‘85 was the best I could do’: Inside this PGA underdog’s long, hard day

The sun blazed, the wind blew but alas lightning did not strike for 60-year-old club pro Sonny Skinner in the opening round of the 2021 PGA Championship on the brutish Ocean Course.

“I knew what I was up against before I came,” Skinner said Thursday evening.

Skinner is the oldest player in the field this week. He carries his driver 255 yards “at sea level” (about 70 yards behind Bryson DeChambeau, for what that’s worth) and his 6-iron 170. He has won a couple of Georgia PGA Championships, in 2012 and ’09, and a pair of Web.com titles — then the Nike Tour — in 1994 and ’93. He plies his trade at River Pointe Golf Club, about a six-hour drive west of Kiawah Island, in Albany, Ga. The guy still has plenty of game, but if you’re looking for a barometer of how a slightly-less-than-superhuman golfer might perform on the longest major venue in history, Skinner is a pretty decent measuring stick.   

“Eight-five was the best I could do,” Skinner said after signing a scorecard that had seven bogeys and three doubles. “I tried on every one of them.”

Skinner didn’t arrive at Kiawah until Wednesday. He played nine holes solo in the morning, grabbed a quick lunch, then headed out for nine more. “There was a logjam,” Skinner said. “I just stood in line, it came my turn. I stood up, as I was about to walk to the tee, Dustin and Kuchar came strolling up, and I invited them to play, and they said, sure.”

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and nine-time PGA Tour winner Matt Kuchar.

After both players boomed their tee shots, Skinner said to himself, “Wow, so this is the way the game is really played these days.” But he was more than just awed; he was also appreciative: “What are the chances somebody of my age is going to be able to play at this time in my career with a player of that caliber?” Skinner said he was impressed by how hard both players worked. Every shot seemed to matter. “They did a ton of chipping and pitching and putting,” he said.

Then came his 9:17 a.m. Thursday tee time with Aaron Wise and Kalle Samooja.

Wise, 24, won the Byron Nelson in 2018; this is his eighth major start. He reps the Swoosh. Samooja, 33, from Finland, is ranked 112th in the world. Wise had himself a day, shooting a three-under 69 for a share of the lead. “Beautiful player,” Skinner said. “It was wonderful to watch. I just stayed out of his way and tried to enjoy myself the best that I could. A few of my good shots received quite an applause from the gallery, which I was amazed by.

“I think being a club pro and being my age and making it into the field had some people pulling for the underdog, and I appreciate that acknowledgment.”

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But the scope of the task at hand was not lost on Skinner, either. How could it be — what with the Ocean Course’s daunting carries, swirling wind, raised greens and cavernous waste areas. “What I experienced out there today, it’s a big boys’ golf course,” Skinner said.

Was it the toughest course he’s ever played?

“Between this one and Whistling Straits, this one wins because of the wind factor,” he said.

Friday’s forecast? Yes, more wind, gusting 10-20 mph out of the east-northeast.

Buckle up, Sonny!