Great News: Charleston At Huge Occupancy During PGA; 31% Mark-Up For Privilege Of Scenic Commute!

I am so glad the PGA of America's official PGA Championship twitter account shared the news of huge occupancy rates in Charleston during the 2012 PGA at Kiawah. I know all of the folks who stayed there were overjoyed by Laura Ratcliffe's story.

But just in case:

For the week of Aug. 6, Charleston County hotels were 86.4% occupied with an average room price of $148.62. This represents an increase of 12.3% in occupancy and 30.9% in room prices over the same week last year, according to the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Hey only a 31% mark-up for an event that Golf World's Jim Moriarty wrote was so logistically challenged that the only thing missing from the Fantasy Island PGA "was Herve Villechaize in a tiny tropical suit greeting the daily arrivals yelling, "Da bus! Da bus!"

Rory: "I've never thought of breaking any records."

Tim Rosaforte includes a lot of great backstage color following Rory's win at Kiawah in this week's Golf World, including this polar-opposite-of-Tiger quote.

"I've never thought of breaking any records," he said. I said when I won my first one, I wanted to win a second. And now that I've won a second, I want to win my third. I've got no targets, no records. I've never been that kind of person. I just want to and play my golf and try to win tournaments. If they add up to whatever number it is at the end of my career, I'll be happy."

"So if the PGA of America is considering returning to Kiawah, it should think again and just say no emphatically."

Golfweek's Jeff Rude touches on the miserable time players, media and fans had with transportation, parking and actual spectating of the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah and says once was enough.

Kiawah might be suited for a four-man PGA Grand Slam or Skins Game or two-man Shell’s match or maybe even another Ryder Cup, but it was overmatched when putting on the spectacle of a major championship with 156 players (and their caddies and entourages) because of the infrastructure issues.

Some veteran writers seemed to think it was the worst major ever, and that wasn’t even factoring in the 5 1/2-hour rounds.

“The only way the PGA should come back here is if they have flying buses,” one scribe said.
Couldn’t agree more.

Bamberger: "At Kiawah, Woods dabbled in some new material, and it was kind of weird, experimental and New Agey."

Michael Bamberger isn't knocking Tiger's "too relaxed" suggestion because he wants to "encourage his artistic growth" but it also means he isn't buying the 2012 PGA postmortem.

Some odd thing was going on as he played on Saturday. He did seem to be ­approaching the round in an uncharacteristic way. He looked almost detached. Now and again he stared out at the churning ocean. He stayed last week on his yacht, Privacy, and he clearly did come to shore on Saturday with some sort of different approach. But not relaxed.

The guy must get sick of hearing the word major. Major, major, major. But it’s a conversation of his own making. He set the bar higher than anyone ever has. Big Jack had 18 majors, and Tiger was going to first match and then pass. He has been stuck at 14 for four years and two months.

It will only get harder and more intense.

Rory-Faced Biscuits A Hot Item Again

I bet Tiger never had his face put on a biscuit.

Just wish we could see them better in the photo The photo accompanying this Anna Maguire Belfast Telegraph story also includes a photo gallery.*

Within three hours of going on sale, 300 German biscuits carrying the face of Rory McIlroy had disappeared from the shelves of Skinner’s Bakery.

By noon on Monday, workers at the Holywood bakery were frantically preparing another batch.

“It’s because he’s a Holywood boy,” was how co-owner Valerie Skinner explained the success of their best-selling product.

“My husband (and bakery co-owner) Wilson had the idea of making the biscuits when we were watching Rory win the US Open Championship last year. We sold thousands of the biscuits then.

Rory On Morning Drive: Confirms He Overslept Between Rounds

It must be nice to be sitting on a PGA Championship lead and be able to sleep so soundly that someone has to wake you up. From his Morning Drive call-in:

PGA Ratings Wrap: Saturday Up A Tick, Sunday Down

SportsMediaWatch.com has a few more PGA Championship ratings for CBS. The 3.9 overnight was down 9% from '11 and 22% from '10 and was the lowest since '08, but it did outdraw the Open Championship slightly and Saturday was not horrible.

On Saturday, third round action drew a 2.7 overnight (excludes rainout coverage) — actually up a tick from last year (2.6), but down 13% from 2010 (3.1).

Now You Too Can Own The Deluxe Driving Range Turd Holder Used By Miguel Angel

John Strege reports on the $3.95 labradoodle feces cigar holder that blends seamlessly with your range balls and expedites your chase for the ever elusive case of lip cancer.

Second PGA Championship Question: Was Rory's Win The Most Satisfying Major Triumph This Year?

No offense to the first three major winners--Watson, Simpson, Els--but for me the PGA Championship win by Rory McIlroy was the most satisfying win. Even with the golf course so soft, it felt like McIlroy overcame more (varied weather, winds) while having the freedom to separate himself with his supreme talent to drive the ball long and accurately.

The Masters was obviously the most compelling to watch, but the awkwardness of deciding a major with a sudden death playoff and the sad tactics the club must resort to just to make the course playable take a little from Bubba's win.

