tiger: most difficult course I've ever played
Tiger said that, if the wind blows like it did today, Whistling Straits is the most difficult course he's ever played. Wow. Tiger said the winds are cross-winds, so you can never quite tell how hard to hit it. Also, near the greens are bent grass, so you can't really play bump and run like a true links course. But, if there's no wind, Tiger said that the scores should be good.
The course is over 7,500 yards, the longest for a major championship. No. 11 is 619 yards. For the tournament, No. 15 and No. 18 will be over 500 yards each, as par 4s. Tiger said every hole has a double bogey lurking. Should be interesting.
2 Comments:
A) Don't expect the wind to blow as it did Tuesday during the tournament. Even Dye claimed that it was an anomaly. the wind may blow, but it will be from a different direction, as is why the course was designed as it was, with help from the wind on the longer holes.
B)It was also noted by Dye that they measured the course by traveling the fairway, rather than as the crow flies. Thus, as you will see while watching, the pros will hit 6-irons into holes measuring over 200 yards, so the measured distance on the holes is slightly skewed, and most par 4s and 5s are actually 20-30 yards less than shown on the scorecard.
C) In most reports, the par 4's and 5's previously mentioned are noted for their length, but from my own experience, #17, a 230 par 3 with trouble surrounding the green, will prove to be a hole that produces a mass of blow-up holes. It lies on the water, the wind blows even when there is no wind on the rest of the course, and the wind is always a crosswind. There really isn't a bail out area, and if you hit it left, the course just drops off a cliff. Expect this to be one of the 5 hardest holes, if not one of the top 2.
D) let's hope that Tiger is not already putting out an excuse if his scores are not up to par. That is a bad mind set for someone who destroyed the field at Pebble Beach in the 2000 U.S. Open, while the rest of the field felt the course was unplayable. He used to relish difficult courses, but it appears that he feels that difficult conditions are no longer in his favor.
Players have made references to the 1974 U.S. Open where 7 over got two players into a playoff and the memorable 1999 British open where 3 players got into a playoff by finishing at 6-over. I don't expect these situations to be duplicated, but it is interesting that players have brought these prior occurances up.
Also, it is interesting that the European oddsmakers still favor Els and Woods over Singh and Phil, when the latter have far better driving stats in 2004. All the players have conceded that shots off the tee will prove to be the determining factor at this championship, so I expect Phil and Vijay to be my favorites. Also...expect Kenny Perry to be a darkhorse in my book. Quietly standing at 5th in Ryder Cup points, he would be my long shot pick.
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