Players Championship: Wrap-up

As expected, Friday’s birthday celebrations delayed any reporting on the second round; and Saturday’s brutal heat and humidity, combined with a late tee time, delayed reporting on the second round. So here are some tidbits from the final three rounds of the Players Championship:

* It’s not every day that you see someone shoot a 65. It’s also not every day that you seem someone shoot an 80. What are the odds that the two happen in the same group? That happened Friday: Graeme McDowell shot 65, playing partner Matthew Goggin shot 80. Goggin’s disastrous round was largely set in motion when he took a 9 on the par-4 4th hole: 2nd shot over the green, 3rd back over the green and into the water, 5th a flop shot that didn’t find land, and two putts. Ouch.

* Speaking of #4... #17 at Sawgrass gets a lot of publicity, but I think #4 is at least as cruel, perhaps more so this year (as 17 seems to be playing relatively easy this year). Players in groups that I’ve followed each of the first three days have found the water. Dry land for both players on Sunday.

* Speaking of water, it pays to know the caddies. During Saturday’s and Sunday’s rounds, one of the caddies in the group that I followed kept me well-supplied with ice-cold (and free) water from the tee-box coolers. Of course, this also led me to be the recipient of some very strange looks from my fellow spectators, who were wondering just who this girl is who’s getting free water from the caddie and isn’t wearing any kind of wife/girlfriend/family/guest credentials. I’m always very nice to the caddies of the players that I follow on a regular basis, greeting them by name each day and asking how they’re doing. I’ve seen plenty of spectators talking to players, but have never seen another one talking to a caddie.

* There hasn’t been much of a slow-play issue this week. There have been a few short waits on the tee box on par-3's, but no hitting-in issues from groups behind, and no lengthy waits for groups ahead.

* Those last three holes (16-18) are great watching if you’re a seated spectator. They are not fun to navigate if you’re trying to follow a group, especially late in the day, when most of the spectators are “overserved”.

* I didn’t see the guy get tased on Friday. I’ve seen some people that I would like to see meet the same fate, however.

* After walking 18 with a group on Sunday, I watched the last two hours of the tournament at a local restaurant/bar with some friends–four from Ireland, one from England, and myself the lone American (though after a week in largely Irish company, I have quite an accent myself now).We were cheering for Westwood and pretty well-shocked at his back-nine implosion.

* We were even more shocked at Tim Clark’s 67. Sunday wasn’t a day for low scores, by and large. All the more kudos to Tim.


* Henrik Stenson’s jacket–what can be said about that?

* I got the news about Tiger’s withdrawal while walking up #5 fairway. Let’s just say that not all the players were heartbroken about it.

* Keep an eye on Robert Allenby. I think his game is going to take a dramatic turn in the second half of the season, though in which direction I don’t know.

* And once again, congratulations to 2010 Players Champion Tim Clark. What a way to make that first win a big one! Let’s see what the rest of the year holds for him.

I’ll next be “live” on the course for the final two rounds of the St. Jude Classic in Memphis in June. Until next time...

Thursday at Sawgrass

It was a sunny, very warm, and very humid Thursday at TPC Sawgrass. I followed an early group today and was still dripping sweat by the #3! Paul Goydos, J.P. Hayes, and Charl Schwartzel showcased some very different games, but it was fun watching. Some observations:

* In the year since my last trip to Sawgrass, I’d forgotten just how beautiful the course is. I’d also forgotten just how tough it is to walk. For those who haven’t been there, it’s even more beautiful than it looks on TV. It’s also the toughest course I’ve ever walked, with lots of high-grade elevation changes.

* I’m still not sure what to make of Schwartzel. I’d never been terribly impressed with his game (yes, he has wins, but largely in weaker-field events) until Doral. I didn’t see any real flashes of greatness today, though he’s a solid player overall. One thing he does have is a big drive; true, his playing partners aren’t long hitters, but he “outdrove” them with his 3-wood on at least one occasion.

* Goydos proved that a big drive wasn’t a necessity to score well at Sawgrass; his irons were spot-on, putting him closer to the pin than his playing partners on many holes.

* Hayes could have been at least three strokes better today if his putting had cooperated.

* I was admittedly a bit disappointed that none of the three hit the water on 17. The fans around 17 were, too. Perhaps not surprisingly, spectators do have wagers on players as they approach the tee, on whether they’ll find land or not.

* The crowds weren’t as big as I was expecting today. Perhaps that had to do with the position of the group I was following: Phil Mickelson was several groups ahead, and Tiger was in the afternoon wave.

* I was pleased that pace of play wasn’t as much of an issue today as in many recent rounds. There was no waiting until the back nine, and not much after that. While pace did slow toward the end of the round, it seemed to be due more to the increasing heat and humidity than to player backlog.

* The course didn’t seem to have as many “teeth” today, and the low scores bore that out. It will be interesting to see if the scores stay low, or if they go higher as the week goes on.

Tomorrow is not only the second round, it’s also my 35th birthday; plans for festivities are still taking shape, so there may or may not be a “round 2" column tomorrow. So until either tomorrow or Saturday...

Predictions: Players Championship

Sunny Florida is anything but this Wednesday afternoon, at least on I-10 heading east toward Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra. But indoors now and just a few miles from TPC Sawgrass, I'm ready to make my picks for the Players Championship.

My three "spotlight players" this week are Stephen Ames, Jim Furyk, and Ben Crane. All three have turned in some good performances here in Ponte Vedra; Ames is the 2nd-leading money winner at TPC, and Furyk and Crane both had top 10's last year.

My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:

"Front 4": Stephen Ames, Jim Furyk, Henrik Stenson, Ben Crane
"Bench team": Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Brian Davis, Ian Poulter

Last week's picks weren't great. Stuart Appleby was my only "spotlight player" to make the cut, and he finished in 69th. Hopefully, this week will be better. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2521 points, 82nd percentile.

Best of luck to all!