USPGA: 15 things you need to know

Phil Mickelson celebrates his chip onto the 18th green during the completion of the final round of the 2005 PGA Championship

The US PGA Championship returns to Baltusrol for the first time in 11 years this week and here is our list of 15 things you need to know before the tournament gets underway.

1: The PGA Championship takes place at the Lower Course on July 28-31 – just 10 days after the Open – to accommodate the Olympic Games in August.

2: Baltusrol played host to its first PGA in 2005, won by Phil Mickelson.

3: Considered one of architect AW Tillinghast’s best designs, Baltusrol has hosted one or more Majors in all but one decade of the 20th century, unmatched by any other US course.

4: Baltusrol has been the site of seven US Opens on three different courses (Old, Lower and Upper), another unique record. Past winners on the Lower Course include Lee Janzen (1993), Jack Nicklaus (1967 & 1980) and Ed Furgol (1954).

5: The champions bridge, which crosses the 18th fairway, is dedicated to Nicklaus in recognition of his two US Open victories here.

6: The 18th fairway also features a plaque 238 yards from the green where Nicklaus hit a famous 1-iron in 1967.

7: Baltusrol became the first club to welcome a US president when William Howard Taft visited in 1912. It also played host to the first televised US Open in 1954.

8: The course has a slightly different look from 2005. Numerous trees have been pruned and new tees have been installed on holes 5, 13 and 15.

9: “The course could hold a Major right now,” says 1993 PGA champion Paul Azinger. “It’s very strategic with holes going in different directions, so if there’s any wind at all, somebody’s going to have to be able to handle a left-to-right wind and a right-to-left wind.”

10: Baltusrol unusually finishes with back-to-back par 5s. “It’s very possible we’ll see some lead changes in the final two holes,” says Director of Golf Douglas B Steffen.

11: The par-70 layout will play 7,450 yards and features four par 3s which could exceed 200 yards.

12: At the 1993 US Open, John Daly became the first player ever to reach in two on the 630-yard 17th.

13: The par-4 14th and par-5 18th were the only holes that averaged under par during all four rounds of the PGA in 2005.

14: The 505-yard 7th was ranked as the toughest par 4 in 2005, yielding just 32 birdies and 201 bogeys or worse.

15: This year’s field will consist of a maximum of 156 players, including 20 PGA club pros.