Dean arrives at PGA in style

Great to be back at a major championship and looking forward to helping Dean Burmester have a crack at the US PGA Championship.

Monday saw us make our way from Tulsa, Oklahoma – the scene of the latest LIV Golf event – to Rochester, New York, which is where this week’s PGA is taking place. It was a bit of a slow start, as we all had a few celebratory drinks on Sunday night, following the Stingers’ team victory at the LIV event. So, a 05h45 start was a bit aggressive!

Fortunately, Dean decided to charter a plane for the two-hour flight, because there are no direct flights between Tulsa and Rochester and when it’s a major championship, you really do want to get to the venue as soon as possible. Flying commercial would have just made the prep day shorter, as we would have had to fly via Chicago. It was a smart move, because we got into Rochester promptly and meant we could get cracking with our preparation.

Waiting for us at Rochester airport was a beautiful Cadillac Escalade, which is a stunning car and Dean has it for the week.

We quickly headed to the house Dean has hired for the week, which is just 10 minutes from Oak Hill and is pretty big, because we’ve got the whole team here – myself, his coach Grant Veenstra, his agent Ally Mellor, caddie Jason Reynolds, Dean’s wife and two kids, and their au pair.

We got quickly settled in and then made our way to Oak Hill to sort out our accreditation, which gives us access to the relevant ‘zones’, such as the clubhouse etc. After that, a quick bite to eat, a quick warm-up I took Dean through, a few balls on the range, and then we hit the first tee, playing the front nine.

Dean didn’t need much warming up, because he’s coming off an eighth-place finish at the LIV event on Sunday and is playing well.

It was just Dean on his own, with his team, and he got a good look at the front nine. It’s clear that he likes the course and we’re all blown away by just how beautiful it is, with these amazing huge oak trees.

The course is playing long and fast, which is maybe a little surprising this early in the week, and it’s only going to play longer and faster.

A full 18 holes will follow on Tuesday and day one was all about just getting used to the grass and the greens, and generally getting a bit of a feel for the place, along with picking some lines off the tee etc.

Really looking forward to seeing what the back nine has in store, but so far, Oak Hill is pretty impressive. It’s a strong golf course and your ball-striking really has to be on point round here, because the rough is up and you don’t want to miss greens.

After playing the front nine, we headed back to the house, where a delicious spaghetti bolognaise and salad awaited us, courtesy of Mrs Burmester, which was most welcome, before an early night.