When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
From an unbylined AP story on the return of the format at this week's Reno-Tahoe Open, livening up a tour schedule dominated by 72-hole stroke play events.
It all should make for an exciting finish Sunday on the par 5-18th that stretches to 616 yards but runs downhill, often down wind, and usually is reachable in two.
"You can come down to the last and play the hole OK, make a five and some guy four points behind you can pass you," Harrington said. "You never lose a four-shot lead coming down to the last but you could easily lose a four-point lead."
Jana Smoley, director of the 14-year-old tournament, said the course sets up nicely for the different scoring format especially with high risk-reward shots on the final three holes that include the 220-yard, par-3 16th and 464-yard, par-4 17th.
"We like to say black is the new red in Reno," she said. "The highest score wins."
Brendan Prunty gives us a sneak preview of the Barclays big debut at Bethpage Black and notes one key change to the PGA Tour plans for the 7th hole compared to the USGA's U.S. Open setup.
During the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens, the USGA played it as a 500-plus yard par-4. At the end of next month, it will play as a 550-yard-plus par-5 for The Barclays. While Mickelson continuously professed his love for the course and the New York-area galleries, the changes at the seventh were welcome news.
“I’ve always been a fan of the original designer’s interests in how a golf hole is designed to play from its inception,” Mickelson said. “As opposed to somebody else who comes in and tries to alter it for their own benefit or ego.”
From the sounds of Doug Ferguson's lively game story, it sounds like Scott Piercy's "boring golf" win in Canada came at the end of an entertaining week and a fast play final round that ended early!?
It also sounds like Piercy was not a victim of another anti-driver setup, this time at Hamiton?
"That was taken a little out of context," he said. "I like to hit driver a lot, and this golf course I felt took the driver out of my hands. I did say, however, that at the end of the week if the score is good, it is exciting. So I'm pretty excited."
It was anything but boring at the start of his round, when he quickly erased a two-shot deficit by running off four straight birdies. He used iron off the tee for the first two birdies, then turned to his power.
First, he blasted a 5-iron from 236 yards in the rough onto the green on the par-5 fourth hole for a two-putt birdie. Then, he hit driver onto the green at the 296-yard fifth hole for another two-putt birdie.
He never imagined playing the rest of the way at 1-over par and winning the tournament. His 263 tied the record set by Johnny Palmer in 1952 at St. Charles in Winnipeg, Manitoba. That leaves The Barclays (Bob Gilder in 1982) as the tournament that has gone the longest without its scoring record being matched or beaten.
The video:
Nice catch by Bob Smiley. I haven't seen a second of the Canadian Open and won't, but if this is what amounts to a highlight...
Robert Lusetich on the two megastars missing the Greenbrier Classic cut, reveals what they were "indirectly" paid.
According to a source close to Justice, Tiger Woods was paid — indirectly, so as not to contravene PGA Tour rules that prohibit appearance fees — $1.8 million to sprinkle star dust on the Old White course this week.
For the second straight year, Justice indirectly paid Phil Mickelson $1 million and, for the second straight year, the Californian left the stately Greenbrier resort early after laying an egg.
A few of you emailed to ask if Greenbrier founder Jim Justice gets a break on the purported appearance fees he paid to lure Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to the West Virginia resort (which looked incredible in the late evening light during Golf Channel's rain delay bonus coverage).
We'll never know what the arrangement was, but both legends have gone home early. Tom Watson, Geezer, has made the cut.
First, Steve Elling on Phil Mickelson's mini-slump heading into the Open Championship, where he nearly won last year.
Mickelson several times this year has admitted to being unable to shake himself from a lethargic state on the course, which certainly seems to be reflected in his play. He was looking for answers Friday, too. For the second year in a row. “I don't get it,” Mickelson said. “I certainly struggled a little bit on the greens both years, but nothing that should have led to these scores.”
Mickelson three-putted his first hole from 15 feet, missed another short one later in his front nine, and never really recovered. He also absorbed a one-shot penalty early when he dropped his ball on his marker, dislodging the coin.
"It doesn't feel like the parts are that far off," he said, "but I'm not putting them together."
It didn't help that Mickelson had a one-shot penalty for a fluke incident where he dropped his marker and it hit his ball. Jonathan Wall with the details.
Meanwhile a Golfweek.com staff report explains Tiger's woes: the putter.
Despite a shaky start, Tiger got it going over his final nine holes, but missed birdie putts at Nos. 13 and 15 proved costly as he fired a 1-under 69 to miss the cut at the Greenbrier Classic by a single shot.
"I didn't quite have it," Woods said. "I drove it really good today and I just did not have the feel for the distances. The ball was just going forever. I know we're at altitude, but I just couldn't get the ball hit pin high no matter what I did, and subsequently, I made some bogeys."
Steve Elling looks at the possibility that appearance money is being paid in clever ways at the Greenbrier Classic and at events like the Zurich Classic.
He gets several tournament directors and agents to talk, and they are not pleased to see what's going on.
The tour uses a very narrow, if not convenient, definition of "appearance fee." If a player has deeper business dealings with a corporate entity beyond taking cash to play, then he's generally free to ink a personal-services deal for whatever dollar figure he can command. If this sounds mostly like semantics, well, the line forms here.
As one very high-profile international player put it on Tuesday, "This week marks a change. Appearance money [is being paid in the] U.S. but not in Europe."
After arriving Tuesday, Woods was not specifically asked if he was being compensated by Justice this week, though a local reporter did ask if Justice resorted to “pulling his arm” to get him there.
"What sold it to me was watching it on TV and seeing how players enjoyed it," Woods said unblinkingly.
Um, did he say "sold?"Mickelson played at Greenbrier last year -- for two days. He missed the cut.
"I know for a fact that Phil got $1 million last year," one top-tier agent insisted, citing a figure that was echoed by two other tour-related sources.
David Dusek on Tiger's press conference today at the Greenbrier:
"I have to deal with it in every single press conference," he said. "I have to answer it in post-round interviews—whether it's with your guys or in a live shot [on TV]. You do that for a couple of years, sometimes you guys can be a little annoying."
Meanwhile, Notah says the annoying has been movtivating Tiger. Who to believe?
Jay Coffin notes an interesting Golf Channel Morning Drive discussion where Tiger bud Notah Begay suggested that based on Sunday's post round comments, Tiger takes great inspiration from proving his media critics wrong.
"Well, a lot of media people didn't think I could win again, and I had to deal with those questions for quite a bit," Woods said Sunday. "It was just a matter of time; I could see the pieces coming together."
Begay was asked if he believes Woods keeps score with the media, if he's aware of everything that's said or written about him.
"He doesn't forget what people write," Begay said. "He probably has a list under his pillow that motivates him at night."
Then shouldn't he actually like what the media is doing for his game? Maybe send down some champagne after a victory? You know, a little something for the effort?
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
