races and early NFL exhibition games.

[Couples]

Great job PGA ... Course was perfect not a pathetic set up like those USGA hacks
JT is so much more fun to watch than his buddy Spieth and seems more talented too ... he may need up with more majors , just watch

[bluebeach]

The commercials on golf telecasts is ruining the experience. CBS needs to get with it's sponsors and charge them more money for limited commercials. The Golf Channel is almost unwatchable with commercials and promo's for their events that are upcoming. How many times do we have to see a promo for Solheim Cup, Fehetry, Presidents Cup and FedEx Cup playoffs. Enough already.

[In the know]

After reading the comments posted here, along with the various golf scribes giving their opinions on the course setup, I can't help but wonder what the reaction would have been if the USGA had used Quail Hollow and set up the course in exactly the same way for the U.S. Open as the PGA of America did for its championship. I can see it now: 500 yard par 4 finishing hole, uber-fast greens, thick rough, tucked hole locations! What are these blue-coat idiots doing now? How dare they make a major this difficult. The other sports don't change their playoffs. Why, many of the posters here would have their knickers in a knot if they heard that the USGA was involved. Frankly, I'm glad that the PGA of America hasn't folded to the demand for birdie-fests, and I hope that the USGA gets back to making the U.S. national championship one where the players have to actually think their way around the course for a change.

[Ringer]

One last comment about the telecast: On 18, Thomas is in the bunker, and he and his caddie are discussing what he's going to do. A cameraman is about ten yards from Thomas, and we can hear that there's a conversation -- but we can't hear what they're saying, because Faldo WILL NOT SHUT UP FOR A SECOND and then Dottie Pepper has to chime in as well. I blame the producer and director -- but why does Faldo get a pass while the whole world rips into Johnny Miller?

[digsouth]

have not seen the last 2 hours of the tourney, but a damn popup on my laptop told me who won so....

Thomas was on my short lit to cheer for. Deserving player, tough Kisner or The Barracuda winner woulda should 'cuda been nice back to backs for the hemi powered Texan. Thomas start4ed out as my #3 to root for, but Patrick Reed took over that spot very early in his round, after his first bird of the day.

so that's the way it were at 5 till 9 CDT. Opinions expressed are, uhhh said here.....

dig

Major Congratulations to Thomas-- I never had a doubt!

[MJR]

Not a unique perspective on tour, but Poulter is an immature chav. He berates caddies, volunteers, etc. There are a lot of class guys on tour, but announcers and reporters should not cover up what a complete brat he is. Today was not a one off.

[Andrew]

I thought the course was fantastic. The finish is dramatic and challenging. Every hole on the back nine offered a compelling story line (and for evidence please see Hideki's scorecard). I saw Webb Simpson complain that the course was "playing like a U.S. Open". Seeing as how the U.S. Open played like a PGA I think it worked out fine. It would not surprise me at all to see Quail Hollow host a U.S. Open at some point. It is that good of a venue.

[Twilight Putter]

Dottie was great. Yardage, lie, club, other tidbits as necessary.

JT plays fairly quick too. Also grear.

[digsouth]

@Mark andd MJR

WTF did Poulter do? thanks.

dig

[MJR]

Poulter lost a ball and then got into a fight with the rules official to get him to claim the ball was not lost, but entered the hazard despite not being able to confirm it was in the hazard.

[Chico]

MJR- agree with you 100%. Horrible person.

[Mooch]

As a lateral hazard, What's the difference between hitting it 50 yards into a lake where I cannot find it and what happened to Poulter? In both cases the ball is seen to be going into the hazard?

[Brad]

Hate to say it, but agree with Poulter 100%

[Press Agent]

@ convert;

The setup was a bit softer and more receptive on the greens on Sunday. That was clear. Shots that were not stopping on Saturday - were stopping on Sunday. The scoring may have been worse, because of Sunday nerves, but the greens played easier on Sunday.

Great week and JT is a very worthy champion and played an awesome Sunday. Golf is in a great place!

[Tony]

A great leaderboard. A deserving champion. And I'll reiterate the sentiment that the telecast on Saturday and Sunday vacillated between mediocre and downright deplorable. NBC's Open coverage coupled with the Masters' digital platform should be the goal for all majors.

[Clark]

Suggestions to improve the telecast. Eliminate the talking heads and their endless armchair analysis & useless statistics , i.e. show more golf. Use technology on the course, more tracking etc. often very tough to see the ball. Use better cameras like those on the EU tour. Follow the lead of the EU commentators who are very knowledgeable about the game but don't insert their $.02 on every shot. I would rather watch a lower ranked player than listen to someone dissect a swing which 95% of golfers will never get close to mimicking. The reality is that there is very little talent difference among players at the PGA level, mostly its mental at this stage and what's working on the day so swing comparisons are less than helpful. Show more players in action just in case that the audience might want to know about someone other than Jordan Spieth or this week's US saviour/flavour of the week. Endless Tiger comments comparisons etc. are getting very tiresome, yes he was good but is not coming back so get over it. As has been proven week in and week out there is real drama is on the course however, all the pre-game hype is killing my interest and I suspect others in the actual telecast.

[FC]

"....all the pre-game hype is killing my interest and I suspect others in the actual telecast."

Right on, Clark. The Dynamic Duo hype and early flop didn't help Glory's Last Shot. Ignore Golf Channel's Monday to Wednesday mind-numbing madness, as well as their post-round mastering of the obvious.

[Bud]

They kept interrupting the commercials for a golf shot....