Wyndham Championship Catches Big Name Break

When the Wyndham Championship settled into its spot following the PGA Championship and in the week before the FedEx Cup playoffs begin, the date came with obvious challenges. Most of the top players figured to take the week off to prep for the playoff push, such as it is.

The hope was that the race to finish inside the top 125 would create a bit of drama, something that hasn't really happened. This year, however, the Wyndham Championship hit it big with several top names making late commitments in an effort to assure their place in the playoffs.

That's why Ernie Els, at No. 126 in the points, is playing Greensboro this week. The same goes for Padraig Harrington, No. 130, rescheduled a planned vacation, and it's why Angel Cabrera, No. 150, is at Sedgefield.

As Els said on his blog this week, "This really is a last chance saloon, as they say."

Toss in Anthony Kim, Ian Poulter, Jim Furyk, Paul Casey and Davis Love III and Greensboro has one of the most attractive fields it has had in many years.

Like other years, it figures to be one of the lower scoring events on tour this year.

"You have to make a lot of birdies," Charles Howell III. "That's not the end of the world."

VIDEO: Ron Jr. on Keegan Bradley's PGA win

Ron Green Jr. on Keegan Bradley's surprising PGA win. Who is this guy, and how did he come to win the PGA Championship? (Hint, he had help from Jason Dufner):

Five Things The PGA Championship Showed Us

Five things the PGA Championship showed us:

1. Americans Can Still Win Majors

No one figured it would fall to Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner to salvage American pride in the majors but they did with Bradley ending a run of six straight international winners in the majors. Two other Americans finished in the top 10 -- David Toms and Scott Verplank.

If you had those guys as your top four Americans, you're not telling the truth.

2. Keegan Bradley Is A Star

Winning a major championship doesn't guarantee stardom but Bradley has the extra something that draws fans to him. The way he fought, the way he reacted and the way he handled himself Sunday was exceptional.

Bradley is a good tough course player and he established himself as one of the faces of the new generation of American players.

3. Luke Donald Is Always There

We knew that before the PGA Championship but he tied for eighth, another in a string of strong performances by the world's No.1 ranked player.

Like everybody in the field except Bradley, Donald can think back on a couple of disasters that cost him a chance to win. Like so many others, he came to despise the 18th hole, or at least the scores he made there. The way he's going, Donald may hold on to No. 1 for a while.

4. Tiger Isn't Close

He says he's getting closer but his results don't suggest it. Twenty bunkers. Almost two sleeves of Nikes in the water. No wonder he wasn't around for the weekend.

The next time we'll see him play is at the Australian Open in a couple of months. I expect he'll be better there. How could he not be?

5. The Playoffs Start In Two Weeks

I repeat, the playoffs start in two weeks. The PGA Tour playoffs. The FedEx Cup thing.

Okay, then, the Masters is only eight months away.

McIlroy: See You At The Match Play Next Year

We've seen the last of Rory McIlroy on this side of the Atlantic until late February if the U.S. Open champion sticks to the schedule he has mapped out. After that, however, we may see him plenty if he takes up membership on the PGA Tour next year as he plans.

In the meantime, McIlroy will stay busy on the European Tour through the end of the year.

After finishing the PGA Championship Sunday at 11-over, which included a triple bogey at the par-4 third hole which he failed to par during the tournament (three bogeys and a triple), McIlroy said what his body language showed.

"To be honest, I'm glad to be done," McIlroy said.

McIlroy said his right wrist is getting better, the swelling in his damaged tendon having gone down to the point there's no real concern long-term. He plans to take a couple of weeks off, relax and get ready for the season-ending stretch on the European Tour.

By winning the U.S. Open in the dominating fashion he did, McIlroy took the expected jump in his career. He's now arguably the game's most popular player and has another year of wisdom to call on down the road.

"I feel comfortable in these events and the win this year in the U.S. Open will give me a lot of confidence going into them next year," McIlroy said Sunday.

He plans to wait until later to go house-hunting in south Florida, setting up an American base by the time he makes his planned return to the PGA Tour at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in February in Arizona.

VIDEO: Ron Green Jr. on Day 1 of the PGA

Ron Green Jr. on Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy, along with highlights from Day 1 of the PGA Championship:

PGA Championship Becoming A Part Of The Carolinas

   Among the decorations greeting guests to the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club are several banners celebrating future sites of the year's final major championship.

   One reads, 2012 Kiawah Island. Another reads, 2017 Quail Hollow.

   Pretty cool if you live in the Carolinas and you're into golf. And that doesn't count the dual U.S. Opens coming to Pinehurst in 2014.

   A year from now, Kiawah Island's Ocean Course will be on the world stage again, 21 years after its stunning debut at the 1991 Ryder Cup matches. It's a different course now, some of its wild edges tamed but it's still one of the most dramatic settings in golf. If the wind blows -- and since it's likely to be over 90 degreees each day it had better blow -- it could be a supreme test.

   Kiawah officials have had great success selling the championship. They've already sold 94 percent of the tickets and expect to be sold out once they reopn the registration list Sunday evening to fill the final six percent of tickets. They made the wise move of reducing spectator capacity to 30,000 per day, well below the gallery size at most majors.

   Corporate support has been extremely strong and there's every reason to believe the championship will be a big success.

   Six years from now, it will be at Quail Hollow. It's a long time but not that long. Officials from the Wells Fargo Championship have been in Atlanta this week getting the lay of the land, studying the infrastructure that will be required. It's a substantially larger than what a regular tour event requires.

   There are changes coming to Quail Hollow for the PGA. There will be bermuda grass on the greens by then and there will likely be some tweaks made to the layout.

   There's also the inevitable question about the future of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. That's a decision to be made down the road.

  

Poulter, Kim Add Names To Greensboro Field

   Ian Poulter, Anthony Kim and Louis Oosthuizen are the latest top players to commit to the Wyndham Championship next week in Greensboro.
 
   They add their names to a field that includes Paul Casey, David Toms, Davis Love III, Brandt Snedeker, John Daly, Lucas Glover and others.