PGA Championship Recap: Walker Wins First Major Title

After missing the cut at the 2015 PGA Championship, Jimmy Walker stood at No. 14 in the world. It surely wasn't what he wanted in a major, but that happens in golf, even for a guy who had amassed five wins over the previous two years. However, over the ensuing year, Walker proceeded to slide, and slide, and slide – almost completely out of the top 50 in the world.

Today, Jimmy Walker awoke basically where he was a year ago, at No. 15 in the world, after stunningly, if not boringly, winning the PGA Championship on Sunday at Baltusrol in Springfield, N.J. (The same sort of thing once happened to another Texan, Bobby Ewing, awakening from a nightmare season on "Dallas" to realize it was just a dream.)

If you had Walker in your DraftKings lineup, good going. I mean, really good going. But was he there because you thought he had a chance to do well or because you needed to fill a slot at a certain price point? I'd have a hard time believing the former. On the other hand, I'm not really one to talk this week, having been swept away in the bloodbath of missed cuts that wrecked so many lineups out there.

Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar all trunk-slammed – and in the home state of Tony Soprano, that's never a good thing.

I had all four of them in my lineups. And if not for a late movement in the cut line, another highly owned guy, Charl Schwartzel, would have joined them. I got hammered.

That's golf, that's sports and that sucks. Like the golfers and all athletes – and even gamers – you just have to look ahead, forget about the last shot, the last tournament and trust that the homework you're putting in will work out more times than it won't. (Somebody very wise and very smart once told that to me, and it's spot-on.)

As for the tournament itself, just a few words: It was horrible. Rain disrupted play so much they actually played lift, clean and place for the first time in the 98 editions of the PGA Championship. The course was long but without too much trouble around and on the greens – yes, you could score a big number, but scrambling and putting were not as important as they often are.

The most important shot in taming Baltusrol? The long iron. The most boring shot in golf? The long iron.

There was drama for about 30 seconds when Walker went into the greenside rough at 18, but he still had three shots to get down for victory. And he did.

Not even Jim Nantz could feign excitement: "There's your champion. A major champion for the first time, Jimmy Walker." Wow, did he stay up late on Saturday night working on that line? And it was said so quietly and unenthusiastically, basically only dogs could hear it.

Let's see whether Walker gets a career bounce from this out-of-nowhere win. He will in the sense that it locked up his spot on the upcoming Ryder Cup team. But for gamers, it's the week-in, week-out results that matter.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Jason Day

The world No. 1 was playing for a third straight week, battling a cold and didn't even get in a practice round till Wednesday. There's no way he is going to have a good week, predicted someone. … Day finished a disappointing year in the majors with a runner-up to Walker, eagling 18 on Sunday to end one stroke back. Day was T10 at the Masters, T8 at the U.S. Open, T22 at the Open Championship and 2 at the PGA – results for which most golfers would trade two years of their career, but viewed as a disappointment for Day. Even after a Tiger-like year of seven wins for the Aussie (not a calendar year), it goes to show how hard winning majors is. Would it surprise anyone if Day won two next year? Would it surprise anyone if he got shut out again? The answer to both questions is the same: No.
2016 majors grade of the top 15 in the OWGR, in order of ranking: B-

Dustin Johnson

The hottest golfer on the planet, one who had made 25 straight cuts, was also playing for a third straight week. But Johnson is as fit as they come on the tour and has displayed the important ability to put distractions out of his head. But a not-even-close-to-the-weekend MC at Baltusrol resulted. We can chalk it up to Johnson – yes, even Johnson – running out of gas, at least for one week. He normally gets more miles to the gallon than others, but he's not infallible. For the year: T4 Masters, 1 U.S. Open, T9 Open Championship, MC PGA.
2016 majors grade: A

Jordan Spieth

Spieth tied for 13th at Baltusrol. He was never in contention. And he hasn't been at a major since his disastrous sequence at No. 12 at Augusta on Sunday. Spieth has still won twice on the season and is still ranked No. 3 in the world. But he won't look back fondly at this year, clearly hampered by his whirlwind, worldwide travels in the offseason. For the year: T2 Masters, T37 U.S. Open, T30 Open Championship, T13 PGA.
2016 majors grade: D

Rory McIlroy

Oy. McIlroy was first in strokes gained-off the tee and 151st in strokes gained-putting. That really, really is not easy to do. McIlroy has some serious work ahead if he wants to get back into the conversation about winning majors. He's fallen to No. 4 in the world and it seems more likely he will fall further as opposed to rising anytime soon. For the year, he had two back-door tops-10s and two MCs: T10 Masters, MC U.S. Open, T5 Open Championship, MC PGA.
2016 majors grade: F

Henrik Stenson

Like Day playing well and Johnson playing poorly, I got this one completely wrong, too. No way did I think Stenson's head would be ready for another big tournament less than two weeks after his life-altering win at the Open Championship. But until an unforced error at 15 on Sunday, leading to double-bogey, he was right there. Impressive. For the year: T24 Masters, WD U.S. Open, 1 Open Championship, T7 PGA.
2016 majors grade: A

Bubba Watson

Watson is sixth in the world, won at Riviera and was second at the WGC-Cadillac. And he made the cut in all four majors. But he's not considered to be a part of any Big 3 or 4. He's just Bubba. For the year: T37 Masters, T51 U.S. Open, T39 Open Championship, T60 PGA.
2016 majors grade: C-

Rickie Fowler

What will we remember about Fowler's 2016? Instagram and a Brocation. He went on vacation to the Bahamas with fellow golfers, then shared a house with a bunch of them at the Open Championship. Being a nice guy is one thing. This is another. Imagine Tiger sharing a house with other top golfers during a major week? He might not even let you in to use the bathroom in an emergency. Fowler seems to be having a good time, and that's a problem. For the year: MC Masters, MC U.S. Open, T46 Open Championship, T33 PGA.
2016 majors grade: F

Adam Scott

Anyone remember that Scott won two weeks in a row in the spring, including the WGC-Cadillac? He became a Masters favorite, and that's the last we've heard of him. For the year: T42 Masters, T18 U.S. Open, T43 Open Championship, T18 PGA.
2016 majors grade: D

Danny Willett

Willett was a pretty good player, a top-20 player, before winning the Masters. So it wasn't a complete shock he broke through. But it was so life-altering, followed right after by the birth of his child, that the Englishman has basically taken the rest of the year off. And he's allowed to do that. For the year: 1 Masters, T37 U.S. Open, T53 Open Championship, T79 PGA.
2016 majors grade: A (because winning a major for a non-elite guy has to be an A)

Branden Grace

Grace got so close last year at Chambers Bay that big things were expected this year. It never materialized. For the year: MC Masters, T5 U.S. Open, T72 Open Championship, T4 PGA.
2016 majors grade: B-

Sergio Garcia

The best Sergio never to have won a major had a pretty good 2016. For the year: T34 Masters, T5 U.S. Open, T5 Open Championship, MC PGA.
2016 majors grade: B

Justin Rose

An injury-slowed season. For the year: T10 Masters, MC U.S. Open, T22 Open Championship, T22 PGA.
2016 majors grade: C

Phil Mickelson

Oh, Phil. Mickelson arrived at the PGA on a high after dueling Stenson at Royal Troon. And he had won the last PGA at Baltusrol, back in 2005. So, naturally, Mickelson barely squeaked into the weekend and wasn't a factor. For the year: MC Masters, MC U.S. Open, 2 Open Championship, T33 PGA.
2016 majors grade: C-

Patrick Reed

At this point in his career, Reed should be making bigger dents in majors, if not winning one. For the year: T49 Masters, MC U.S. Open, T12 Open Championship, T13 PGA.
2016 majors grade: C-

Jimmy Walker

For the year: T29 Masters, MC U.S. Open, MC Open Championship, 1 PGA.
2016 majors grade: A (but staring at an F before the PGA)

There were 14 guys who made the cut in all four majors. Here are the nine not previously mentioned: Lee Westwood, Bill Haas, Emiliano Grillo, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Kevin Na, Martin Kaymer, Justin Thomas, Harris English, Kevin Kisner. Who can win a major out of this group? Maybe Grillo, Cabrera-Bello and Kaymer. Kinda maybe Thomas.