It is perhaps apt that Southern Hills Country Club should lend its origins to oil money.
Back in 1935, local oil man Waite Phillips dipped into his pockets to create a course which, revamped back in 2018, now hosts the 104th PGA Championship.
For four days, it is hoped the Oklahoma course can mute the infighting caused by the oil money coming from Saudi Arabia to the tune of $2billion, which has the ability to flip the game of golf on its head in the next few weeks.
Already, golf’s soap opera has been played out very publicly, and got ugly. Phil Mickelson’s “scary mother******” rant about the Saudi regime behind LIV Golf still looms large.
Made public back in February, he has not hit a competitive golf shot since and, rather than the focus being on his stunning win at last year’s PGA at the age of 50, instead the focus is on his absence and participation at the first of eight events on the LIV Golf calendar in three weeks’ time at Centurion in the UK.
So divisive is the issue that there has been more talk of those missing from the starting line-up this week, notably Mickelson, than the players themselves. Tiger Woods called his comments “polarising” while Rory McIlroy bemoaned the fact the game could not be celebrating a returning champion in Mickelson.
Come next week, lawyers’ letters look likely to resume in earnest between the PGA and DP World (formerly European) Tours and LIV Golf. Its CEO Greg Norman has promised to fight tooth and nail for any player committing to his series, and also it would seem fit their legal bills.
While such legal ramifications look likely to drag on behind closed doors in the interim, for a few days there should at least be some respite.
The players are relishing this revised course, McIlroy making the point that it encouraged wedge play rather than an ability to putt from anywhere. It should suit the Northern Irishman as he looks for a first Major win in eight years.
The form is clearly good on the basis of his last Major round where his closing 64 at the Masters left him runner-up at Augusta.
He resumes his Majors push in what will be the most watched group alongside Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth, himself without a Major win in five years and bidding to become only the sixth player in history to compete the clean sweep of the Majors this week.
The indicators are good for Spieth, who since the Masters won a play-off to take an RBC Heritage win and was runner-up to Lee Kyoung-hoon a week ago.
Of his bid to join playing partner Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, Spieth said: “It would be pretty cool. Having won the other three, it’s an elephant in the room for me. If you told me I was going to win one tournament the rest of my life, I’d say I want to win this one. You feel like you kind of accomplished golf when you win a career grand slam.”
Woods has promised a far improved version of the player who hobbled his way around the final 18 holes of Augusta having been the earlier talking point of that week, and uttered his belief he can win a 16th Major more remarkable than his last at the 2019 Masters.
The winner could conceivably come from that trio or else the other super group of round one, consisting of Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm and the form player of 2022 and newest recipient of the Green Jacket, Scottie Scheffler.
The Southern Hills Championship Course was never meant to be this week’s PGA Championship host. The initial venue, Trump National Golf Club, was stripped of that role following the storming of the US Capitol.
Trump has, in some ways, exacted his revenge by offering up his courses to LIV Golf only to sit back and watch the sort of chaos he seems to relish ensue. For four rounds in the quest for the Wanamaker Trophy, golf’s rows will be thankfully – albeit briefly – forgotten.
