Dateline: Good Friday, April 22, 8:17 pm
As I relax and watch today's 2nd round coverage from Hilton Head Island, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on some of the April highlights. (Unfortunately, Lumpy's double bogey 5 on the par 3 4th hole as the leader isn't one of them.) Harbor Town truly is one of the best courses on Tour - a shot-makers course. I'm hoping my fellow Arizona Wildcat Jim Furyk can repeat last year's title. Bear Down!
Of course, the Masters was something to behold the last day. Some, including me, hoped Tiger would get a few more birdies after his eagle on #8, but it was not to be. Of course, this only fuels the debate as to whether he will win another major much less pass Nicklaus' record of 18. However, when you have nine players within two shots of the lead on the back nine on Sunday afternoon at the Masters, it is a real treat to watch.
Charl Schwartzel played spectacularly on Sunday, birdieing the last four holes. He is the only one to do that in a major and win. (The only other person to birdie the last four holes in a major, as you probably know, is Tiger Woods at the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine.) We had three Australians trying to be the first to win at Augusta, but despite all playing magnificently, we get to keep wondering when the streak will finally come to an end.
And, of course, there was Rory. Through 63 holes, the Masters was his. He looked so cool, calm and collected -- then he hit his tee shot on the 10th. From that point on, he looked like a high handicapper during his club championship. I expect him to recover fully from the debacle, but only time will tell.
Speaking of debacles, I cannot go without mentioning Kevin Na's 9th hole during the first round of the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio last week. While we may not think we can learn something from someone making a 16, I believe there were a couple of things to be taken away from Na's troubles. First, play a provisional ball. Second, don't look for a ball if you think you might not want to find or play your original. Third, don't try to hit a ball just because you don't want to go back (again) to play under stroke and distance. Fourth, keep a sense of humor through it all, which is the only thing Na did out of the four. Just in case you missed all of it, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWTXoNzuk8c.
And now, I just witnessed Brian Gay make a quintuple bogey 9 on the par 4 7th hole. It just goes to show us that no matter how good we think we are, we all have our moments. Makes me want to go and practice! (UPDATE: He followed it up with a birdie 2 on the next hole.)
In the Rules arena, the USGA and R&A released a revision to Decision 33-7/4.5 that would handle the Padraig Harrington situation differently. If you recall, Harrington was disqualified after moving his ball while replacing it at Abu Dhabi in January. The decision now creates a situation where, if a player does something that is visible only through the use of slow-motion, HD video, and it does not come to his attention prior to signing and returning his card, then the player still incurs the appropriate penalty (two strokes, in Harrington's case) but will not be disqualified. This does not change a situation like Camilo Villegas, however. Of course, from a practical standpoint, it makes no difference to 99.98% of golfers.
Lastly, exactly what is with this weather? In my 13 previous seasons, I don't think we've ever had such a challenging start to the season. Yes, we have had our share of cool, wet weather in April and May, but we've at least had some warm weather by now. And, we are starting to hear of courses struggling with green conditions. In fact, I have had to relocate the US Open Local Qualifier on May 9. Originally set for the TPC Twin Cities, I moved it to Bunker Hills GC after Alan Cull informed me that TPC will be closed until mid-late May. Here's hoping the sun comes out, the temperatures rise and the grass starts growing very soon!
Until next time-
Doug
