What would a week of golf be without. 1. Phil standing on the 17th tee and prudence dictating that he hit anything but a driver, yet he pulls out the big club and hit's it into a fairway bunker...good bye chance at winning. 2. Michele Wie not making the cut at a mens PGA tournament, AGAIN. And the field at this event was esp weak as all the good players were at the WGA in Akron. Geez when is she going to get the memo that she has no chance on the mens tour, no matter what her advertising agency says.
The PGA is this week and I am going on Friday. I'll get a firsthand look at that rough I experienced back on July 8th. It has been fairly dry in the last week and my grass is drying out and thinning somewhat so I wonder how it is at Oakland Hills. That could make shots from the rough much easier but it could be that the grounds crew has been watering the daylights out of it as well. I'll let you know.....
I would imagine that what ever money (water) is needed to keep the course where they want it will be spent.
I think so too but I wonder if AJ is right in that they could let the rough thin out on it's own if it was occurring naturally and let it stay that way because it's the PGA and not the Open. When I played the course there had been so much rain that the rough was a wiry bird's nest 5 to 6 inches tall.
I was at Oakland Hills today. The rough was pretty high but not particularly thick. They've added some length to the course. It's playing at 7,395 yds par 70. It hasn't rained here in the last 2 weeks and the fairways may be pretty firm. For the most part the fairways looked wider than you'd see at the US Open. As usual, the greens at Oakland will be the biggest challenge. Nos. 9 and 17 are 225+ par 3s and 8, 14, and 18 are long par 4s (8 and 18 are par 5s for us humans) Weather may be pretty good highs in the low 80s and dry. These guys are GOOD
My inside source tells me that AJ is right and the PGA has asked Oakland Hills to cut the rough to 3.5 inches instead of the 5 inches that it was. That should lead to lower scores combined with the thinning of the rough due to dryness.
"Your on. you've got -3 and higher and I have -4 and lower." This was the bet I made with AJ and now I am getting a might squeamish about my chances if that rough is cut to 3.5 inches... It was not only taller but thicker as well when I played it due to moisture on the course. I have played it dry before in August and it plays it's easiest in this month. It will take some very tough pin placements and super fast greens for me to win the bet.
In chronological order... If you're worried now, imagine how you'd have felt if the wager was made based on any of your earlier prognostications. If only the price of gas would go down that quickly.
The 3.5 inch rough in dry conditions vs. the 5 inch rough in wet conditions is a monumental difference and I give props to AJ for pegging that one right. I'm not giving up just yet but when I heard today that the PGA wants to see a -7 or -8 type tournament my guess is that they will get what they want.
While I'm stuck here at home riding out Eduardo, I checked the Golf Channel and saw that they had back to back "Playing Lessons From the Pros"...the first was David Toms, the second was John Daly....and me stuck here without any beer, whiskey, cigarettes, or illegal drugs. Damn!
DOC!!! I am seeing 45mph winds and driving rain...why are you "stuck" home? When we get a "caine' you are talking 120 mph!!! Come on LOLOLOL!
Spent about 5 hrs. at the tournament today. Very pleasant to watch in not very pleasant to play in. Temps in the 70s but brisk NW winds. Many shots are landing in the middle of hard fairways and rolling into the rough. Many shots from the rough are not holding the greens. And the greens are vintage Oakland Hills. Players aren't going to be able to overpower the course. It's going to take shotmaking and patience. -4 may well win this.
I was there as well Mike and I agree the greens were slick but I don't think they are the speed even that Open greens are. The rough is thinned out and a little shorter from what I experienced on July 8th....those were Open conditions....but really how would these pros respond to something even more difficult than what they faced today? The difficulty of the course is in the design and layout of the greens from the magnificent bunkers to the heavy apron of wiry grass that tightly surrounds all greens. Having played the course numerous times I can say that even when you are in the middle of the fairway you still feel intimidated looking at what faces you up ahead and and I think these guys are starting to feel it. It won't get any better as the pressure will mount as the next two days unfold. I am predicting -1 to win it......maybe.
I think that the may soften it just a bit for the weekend. They may move the tee up on no. 6 to make it drivable. The 2 par fives have been downwind and reachable so far. Another possible eagle hole could help. The course is a little different since the last time I played in the Piper member guest tournament.
I stood by #6 green today and was confused when it looked like they were driving from the ladies tees.....and come to find out that's indeed what they were doing. Adam Scott actually did drive the green and barely missed a 25 ft eagle putt on what was about a 310 yard par 4. And now this.... http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/pga/2008-08-08-pga-championship-sidebar_N.htm ""The golf course is so nasty right now. Just nasty," Mediate said after a 74. "I don't know if there is such a thing as too hard. This shouldn't be la-la land for us out here. It's a major. But my mind is still mushy. I don't even know my name right now. Out there there's just so much going on with the course, so much you have to deal with. It's going to get tougher. And this course already is just so nasty, so hard, so tough." I love that "mind is mush" comment because that's exactly how I feel every single time I walk off the 18th green at the "Monster"....
The cutline was pretty cruel to some big names. ViJay didn't make the cut, nor did Davis Love III, Freddie Couples, The Beemer, Trevor Immelman....suprising.
BDR kindly(?) reposted these comments I made to AJ earlier. In listening to Garcia and Mickelson ( of course both are at plus 3 and needing help ) those guys think par or plus 1 would be a winning score. They could be right and AJ is in deep doodoo....
Padraig posts a -3 so $20 will be changing hands!! Did anybody notice if Ben Curtis finished? :wink: :wink: