Hottest PGA Championship Ever

Sunday, August 12th 2007, 4:01 pm

By: News On 6

Tiger Woods tied a PGA record this week at Southern Hills, shooting an all-time low 63 on Friday. But itâ€™s not just Tiger making new records; the course itself is in the record books too. Southern Hills Country Club is the only course to host the PGA Championship four times, but thatâ€™s not its only record. The News On 6â€™s Joshua Brakhage reports the PGA Championship became the hottest major ever played when the thermometer at Southern Hills hit 100.

A golf expert wrote: any major will make your palms sweat. In the Oklahoma heat you'll be sweating under your fingernails. Over the weekend local favorite Scott Verplank was playing soaked in sweat, even caddies couldn't ignore the tournament's hottest topic.
"I looked on the weather a couple weeks ago and I thought it was supposed to be a lot cooler. It said it was like going to be in the mid 80s,â€ caddy Chris Bruce said.

"I hide as much as I can. I get under trees, I get in shade, you know I drink a lot of water, and try to put a cold towel around my neck and just stay as cool as I can," said caddy Tug Wilson.

A toasty Tiger was in everyone's sights, all the while, golfers battled the tournament's toughest opponent: triple-digit heat. But the best player in the world says it's good for his game.

"It's just so hot out here, the ball's flying forever," golfer Tiger Woods said.

Misting fans were working hard misting golf fans, and folks in from out of town found it tough to compete.

"We have a dry heat in Amarillo. We don't have the humidity and stuff like they do here, so it feels hotter, because you have the heat index," Marvin Frye from Amarillo, Texas said.

"Got here early this morning and we plan on leaving in a couple hours before we melt," Ft. Smith, Arkansas resident John McIntosh said.

"We'll watch the rest of it in the air conditioning of our home back in Tennessee," said golf fan Gene Ritz.

"You know, it's all mental. If you think it's cold, it's cold. It's all mental," Dallas resident Kyle French said.

PGA players are lucky they're getting out of town now. Forecasts say itâ€™s only going to get hotter over the next week.