Mike Scully on the 2024 PGA Championship


Looking forward to the Scottie Scheffler Open later this week!  Trying to weed through all the history that Valhalla has gathered in a relatively short time for a golf club that hosts Major Championships, Ryder Cups, etc.  Tiger Woods validated the course with his shootout with Bob May in 2000 after their maiden voyage and tour veteran Mark Brooks in 1996.  Rory made great work of Valhalla sprinting to the finish to avoid a lightning strike in 2014 and returns in great form.  

As a former member of the PGA of America, there were many times I didn't agree with their leadership and how it impacted us a club professionals.  However, their move to invite LIV Golfers this week and try to extend somewhat of an olive branch maybe the smartest thing they have done in years.  With the resigning of one of golf's true gentlemen Jimmy Dunne from the PGA Tour Advisory Board on Monday, professional golf is searching for a way to recover and find a way forward.  The PGA of America may have the best chance to pull this off with their strength of field.  

Scottie Scheffler is the clear number 1 player in the world, and Rory found some great form this past week at Quail Hollow, a course that meets his eye.  But with the world golf rankings all screwed up, we may not as golf fans get to see the best play the best without the governing bodies acting like the PGA of America acted this week.  

I for one am truly excited to see if Scottie can do to Valhalla what Tiger did to Medinah 3 in 2006.  He was so out of this world good, that we had members wanting to fire the superintendent mid-week because he was torching the course.  Like he was responsible for the 2 inches of rain leading up to the opening round.  My staff and I knew he was going to light it up after seeing him on his advance work of the championship.  He hit shots during that practice round that to this day I have never seen hit by another human.  So besides watching Scottie being Scottie, my heart aches to see Tiger catch lightning in a bottle one more time on a course where he started to show us all the most dominant stretch of golf in the history of the game.  

So, as the PGA of America has given us a tremendous field for this week's championship, let's hope that we can somehow find a way to heal this great game.  There is blame to go around on both sides, and they all need to understand the game is bigger than all involved.  

Good luck lads on your hunt for the Wannamaker!  

Mike Scully 






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