“Which course is Ames playing?”
As I start this post I’m watching the TPC on my DVR. DVR’s are the single best invention ever for watching golf on TV.
Steven Ames is just about to tee off on #17. Normally I’d wait until the round is completed to write a post about this but Ames has such a huge lead he’d have to start throwing clubs into the water to run the risk of giving away the lead.
Ames is in THE ZONE. He’s making the rest of the field today at the TPC look like a bunch of hacks: Singh 77, Garcia 78, Weir 79…..Beem 85!
It’s almost official… Ames will be collecting a phat check of $1.4 million, a 5 year PGA Tour exeption, 2006 PGA invite, 2006 British invite and gets into The Masters for the next 3 years. Well done.
17 17 17
#17 had 57 balls in the water over the last 4 days. This hole is short and these are the best players in the world. Once again, it shows that it doesn’t take 492 yard par 4’s to make golf exciting.
Man is this tournament at the TPC a ton of fun to watch or what? I love seeing a course that can make the likes of Jose Maria Olazabal throw a ball in the lake in disgust, Ian Poulter pound the ground in frustration and others mumbling to themselves over a 123 yard shot on 17.
Meltdowns
Jim Furyk started the day in first place but had a very strange round with only 5 pars and a crazy score card totaling 75.
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
Rnd 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
Arron Oberholser was atop the leaderboard until he got to the little 123 yard 17th hole. He knocked his tee shot in the water and then 3-putted for a triple bogey. He carried that good karma onto 18 where he hooked his tee shot into the water en route to his 2nd 6 in a row and a tie for 17th going into Sunday.
A total of 8 players shot in the 80’s while most of the field was in the mid to upper 70’s.
17 17 17
With Augusta lengthening par threes to 240 yards (they’d better not touch #12) and many courses scrambling to add length, TPC Sawgrass shows that courses don’t need to be lengthened. #17 is a MEASLY 123 YARDS and it’s more exciting than a 490 yard par 4.
Following a day where their group was put on the clock for slow play, Rory Sabbatini’s wife put on a shirt that said “keep up” in reference to the slow play of Nick Faldo.
The quick witted Faldo commented saying “It’s very embarrassing for them to bring their sexual problems to the course.”
Alternate titles:
DLIII a.k.a. Bi-Polar Golf
17
Pros Make Amateur Decisions
What an entertaining day at the TPC. It was fun watching all the balls find the drink on 17. Almost as fun as watching Davis Love III have a bout of “hacker” on a hole or two.
DLIII found the deep right rough on the 14th hole and chose to play the shot an amateur would. He tried to go for the green. His shot went about 15 feet in front of him, still in the very deep rough. He took another whack at the ball (when he found it). This time the long grass shut the face down and he hooked it into the left rough. From there he caught a flier over the green into deep rough again. Double.
That double wasn’t DLIII’s worst hole. He carded a 9 on the par 5 9th, his final hole.
Phil had a bout of hacker too, going for the green on 15 from behind a tree on pine needles. He’d have to thread a punch shot through the trees aimed at the water and hook it back. It didn’t hook. But due to his amazing short game skills he managed a par.
Furyk kept it in the fairway as usual and maintained his 1st place position. The person he was tied with for the lead after Thursday, Davis Love III? He missed the cut after shooting a 65 on the first day. 65-83?? Oh man. He must not have worn the rain gear today eh?
Following a round of golf today a friend of mine made an interesting statement. We were talking about the “5th Major” (the TPC), and wether or not it would ever be considered a Major. I said no, then players like Adam Scott would be retroactively saying they have a Major victory.
Then my friend made an insteresting comment. He said they should simply play The PGA Championship at the TPC Sawgrass every year. The PGA Championship often has difficulty finding venues worthy of a Major, and The Players is THE PGA Tour’s tournament anyway.
I kind of like the idea. The PGA Championship is the least popular Major by far, just check out the latest poll here. And one of the reasons The Masters is so great is that it’s played in the same place year after year. The fans have grown to know and love the course, (if they stop changing it at least).