CNN
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They say the Masters won’t actually progress until the second nine on Sunday. The coveted green jacket has been acquired and lost many times over the years, especially when the iconic three holes are large with the Amen corners getting bigger.
At Quail Hollow, the host venue for this year’s PGA Championship, there is another trio that are conspired to build many holes to sweat a lot here in the North Carolina field.
And it doesn’t just lead to swelling temperatures on the course!
The last three holes in this famous Charlotte venue are known as the Green Mile.
For some, it is one of the most difficult hole closure sequences in sports.
In total, they measure just under 1,250 yards. The PAR-4 16th is Gargantuan 529 yards. A 223-yard par-3 follows, with a closed hole (par-4) entering 494 yards. Water is a clear and present danger across all three holes. Simply put, it is a brutal test of resolve and perseverance of every golfer.
Ask Bryson Deccanbeau. He was 8 under par and had an actual charge at the end of Saturday before the Green Mile risk began.
“It was a story about winds entering me, not leeward. It cost me a three-shot, and that’s what happens here with Quail Hollow,” the US Open Champion said.
The 31-year-old, who plays on the Liv Golf circuit, doesn’t feel he’s done something very wrong on his way to a 2-under par 3 round 69, which only serves to increase his frustration.
“That’s why golf is the worst four-letter word in the world,” lamented Deccanbeau.
The top ranked player in the men’s game is Scotty Scheffler. But he knows the threat posed by the Green Mile, but he navigated it well as he put his strength into a three-shot lead on Saturday.
“The 16-shot approach is really difficult. A tee shot at 17 is really difficult. Then there are two really challenging shots at 18, where there are water on the left,” Schaeffler said.
“There’s no real breather in that series of holes, so it should be a fun finish.”
The fun probably isn’t that Schaeffler chose after Thursday’s opening round. He recently crowned Masters champion Rory McIilloyy and the tournament’s defending champion Zander Schaufele all went double bogeying, but double bogeying 16, but is battling tough course situations after the week’s rain.
McIroy knows this course like the back of his hand. He has won four times in his celebrity career with Quazur Hollow, but even he has realised he has to avoid Friday’s final double bogey to stay in the tournament over the weekend. In the end, the five major winners achieved his goal, but only after a bogey following one at 17.
Or take the light-like name of Justin Thomas, who was the winner when the PGA Championship took place in Quazul Hollow in 2017. South Carolina’s recent winner, Thomas, was unable to make the cut after two too-early bogeys in the final three holes.
But the Green Mile is not all fate and darkness. It can sometimes give players a big break when it comes to stray rakes. It was the experience of Venezuela’s Jonathan Vegas, who led the tournament in the first two rounds.
On Friday, the 17-year-old South American drive was well away from the target before hitting a rake near the greenside bunker.
“It was one of those things that happen in the sport. Sometimes you hit an unbound sprinkler head or a cart pass that goes out of bounds, or sometimes you hit a rake that goes into the green,” reflecting the four-time PGA Tour winner.
“It’s just a part of the game and you need to enjoy it all,” he added.
Or what about Ryan Gerald’s approach?
The young American also plays in his first PGA Championship in his hometown. Gerald attended the University of North Carolina and as a college golfer, there was one surefire way to conquer the hollow, difficult near holes in quail.
“I’ll tell you a fun anecdote. In 2018, six months after the PGA, we came out here in preparation for the NCAA Nationals. Our coach reached the 18th tee, all six of us were equal in the same group and had to play hole 18 at the same time.
“So we were there for quite some time. We learned a lot about hole 18 that day, and hopefully we can move on to this week.”
While we are sure that other factors will arise while we are sure that it will be a tense final round, we can be certain of one thing.
Quail Hollow’s famous request request finishing stretches are very likely to go a long way in determining who lifts the famous Shannamaker trophy on Sunday night.