Image Credits: AP News, SB Nation, Heard County Parks & Recreation, & Reuters Now that the PGA season for 2016-17 is in the books, here are my thoughts about some particular noteworthy moments. Who would have ever imagined a season without a win by Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson? Collectively, they played in 56 tournaments, but were never truly in any of them.

Image Credit: My Gold Daily It’s been said in golf that a tournament cannot be won in the first round, but it can be lost in the final round judging by what has happened in some of the men’s Majors this year. The PGA Championship looked like a battle between Kevin Kisner, Hideki Matsuyama and Chris Stroud. Kisner held a one-shot lead over the other two going into round four. Justin Thomas sat two back. By the end of the tournament, Thomas won by two, shooting a three-under 68.

Image Credit: Golfweek It’s been an interesting season so far in terms of the Professional Golf Association Majors, which concludes with the PGA Championship, starting Thursday at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. So here are some of my predictions for the player I expect to win and some longshots. Insofar as the PGA Championship is concerned, it is hard to go against Jordan Spieth. Spieth is listed as either the favorite or second favorite on most betting sites.

Image Credit: BT Sport Okay, it’s time to unveil my choice to win the Open. Similar to the U.S. Open, I am staying away from favorites. First of all, when you pick a favorite and he wins, that hardly makes you a genius. When you take a long shot, as I did in the U.S. Open, there’s greater satisfaction if he wins.

Image Credit: Golf Digest What is wrong with Rory McIlroy? The 28-year-old native of Northern Ireland started the season ranked second in the world, but he hasn’t been playing like it and has slipped to fourth. He has only played in only eight events this season, including just seven since the new year, because of a nagging rib injury that had led to back issues. His best results have been tied for fourth in two of the tourneys, the last one in the Arnold Palmer Invitational back in March.

Image Credit: Reuters This year’s edition of the U.S. Open centers on Dustin Johnson, and for good reason.

The hype about recently-retired Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo joining the broadcast team as part of CBS’s coverage of the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational at the Colonial Country Club this past weekend took a rather ordinary tournament and provided a great sense of anticipation. And it turned out to be illuminating, although also a little disappointing.

Image Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images Good on the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews for acting quickly to change the rules that will limit the use of video evidence to affect the outcome of an event. How many of us truly felt for Lexi Thompson, who entered the final day of the ANA Inspiration tournament with a three-shot lead with six holes to play and suddenly found herself penalized four strokes for committing a violation the day before in the third round? Yes, she broke the rules by marking a ball and then replacing it an inch away from the actual spot. But if not for some TV viewer alerting the tournament officials, no one would have known. Think about it, with all the tournament officials, none of them spotted the innocent mistake.

Image Credit: PGA No matter how many times I watch the Masters, I am always amazed by the ebb of flow of man versus nature, and man versus fate. As I look back on the 81st Masters, there are images that are stick in my mind for a whole bunch of different reasons. The ceremonial opening tee shots became far more emotional in the first tournament since the passing of the legendary Arnold Palmer. You could see the emotion on the faces of Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus as Billy Payne, Chairman of Augusta National, so eloquently talked about the man known as The King.