The Old White Course TPC in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
7,287 yards, Par 72.

Architect: Charles Blair McDonald

Notes:

Sam Snead made his final hole-in-one at the 18th in 1995. Snead, the club pro at the Old White Course and a long time member of the club, made 42 total hole in ones, and won seven majors: the 1942 PGA Championship, the 1946 Open Championship, the 1949 Masters, the 1949 and ’51 PGA Championships, and the 1952 and ’54 Masters. In 1997, the 85 year old Snead shot a 78 at the Old White course. He passed away in May of 2002 at the age of 89. He was one of the all time greats. Top 5 along with Nicklaus (18 majors), Hogan (9 majors) , Byron Nelson (5 majors, 52 PGA victories) and Walter Hagen (11 majors).  I’m not including Tiger Woods yet. Going to see how his career unfolds the next five to eight  years if he lasts that long. The reason is, Hogan, Nelson and Snead all served in WWII, so their accomplishments are even more impressive than that of the modern day players. The competition was tougher as far as elite player back  then. Not depth, but elite.  Hagan was a stud and one of the most flamboyant players of all time. Beating the likes of Rocco Mediate, Woody Austin and Bob May in majors isn’t as impressive to me as what these other guys did. The competition, elite-wise, was tougher for all of these guys. Today is different. You’ve got Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy and some other guys like who are challenging to become elite. Woods is having a lot tougher time today with that and all of his injuries. Plus, he’s lost it with his golf game. I’d have to include Bobby Jones in that list too (7 majors, 5 U.S. Amateurs and one British Amateur, when those were really big deals in the 20’s and 30’s). I just look for the entire person for greatness, not just numbers. What they did for the game, their impact on the game, and people in and around the game that they affected. I don’t care about Tiger’s personal struggles. I don’t agree with the way he acted at all, but there’s more to greatness than just posting major wins. It’s about a player’s entire impact on the game. These guys were greatness in how they impacted the game. They had personalities. They weren’t robots.

Stuart Appleby shot a 59 here in 2011 on Sunday on his way to victory.

Defending champion: An-gel Cabrera

Weather:

Could be rainy, but wind minimal. They’ll figure it out. May be some delays, but should be fine.

TV:

Thursday-Friday: Golf Channel: 3 PM-6 PM CT/4 PM-7 PM ET.

Saturday-Sunday: Golf Channel: 12 PM-1:30 PM CT/1 PM-2:30 PM ET.

Saturday-Sunday: CBS: 2 PM-5 PM CT/3 PM-6 PM ET.

Winner:

This 29 year old from Woodstock, Vermont, who resides in Jupiter, Florida now, has changed from the belly putter to the short stick per the new rule that goes into effect on Jan.1, 2016 that all players pro and amateur must use regulation length short putters. He has adjusted pretty well. He has three top 10’s this season. He finished tied for third at the Hero World Challenge last December of ’14, he finished T-4 at the Northern Trust Open in February, he finished T-5 at the Shell Houston Open in April, the week before the Masters, he finished T-22 at the Masters, he finished T-8 at the Memorial and he finished T-27 at the U.S. Open, shooting 69 on the final day on those nearly impossible to putt greens at Chambers Bay. He shot 64, 69, 71, 70 last week at the Travelers to finish -6 and T-39th for the tournament.

He finished T-4 here last year shooting 66 on the final day. His 2011 victory at the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club in August of that year, was very significant because he became only the third golfer in history to win a major in his first attempt joining Francis Ouimet (U.S. Open, 1913, The Greatest Game Ever Played, terrific movie on Ouimet’s 2013 victory), and Ben Curtis (Open Championship in 2003).  No golfer has done it since, though that’s been a short time. He’s 14th in driving distance on the tour at 303.8–Dustin Johnson leads that stat at 319 off the tee– he’s 14th tee to green strokes gained on the field, and though he is 111th in strokes gained putting, his putting is getting better and better as the season is progressing and in full throttle.  I see him breaking out and winning his fourth tournament on the tour.  I like the winner of the 2011 PGA Championship and avid New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins fan to get it done here and achieve his fourth victory on tour to go along with the hid victories at the PGA, the Byron Nelson (2011) and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (2012).

Keegan Bradley

Have a great 4th.