Weather Forecast For PGA Championship Looks ‘Perfect’

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – One of the main criticisms of the 2019 schedule change in men’s professional golf which streamlined the major championships and, most notably, moved the PGA Championship from its previous August date to mid-May, was that it would limit potential locations for the tournament, perhaps causing it to migrate from the many worthy candidates in certain parts of the country.

To the PGA of America’s credit, officials haven’t shied away from any specific regions, with Aronimink Golf Club set to hold this tournament for the first time in 64 years.

Following a long, cold winter, the world’s best players will convene on the outskirts of Philadelphia, and all accounts are that the course is ready for them.

“The grass is growing,” Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America’s chief championship officer, told Golf Channel last week. “The course is in outstanding condition. We’re in great shape. Mother Nature is going to happen. [The growing season] is certainly late really getting going. Any of these northern venues are like this. It’s just late, it’s different. In August, you had three months in prime condition and you sort of were just hanging on.”

Indeed, this week’s weather looks perfect.

And yes, that description should come armed with an asterisk.

We’re not going to see Palm Springs-ish, dome-like conditions with temperatures hovering a few degrees over this course’s par and barely a breath of wind.

That’s not “perfect” – especially for a major championship.

No, what we’re going to have is weather that is chilly enough on a few mornings to warrant a hoodie and perhaps even a knit beanie cap.

The heat on the weekend afternoons should make the leaders sweat for reasons other than just trying to close out a tournament.

It might be a little wet at times, giving an advantage to the bombers who won’t have drives bounding off-line through the softer turf. Then it might dry out, playing into the hands of the precision players if the fairways firm up.

And according to the forecast, the wind is going to blow – maybe about a one-club wind, other than the times when it’s not puffing at all or the times when it’s gusting to nearly 30 mph.

These are the kind of conditions that Goldilocks, if she had qualified for this field, would’ve hated, with everything just a little too something.

All of which is what makes it so perfect.

Major championships are supposed to be difficult. They’re supposed to test players’ resolve. They’re meant to challenge them in uncertain surroundings and make them carefully consider every single shot before reconsidering a few more times.

Look, I’m no masochist. If we’re heading to a leisurely day at the beach, give me an abundance of sunshine and a light breeze blowing through my nonexistent hair.

For a major, though, I’ve always been a big believer in the presence of a few different seasons to help impact scoring. Not that it can be planned this way, obviously, but Mother Nature intervening in the proceedings makes it more fun as a spectator sport than four straight rounds of Groundhog Day.

What does this mean for bettors? Glad you asked.

There are no guarantees, of course, but simple rationalization suggests that Aronimink could be a different course Thursday morning than the one we’ll see Sunday afternoon. And while it’s certainly possible that an individual player can take an early lead and adjust to the conditions over the subsequent three days, it seems more logical that as this course transforms, so, too, will the leaderboard.

That leads me to believe we should leave more bankroll than usual for live plays. If there’s a player you like who’s, say, even-par and maybe five or six back after the first round, don’t be afraid to buy at a bigger price. As the temps heat up, some of the slow starters will invariably heat up, as well.

It’s all part of having inconstant conditions throughout the week, with players needing to accommodate as the weather changes – exactly the kind of variance we love to see at major championships.

Sounds perfect.