Still, the team at Kiawah Island set out to slowly earn the trust of governing organizations like the PGA of America, hosting a steady stream of tournaments that would display both the challenge the course could offer, as well as its overall playability.
Each time, the course held up, offering a fearsome, yet enjoyable, test for the golfers and garnering rave reviews from the players. By the time Rory McIlroy made his way down the 18th fairway, showered by the adulations of a jubilant crowd, it had already been decided.
But it was a long, harrowing road to victory. That warm summer weekend in , players got a taste of everything the venerable venue could offer. Calm conditions fostered lower scores to open play, but then thirty-mile-per-hour winds wreaked havoc with tee shots and approaches to the green in the second round, sending scores soaring.
A third-round thunderstorm rolled through in the afternoon, suspending play, while a lovely mixture of sun and clouds graced players for their Sunday rounds. Through it all, McIlroy remained focused. The Irishman dominated play throughout the weekend, firing rounds of 67 and 66 to close out play and cruising to a surprisingly easy eight-stroke victory for his second major championship.
It was a picture-perfect end to a historic week at Kiawah Island. The tournament marked the first time a major professional championship had been held in the state of South Carolina, and there was no grander venue than The Ocean Course with its windswept dunes and sparkling coastline.
Just nine months will pass from the moment that Collin Morikawa hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy to the first tee shot of his title defense. This transition promises to deliver different playing conditions for the field, with the potential for swirling winds, temperature fluctuations, and a level of unpredictability that makes the challenging Ocean Course that much more perilous.
Mix business with pleasure during your visit to Kiawah Island. In between touring luxury homes and learning about the Kiawah Island Club amenities, play a round at The Ocean Course to see what it truly means to be a Kiawah Island resident.
Get in touch with us via the button below to learn more about visiting Kiawah. Open at Pebble Beach, but a solo fifth at Quail Hollow was a promising sign. Shane Lowry If the wind whips off the Atlantic Ocean this week, the Irishman will feel right at home. He survived absolutely awful conditions to win the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. He might miss a major for the first time since the Open Championship, though, because of the pending birth of his fourth child.
His wife is due in early June. Cameron Champ He's one of the longest hitters in the field, and he's getting better in majors. He tied for 10th at the PGA Championship, his best finish yet at a major. Billy Horschel There will be plenty of spots for Horschel to go barefoot and roll up his pant legs on the Ocean Course. He has gone into the water to hit a shot more than once this year. He made the cut in each of his past seven starts in the PGA Championship. Corey Conners The Canadian golfer has posted back-to-back tops at the Masters, where second shots are a premium.
His accuracy off the tee will come in handy at Kiawah Island. He's been pretty good in the U. They are the long shots. This tier includes a handful of aging former major champions and some first-timers. They're here only because they've already won the Wanamaker Trophy, earning the right to come back and play, but their days of competing are in the rearview mirror.
Jimmy Walker Jason Dufner Y. Skip to main content Skip to navigation. Who has a shot and who has no chance to win the PGA Championship.
Justin Thomas is ready for a big year, Greg Norman's league needs players and other big things in golf. Four tied as Houston Open first round suspended. Langer battles balky back; Mickelson tied for lead. Maguire 'clicking,' fires 62 for 2-shot Pelican lead. Hansen opens with two-shot lead in Dubai. McIlroy returns to longtime swing coach Bannon. European Tour rebranding, doubling prize money. Dominant Hovland repeats as winner at Mayakoba. Pieters holds nerve to win Portugal Masters.
Hovland leads by 2 at Mayakoba after late birdies. Pieters, Pavon share Portugal lead into final day. Nakajima earns Masters spot with playoff victory. Wolff's Mayakoba lead down to 2 with late bogeys. Bertasio holds two-shot lead in Portugal. Nakajima leads Asia-Pacific Amateur by a stroke. Norman adds execs to group starting golf league. How good was the land? Kiawah Island was awarded the Ryder Cup before the course was built. Hurricane Hugo hit that October, delaying a construction process that was already working on a tight timetable.
Many doubted that the course would be in suitable condition for the matches. That only inspired everyone involved in the construction, Dye said. The team worked hour days, often under lights after the sun had set, to complete the course on time.
The course was planted in July , almost exactly a year after the groundbreaking. Dye built the course in a figure-8 design, with the front nine looping clockwise to the east and the back nine looping counterclockwise to the west. That layout allows Kiawah Island to have more oceanfront holes 10 than any course in the North America.
In his autobiography, Dye started the chapter on Kiawah Island with a quote from course architect John L. During construction, Dye discovered there was no prevailing wind on Kiawah Island.
It could blow from different directions on consecutive days. It required Dye to design an adaptable course. He did this by building greens that were yards deep and could accept shots with a variety of trajectories. Players saw first-hand at the Ryder Cup how differently the course can play. The wind blew from the southeast during the practice rounds but came from the opposite direction once the competition began. At 18, what had been a 5- or 6-iron approach shot downwind to the green now became a long-iron or rescue club shot.
A ridge of sand dunes blocked views of the beach, so Alice convinced Pete to raise the fairways six feet so golfers could see over the sand. Rory McIlroy won by eight shots. Open by eight shots. Winning at Kiawah got him back to No. He was the youngest player to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros Tiger Woods was about four months older when he won his second major. McIlroy was two back after shooting in the first two rounds but his closing two rounds of under was best in the field by three shots.
He finished the rain-delayed third round Sunday morning, making birdies on Nos. No one got closer than two strokes the rest of the way. He was bogey-free over his final 23 holes.
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