Was a major championship easier to win without fans?

Jordan Spieth, at this week’s PGA Championship, played 72 holes at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. And before, during and after his early ones, he heard some concoction of what he heard when he teed off on 1 on Sunday:

“Ga ga ga goo!”

“That a boy, baby!”

“Let’s see it!”

Then he’d get to his later holes. As Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker pointed out, their surroundings included many folks “drinking vodka lemonades.”

Ga ga ga goo turned into GA GA GA GOO.

“I think they have been awesome,” Spieth said Saturday of the fans. “It’s not an easy place to get to, and I know people are coming in on shuttles and parking far away. It says limited fans but doesn’t feel that way, because I think a lot of the golf course, they are only on one side of the holes. The fans have been awesome for me personally out there.

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“Today was pretty fun … Kind of seemed like I could feed off some of the momentum with fans kind of pushing for more and more birdies.”

As the world pushes toward normalcy during the pandemic, golf is playing its second straight major with crowds, after three without. Last year, in front of only a smattering of volunteers and media, Collin Morikawa won the PGA at Harding Park. Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, and Dustin Johnson won the Masters at Augusta, both in front of limited, members-and-guests crowds. (The Open Championship was canceled.) This year, in front of a few thousand, Hideki Matsuyama won the Masters, and a PGA champ will be crowned Sunday. 

All of which begs the question whether it was easier to win last year. Is it harder with the “that a boy, baby” being screamed constantly?

Spieth said yes. And no. 

“I think the crowds and the big grandstands and the setting is different than when it’s quiet,” said Spieth, a three-time major winner. “But the pressure of a major and understanding kind of where that puts you in the history books, the caliber of tournament to win, the caliber of players that you have to beat and the caliber of golf course that you have to beat, is enough to say that there shouldn’t be an asterisk there, no.

“But I’ve been one that I feel I’ve been playing better with crowds and I’ve had more fun with crowds than without, and felt better energy. So you could also argue that maybe some of the other guys might have actually, you know, fed off crowds. It’s just, you know, it is what it is. You can also go off the Masters this year and say there were no fans. I also think you can’t really say Dustin Johnson at the Masters is somebody you would put an asterisk next to that win.

“I think all three players for majors that had little to no fans are major championship-winning players and will all have multiple by the time their career is done.”

Instruction

Joel Dahmen, who started the third round one stroke behind Spieth and eight behind leader Phil Mickelson, was asked the same question. Before we share his answer, we’ll share his spirited fan story. 

“There was some lady who wanted — Rickie, it’s my birthday, come over here and take a picture, and he’s 50 yards away in the middle of the fairway, and it’s just not going to happen,” Dahmen said Saturday. 

So, Joel, is it harder to win with fans?

“Absolutely, I think so,” he said. “Just the whole energy of everything, just completely changes. If you’re coming down the stretch and there’s no one there, it’s just you and kind of the golf course and your competitors, but now the ropes are pretty tight in between 16 and 17 here, and 17 to 18, so just feeling that today was like — and I was kind of laughing, these guys late in the day, people are going to be overserved, it’s going to be really fun energy, and yeah, I think it’s great to have them back.”