The U.S. Open and Open Championships were not as satisfying because driver was such a minor player. As was suspected heading into Olympic Club and Royal Lytham, the player able to combine distance with accuracy had very few opportunities to display his talents. Constricting setups resulted in efforts to bring relevancy to architecture long since passed up by modern driving distances.

At the PGA, 7,700 yards that played like it (or longer) allowed McIlroy to display his remarkable talent for length and accuracy. He threw in some amazing short game work and won in a way that left no doubt he was the best player.

So while all the major champions and their pursuers deserve a tip of the cap for giving it their all and putting on great displays of skill this year, Rory's win at the PGA left me most impressed. You?

'12 PGA Sunday Overnights Down 9%

I know, it's hard to believe with a presentation as enticing to watch as Sunday's latest commercial and promo-laden PGA Championship telecast, that ratings would be down. But that's what Thomas Bonk says on his blog, reporting a drop from 4.3 last year to 3.9 this year. In the PGA's defense, it was up against Olympic coverage on NBC. However, it did feature a more star-studded leaderboard this year compared to last.

Rory Romps Roundup: 2012 PGA Clippings

First, the game stories after a stunning weekend performance by Rory McIlroy in winning the 2012 PGA Championship.

LEDES

Doug Ferguson, AP:

  Rory McIlroy dressed the part as golf's next star and played like it, too.

Steve DiMeglio for USA Today, working in a little love for the logistics:

 Much like the daily slog to and from this barrier island, Rory McIlroy's road back to major championship glory was chock-full of congestion.

James Corrigan plays off the Olympics for his Telegraph lede:

This was Rory McIlroy’s own closing ceremony, a procession lit up with fireworks and sheer brilliance.

Derek Lawrenson for the Daily Mail:

Turn up in a shirt of Tiger red on the final day of a major, and you better be able to walk the walk. Fortunately, Rory McIlroy was more than up to the task on Sunday, marching proudly to his second major victory with a flawless performance at the USPGA Championship.   

Ewan Murray for The Guardian:

There can be few things in sport more delightful than emulating the performance of your boyhood idol. Rory McIlroy, throughout his youth, was in awe of Tiger Woods. Here the Northern Irishman claimed the 94th US PGA Championship, the second major of his career, with the kind of Sunday front-running which was once the forte of Woods.

Paul Mahoney gets right to the point for The Independent:

Rory McIlroy wore red yesterday and channelled Tiger Woods circa 2000 to win the 94th US PGA Championship by eight shots with a score of 13 under par.

Bill Pennington takes us back to Augusta for his New York Times lede:

The birth of a champion, and maybe golf’s next dominant player, was dispiriting, humiliating defeat. Put Rory McIlroy back in the woods of the 10th hole at the 2011 Masters as he whacked his ball from tree to tree, a boy lost in the forest on his way to a mortifying fall from the summit of the leader board.

Simon Evans for Reuters:

Rory McIlroy brushed aside any lingering doubts over his ability to be a dominant force in golf by storming to a second major title with a stunning eight-shot victory at the PGA Championship on Sunday.

STUFF

Golf Channel's highlight package.

The Champion's post round interview transcript.

The final scores and purse disbursal.

All of the final round player interview transcripts at PGA.com.

SI/golf.com's post round Confidential.

RORY ANALYSIS

Dave Kindred says Rory announced his greatness with his drives.

A rocket. Rising toward the clouds. A draw to a fairway turning left. In the air forever, then running out down a slope. It was as if God Herself had said, "Let there be Rory and let him move men, women, and children to stand in awe of his work." Let's say the shot covered 340 yards. What happened next was nice -- up and down from a wasteland for birdie -- but it was that divinely beautiful drive that reminded us all we had been witness to McIlroy's arrival at greatness.

Gene Wojciechowski on the win and also the whole red shirt thing.

He wore a red shirt, just like Woods does on Sundays. He embraced his father, just like Woods used to do with his dad Earl. He had a flair for the dramatic, sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on his final hole, just the sort of thing Woods would do when winning a major.

Full disclosure: McIlroy said he wouldn't have worn the Tiger Red had he been paired with Woods.

"Might have to do it from now on," McIlroy said. "No wonder he wins so much."

Jason Sobel says comparisons to Tiger are unfair for reasons he mentions. He also quotes some of Rory's peers.

Even the way McIlroy’s peers discussed the performance in wide-eyed awe and effusive praise was reminiscent of how Woods’ fellow competitors have often discussed his achievements after a major win.

Ian Poulter: “Everybody should take note. The guy's pretty good.”

Carl Pettersson: “He was just better than everybody -- and it was clear to everybody, I think.”

Graeme McDowell: “His score speaks for itself. He's a hell of a talented player.”

Padraig Harrington was even more blunt, reports Brian Keogh.

“Rory is showing that with his A Game, everybody else is going to struggle to compete with him, and Tiger needs his A Game to come up against Rory. He’s not going to beat him unless he has a big weekend.  

Keogh on Tiger's admission that Rory's pretty good.

