Oak Hill Diary: Donaldson forced to withdraw after suffering back injury

Sad to see Jamie Donaldson having to withdraw following a first-round 80 after suffering a back injury. 

Sometimes these injuries seem terribly convenient, but Donaldson once took a year off with back problems and was told he would never play again. 

Let’s hope this injury is of the twinge variety.

There are one-major wonders — and then there is Shaun Micheel.

It was 10 years ago when he hit one of the greatest shots in Grand Slam history to win the  US PGA here at Oak Hill.

Now look at the poor bloke.

Never mind the PGA Tour, the 44-year-old American hasn’t made a cut all year on the reserve circuit and is ranked outside the top 1,000 players in the world. That US PGA title remains his only victory, and one that got him into this event, where he shot a first-round 76.

And yet Micheel is a better player than Lee Westwood because he has a major title to his 

name?

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Dominant Dufner breaks 71-year-old record and takes charge at US PGA Championship

A course record that had stood for over 70 years was broken by American Jason Dufner on a spectacular day of scoring at the US PGA Championship at venerable Oak Hill on Friday.

The undemonstrative American was visibly shaking as he stood over a 15ft putt on the final green to become the first man in major championship history to shoot 62. 

But he left the putt short, and so had to settle for the rather nice consolation prize of not only leading the season’s final major at halfway on nine under but also breaking the mark of 64 set here by Ben Hogan in 1942 and equalled by Curtis Strange in 1989. 

Dufner was not the only man to take advantage of greens that played like dartboards owing to the incessant morning rain. Justin Rose came home in just 29 shots for a 66 that has left him placed nicely at three behind and on the shoulder of Adam Scott, who lies one shot nearer the lead. It was the lowest nine hole score seen at this particular major for 18 years.

This was a dramatic day by any stretch, then, one where former US Open champion Webb Simpson leapt dramatically into contention with what was at the time a course record-equalling 64. Lee Westwood, alas, went the other way with a 73 while defending champion Rory McIlroy played his front nine like this year’ s persona and his back nine like last year’s to turn in markedly different halves of 39-32 for a 71.

At the heart of the morning’s action lay Scott and Rose, two of the great stylists of the modern age; two friends born within a fortnight of one another in 1980 who are determined not to win just one major each but make this their era.

It was in April that Scott sent Rose a text that has resonated throughout this major championship season. It read: ‘This is our time to win the big prizes.’ 

They’ve already claimed two out of the three staged, of course, with Scott ending an agonising 79-year wait to become the first Aussie to win the Masters in April and Rose the first Englishman to win the US Open in 43 years in June. Now Rose has the opportunity to become the first Englishman to win this event since Jim Barnes prevailed at the other end of New York state on Long Island way back in 1919.

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