A record number of 48 European Tour Members will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, next week to compete in the final Major of 2007, the US PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club.
Previous best representation came at Medinah 12 months ago when 47 teed up but this year the total has gone one better, with every player involved looking to carry on the current European Tour success story in the Major Championship arena.
That began in June at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania when Argentina’s Angel Cabrera captured the US Open Championship and continued at Carnoustie in Scotland in last month when Ireland’s Padraig Harrington lifted the Claret Jug as winner of The 136th Open Championship.
Should the winning run continue it would mark a milestone in European Tour history for it would be the first time that European Tour Members have held three of the four Majors at any one time.
As is tradition in the US PGA Championship, Cabrera and Harrington will play together over the first two rounds at Southern Hills, their marquee three ball completed with the Masters Tournament Champion Zach Johnson. The trio will begin at 1.10pm local time on Thursday and start their second round at 8.05am on Friday.
They are not the only two European Tour Members to play together for the first two days however.
Another appealing three ball features Ernie Els – looking to add the US PGA crown to his two US Open and one Open Championship triumphs – alongside Colin Montgomerie – runner-up to Steve Elkington in the event at Riviera in 1995. The South African and the Scot will be joined by American Stewart Cink at 8.25am on Thursday and 1.30pm on Friday.
Twenty minutes before they depart, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke will partner Retief Goosen of South Africa alongside the 2006 US Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman, while 9.00am on the opening day sees South Africa’s Trevor Immelman and Robert Karlsson of Sweden have American Tom Pernice Jnr for company.
Completing the experienced European Tour Member match-ups are England’s David Howell and Adam Scott of Australia, who will start at 2.00pm on Thursday alongside American Ryder Cup man Vaughn Taylor, while second last group out on the opening day at 2.35pm sees Sweden’s Daniel Chopra and YE Yang of Korea partner American Butch Sheehan.
Also in the field are eight European Tour Members who will be experiencing the special atmosphere of the US PGA Championship for the first time. They are Austria’s Markus Brier, England’s Simon Dyson and Graeme Storm, France’s Gregory Havret, China’s Liang wen-Chong, Indian’s Jyoti Randhawa and Jeev Milkha Singh, and South Africa’s Richard Sterne.
Of the group, Singh will have the familiar company of Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin alongside him, as well as American Pat Perez at 9.10am on Thursday morning, while the remainder are spread throughout the field, Havret one of the first off on the first day at 7.40am, while Randhawa is one of the last, at 2.15pm.
Defending champion Tiger Woods, who won his 12th Major Championship by five shots at Medinah last year, will not have a European Tour Member for company over the first two rounds at least, the World Number One lining up with fellow Americans Bob Tway and Rich Beem at 8.45am on Thursday morning and 1.50pm on Friday afternoon.
