The dust has settled on last week’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills but the major championship action isn’t over from an Irish point of view as Pádraig Harrington and Darren Clarke tee it up in the 82nd KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores today.
This is the second of five major championships on the senior circuit and this is the oldest major on the PGA Tour Champions
Harrington will be looking to put a disappointing missed cut at the PGA Championship behind him while Clarke is also bidding for a maiden senior major as he looks to reignite a disappointing season so far.
Harrington who won three major titles during an incredible career has learned quickly on the PGA Tour Champions racking up three runner-up finishes in six starts this season. The Dubliner has successive second place finishes on a very difficult TPC Sugarloaf and at the Regions Tradition.
After a reality check towards the end of last year as to what the state of his short game was like he has sharpened up around the greens and leads the tour in driving distance with an average did of 299 yards.
2011 Open champion Clarke has endured a slow start to his season but the three-time winner on the Champions Tour has begun to show signs of life in recent weeks and arrives on Lake Michigan in a decent vein of form.
The Portrush native posted a top-14 finish at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic before a promising showing of T-13th at the first major of the season, the Regions Tradition where he closed with weekend rounds of 68 and 67 so he is trending in the right direction and might be in a position to peak at the right time.
Clarke has made all eight of his cuts this season but he is waiting to kick into life.
It’s been tee to green where he has struggled ranking 60th in driving accuracy and 42nd in greens in regulation but that has been steadily improving as of late.
Clarke tees off in a stellar group alongside 2002 PGA champion Rich Beem and two-time major winner Retief Goosen.
Harrington kicks off his maiden senior PGA Championship with Woody Austin and Rocco Mediate.
Regions Traditions winner Steve Stricker has withdrawn due to Covid-19.
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