My god, look at the calendar. Go on. I insist.
Look at it. It seems impossible, but facts are stubborn things, and we’ve already arrived at the final men’s golf major of the 2024 season. Was it not just yesterday that we were marveling at Scottie Scheffler as he earned his second green jacket at Augusta National, or Xander Schauffele as he bagged his elusive first major at the PGA Championship, or Scheffler again as he was carted off to jail at the same PGA Championship, or Rory McIlroy as he missed gimme putts at nos.
16 and 18 at the U.S. Open, thus ceding the tournament to onetime pariah/now possible future president Bryson DeChambeau? Between the ongoing and increasingly incomprehensible status of the allegedly pending merger between the PGA, DP World, and LIV tours and a corresponding sense of fatigue and frustration from both players and fans alike, this is a very weird period for the men’s game.
But a few times a year, we’re able to ignore all that and revel in the high-intensity struggle that yields a champion for the ages. That’s one thing they can’t take away with closed-door committee meetings. So far.
So grab your rain gear, your beanie, and your beverage of choice and buckle up for four days of riveting action from the region where strange geniuses first invented the sport we love. As always, I am joined by my esteemed playing partners Megan Schuster and Matt Dollinger as we prepare you for the 152nd occurrence of the oldest major of them all, the Ope.