"He’s very good,” he said. “We all know the talent he has. He went through a little spell this year, and I think that was good for him. We all go through those spells in our careers, and you know, he’s got all the talent in the world to do what he’s doing. And this is the way that Rory can play. When he gets it going, it’s pretty impressive to watch.”

Keeping it going is McIlroy’s next task. Like the loyal Nike man he is, Woods revealed how it works.

“You just do it.”

Randall Mell on how Rory credited short game coach Dave Stockton.

Golfweek's Sean Martin with more on the Stockton advice.

His mid-summer slump also had impacted his demeanor, so much so that putting instructor Dave Stockton told McIlroy to play with a smile this week, a tip it seemed McIlroy would never need. There was plenty for him to enjoy about an Ocean Course that so suited his strengths.

Elevated greens forced players to hoist the ball skyward on approach shots, even when the Ocean Course’s strong winds would usually call for a lower trajectory. No one hits it high, especially with the long clubs, better than McIlroy. It’s no coincidence he’s dominated two majors at softer-than-standard layouts. Soft conditions allowed him to be aggressive with every club in his bag.

Gary Van Sickle on what the win means.

McIlroy is now ahead of the major pace of Woods. McIlroy turned 23 three months ago; Woods won his second major, the 1999 PGA at Medinah, when he was 23 years, 7 months old.

Ahead of Tiger's pace, behind Tiger's pace -- it doesn't really matter. Tiger's run, which led to 14 majors, was so remarkable that it's amazing to even be on a similar trajectory. This is the dawn of a great opportunity for McIlroy, and he will fuel our golf conversations until we return to Augusta National next April.

A European Tour story talks to a few writers about where Rory's second major win fits with other great triumphs and legends.

THE RUNNER-UP

An unbylined AP story on runner-up David Lynn.

An unbylined Sky Sports story on Lynn, who is in next year's Masters now.

"It's a little bit surreal right now," said Lynn, whose only win came in the 2004 Dutch Open. "I've never been exempt to play in anything in America, so that's the reason why I've never been over here. This is a good start.

"To come and perform the way I have this week in a major is very special and a great achievement. It has not sunk in properly yet to be honest.

"The Masters is just a dream come true, obviously - amazing. Seeing Augusta as many times as I have, it's like I know the place and I've never even been there.

COURSE

Rex Hoggard says the setup was weak.

Not once during the 94^th PGA Championship did officials move to the forward tees on the par-4 12^th or 13^th holes. Both holes were pegged as potential risk/reward holes but played well over 400 yards every day.

Nor did the PGA of America show much variety at the par-3 17^th hole, which played 229, 217, 219 and 233 yards for Rounds 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. In fact, the total yardage for the Ocean Course, at 7,668 yards the longest in major championship history, varied just 200 yards throughout the week.

IMAGES

GolfChannel.com's image gallery kicks off with a classic Rickie impersonator.

Golfweek.com's image gallery.

golf.com's gallery is nice and big and features the work of SI's crew.

TELEVISION

Martin Kaufman sticks to mostly compliments for the hard-working technical team that caught some key sights and sounds in between the commercial breaks. 

TWEETS

Rory's thank-you Tweet.

David Feherty is still on the high that he exuded during the telecast, and is also happy about the end of the Olympics.

Luke Donald is happy to be off Kiawah Island, agent Chubby Chandler wants more restaurants before they host another major (oh the problems!), Luke would just like another road.

Webb Simpson said the Pettersson penalty was another example of a golf rule that doesn't make sense.

And the final word goes to the Ancient Twitterer.

Rules Under Fire (Again): "We have a lot of stupid rules in golf."

Matthew Rudy on the Carl Pettersson violation Sunday at the PGA which led to a two-shot penalty. Here is the PGA of America's statement.

Pettersson was not pleased after the round:

"I double checked with the official to make sure I could brush the grass as long as I didn't put any weight on the ground with the clubhead, and he said sure," said Pettersson about his shot on the first hole. "I wish he would have mentioned the leaves, too. I was just trying to hit the ball. I didn't even think twice about it."

After getting the notification from Davis, Pettersson was visibly annoyed. "I've got to take it on the chin, obviously. I broke the rule there," said Petterson. "I don't think it effected the outcome of the shot. It's just one of those things. We have a lot of stupid rules in golf."

Rex Hoggard included this from Feherty:

Golf Channel’s David Feherty, who was the walking analyst with the group on Sunday, was more pointed in his assessment of the rule.

“Why don’t professional golfers make rules for professional golfers?” Feherty asked. “We’re the only sport that allows amateurs (to make rules). It’s not working for me if a guy is trying to make a living. A major championship may have hung in the balance.

“That (rule) is designed so an amateur doesn’t drag his club back and make a channel for themselves. What do you think would happen if a pro did that out there? I think we can account for that. How are you supposed to make a backswing? Use the club like a spear?”

Still no video of it on YouTube or PGA.com's PGA Championship site. If anyone sees an online version of the violation, please post a link.

Update on Monday, August 13, 2012 at 01:01 AM by Geoff

**Thanks to reader Jonathan for spotting Jay Busbee's post with video: