PGA Tour: I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).Bubbamania is sweeping America. It may not last long but it is a breath of fresh air in this week that the Tour takes a breath of fresh air, from the stifling corporate, possibly racist, apparently misogynist, environmentally unfriendly confines of Augusta National. We're off to Carolina, to South Carolina and Hilton Head Island, home of Harbour Town Golf Links and Calibogue Sound.

2).Was this as thrilling a Masters as Schwartzel's victory in 2011? Pretty darn close I would say, certainly in respect of the fact that halfway through the back nine on Sunday there were few clear signals as to how it would all end. As ever in the Majors there were winners and there were losers.
Obvious winners like Bubba and pink PING drivers. But some smaller victories, Graeme McDowell for instance, who wanted to make the cut if only to get more "reps" as he sought to "figure this place out". Shot -5 over the weekend, good for T12.
While some secured a return visit to Augusta for instance. Most of the Top 16 will be back thanks to exemptions or being certain for the owgr Top 50 at the end of December.
Some of the eventual Top 16 were less certain, however, but they booked their passage on Sunday: Hanson, Poulter, Furyk, Na (too bad) and Garcia.

3).And some were losers; those who came close but hit an inadvertent railing (or perhaps balance assisting device on a Patron Observation Platform?), Luke, Rory, Tiger etc. And I'd say Martin Kaymer should be on that list. Started out well but seemed to fritter shots away as the week wore on.
Then there were one or two, not certain to be back, who started Round 4 in the Top 16 but fell away: Frannie Molinari, Crane (good), Jacobson, Dufner, Lawrie, Watney, O'Hair and Stenson.

4).What does Johnny Miller think about his Tiger prediction following Bay Hill?
"It wouldn't totally surprise me if he were to win 35-40 times from now. He could do it. The way he is playing right now he is going to kick butt."
Johnny Miller morphed quickly in to Gotye as the Tiger who sailed back down Magnolia Lane was more like "Somebody that I used to know".

5).Turn the clock back one year and the tournament venue following The Masters was in San Antonio and the traditional stop, on Hilton Head, had no sponsor and was funded by the Heritage Classic Foundation. RBC, sponsor of the Canadian Open, stepped up to the plate, however, the "RBC Heritage" retrieved its post-Masters date, and a top class field will compete at Pete Dye's gem, Harbour Town Golf Links. Apart from Hilton Head being one of my three favourite places in the U.S., Harbour Town is probably the most "playable" course on the pros' calendar. No silly forced carries, just a strategic navigation around one of the shorter tracks on Tour and most amateurs will shoot close to their handicap unless they insist on playing from "the tips".

6).Pete Dye designed Harbour Town in the late sixties with help from a player "consultant", feller called Nicklaus. The result is shortish holes, gorgeous set of short/medium length par 3's, some of the smallest greens on Tour, and the pros' second favourite: "Really good course to play." "You don't need length for a great golf course, it's not 7,600 yards - you have to hit golf shots there." "You have to shape the ball on almost every hole."
Sounds ideal for Bubba then. But he's not here, (though it's timely to remember that Bubba already has a US Open T5 as well as his PGA play-off loss. Not every Major course will suit him, but he'll make sure that many will.)

7).Will Luke Donald bounce back this week, scene of his 2011 play-off loss to Snedeker? His good driving at Augusta National will stand him in good stead, but his irons need to be precise and his short game 2011-esque. Brian Davis also has a decent record here, and other notable "Internationals" include Els, Immelman, Harrington, Bae, Ogilvy, Badds, and some top Swedes.

8).The Tour's southern boys are also here in force; not Bubba of course, or Dustin Johnson, but Cink (two wins), Haas, Howell, Kuchar, Simpson, Snedeker and even two-time winner Boo Weekley, etc., etc. Like Lukey, Furyk has a fine record here, as does the fastest finisher last week, Van Pelt, Badds and Ernie.

9).One thing the pros, especially those living outside "the States", will have to figure out next year is the reported (most recently by the AP) probability that the 2012 pre-Masters schedule may run: Bay Hill, Houston, Texas Open, due to the very late date for The Masters (ending Sunday, April 14th). No way that the TPC San Antonio will attract those warming up for Augusta in the way that Houston has strived to do, so there will be some unusual travel itineraries being concocted.

10).The Champions Tour resumes its on-again, off-again schedule this week with a stop in Tampa. Kirk Triplett and his bucket hat make their senior circuit debut, and Mark Mouland is also in the field. So is Sandy Lyle after what may well have been his final round at The Masters, and a motley crew of TV commentators, Boring Bobby Clampett, Jacobsen, Koch, Maltbie, North and Strange among them. No Michael Vaughan though.

No Michael Vaughan? What are they thinking? Actually... what were the BBC thinking? Didn't they learn from the Lineker fiasco?

I have a feeling Henrik Stenson could go well here this week if that final round 81 has been quickly forgotten about. He missed the cut here last year but was in dire form and still managed a 68 in the secound round. His worst finish in 5 events this year was at Augusta last week (40th), where he had been excellent for 3 rounds. He is making lots of birdies and scrambling well, I'd like to see him winning again soon.

Nice piece, kwini I bet you'll be enjoying this even more now that Ben Crane has withdrawn...

Looking forward to watching some diferent kind of golf this week played on this great little course. Hard to point out a winner, but would guess Luke should do well if he'll be again near his best. I see Ollie is playing as well, somewhat I'd fancy someone like him doing well here if he was a bit younger... Not sure it's a course where I would fancy Harrington though to do well (last time he played here was back in 2001 and finished way down the LB), but if he somehow has a very good week with his driving, then anything can happen, as his iron play has been very good lately (and if he can read his puts, of course...).

Should be good weather this week, mostly sunny, warming up from 70-ish to mid-70's and starting breezy, calming down a bit by the weekend.

One nice thing about Harbour Town, especially now Crane is outathere, is that most rounds are played in very little over four hours per threesome, not those ridiculous 4+ hours for twosomes we've seen the past two weeks. (Perhaps some needs to tell St.Padraig what's expected - amazing that Masters officials seemed to turn a blind eye to his pace of play last Sunday.)

Many of the Tour's low putting stats have been achieved at Harbour Town, together usually with the highest ratio of "hole outs". Precision is the order of the day so, if Luke finds his iron game, he should be difficult to beat.

Hi Kwini! Thanks for this weeks notes

Really enjoyed last week. Bubba deserved it on the last days play and good to see one of the US guys around the 30yr old mark make their... mark.

Good to see this event back to the post Masters slot. Last year jaunt to Texas was far too much of a come down. I've stole this next bit from somewhere on the net that I cant remember but what's the chances of Els being the first to win his way back to Augusta this week??

Apparently once you get a reputation as an agonizingly slow player on the tour, you can never get rid of it. He is the poster child of PGAT on these boards. My sources on the tour tell me that Ben Crane is still a slow player, but not even in the top 10% anymore.

IMO, Harrington is much much slower and people on this board rally around him. So that tells me it is not the slow play as much as it is Crane's personality (God Squad, Golf Boys) and the slow play angle is just 'convenient'.

Webb Simpson and Kevin Na are the players that I would not want to be paired with.

Anyone see the Cap't Ollie news blurb about getting caught speeding, going 97 mph in a county South of Augusta?

Thanks Lairdy,
I hope you're right about Els! But he's got to get into the US Open first of all, will only be exempt if he's in the owgr Top 60, otherwise he'll have to qualify.

Fully expect the horses for courses to play well this week, Badds, Lukey, Kuchar, Erns, BVP, Sneds, Furyk, Davis, hey even Boo perhaps!

GPB, You'll never find me defending Harrington's pace of play - deplorable and possibly deliberate. Crane is just about as bad though, plus he's such an unlikeable individual. Na too, on all counts!

I've been reading the views on this site for a while and often thought of registering. I've finally got around to it now as I'm a fan of Padraig's and I think he's being criticised a little unfairly here.

With the pictures on Sunday, it wasn't always clear what was live and what might have been a few minutes old. Therefore it was difficult to establish exactly where everyone was on the course. It did seem to be the case that Padraig's group lost about 10-15 minutes to Lee Westwood's over the course of the round. Of course this shouldn't happen but it may not have been all Padraig's fault. I only found out on the 18th green that Stenson had shot an 81. Does anyone know the circumstances of his round? There may have been a couple of lost balls or rulings required which would have been the biggest cause of any delay.

Also, Kuchar was playing in the next group out on the course. I noticed that Padraig had already putted out on the 16th green about 5 minutes before Kuchar arrived on the tee. Therefore the Kuchar/Mahan group had clearly lost time on Harrington/Stenson.

The slowest pace of play I can remember was the final round of the 2008 Masters, 5hrs 10mins for Immelman & Snedeker in a two-ball. That was truly painful. I remember on that occasion that Padraig was in the group teeing off 40 mins before the last group. He finished 90 mins before them. In other words, the last group lost a full 50 mins on the 5th last group.

Curiosity point - is there any explanation why "Harbour" is spelt the British way?

Harbour Town is the venue for our monthly medal at the simulator, a very nice course if you're in control of your long game. Not so nice if, like I've done on practice runs, you repeatedly hook into any of the various hazards...

Hi Tinmar,
Welcome!

Regarding Harrington last Sunday, I was only drawn to the gap between him and Westwood's group because Kostis mentioned it on air. I think I mentioned at the time that Stenson could well have had something to do with it.
Have also only followed Harrington personally once, for 18 holes, and he was, shall we say, very deliberate.
I'm a fan of Harrington's golf, for sure, but some things just make ones head spin, his pace of play for one, his propensity for hacking up par 5's for another.
Hopefully he'll continue his good record on par 5's that he enjoyed last week, and his fine form generally - costly double bogey on his 72nd hole apart. Be interesting to see how he fares this week on a course you'd feel might suit him.

Sky,
No idea!
Except that there's a bit of British heritage in that area. Very playable course for the amateur, even if it doesn't look that way on the simulator!

Hi Kwini & thanks.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting he's quick but I don't think he's any slower than Tiger for example, or Jim Furyk.

JB Holmes has always struck me as being one of the very slowest. Trevor Immelman was probably very nervous back in 2008 but that was the slowest I've ever seen. On every long shot he stood behind the ball with one eye closed, lining up the shot, for at least 30 seconds before doing anything else.

As for Padraig, last week was very positive so hopefully he can carry that forward to this week. If he hits the ball as well again off the tee, he could get into contention again.

JB is very slow! And I think Tiger plays at whatever pace suits him, quite quickly often but can be very slow when playing with a fast opponent!

Don't really know what happens at The Masters to paralyze players in their speed of play - Immelman usually gets a move on but funerals have been conducted at a faster pace than he and Sneds (who's not so fast as he sometimes appears on TV.

Laird and Keegan Bradley are two other slowcoaches.

Any word on when Dusty J is back in action. He was to be my outsider last week.

Wonderful write up Kwin. But I have to ask: what are you two other favorite places to visit in these United States?

Fully agree with your comments on the course. And no more piped in bird chirps!

Hi Willy,
Dustin's latest tweet in response to this is:
"I can't say for sure but hopefully soon"!
Not much help, but he later says that he'll definitely be fit for Memorial (May 31st - June 3rd).
I think he'd have been off for three weeks anyway but that he'd hope to return at Quail Hollow (May 3rd - May 6th) which is the closest regular Tour stop to his hometown, Columbia, SC. If he doesn't play Quail Hollow, things are more serious than we'd have imagined.

Cheers Shotrock,
Disappointing finale for Sean; just an average back nine would have benefitted him in a number of ways.

My three US faves? HHI, San Francisco and Saratoga Springs (although Utica comes very close, Bozeman, MT too!).

Kwin - You're right on SOH. Too bad, hope he earns a berth to be back there next year. This week would be nice.

Great choices!

Alaska on my bucket list, next big trip I hope will be there.

Good luck Paddy this week...keep the momentum going....I also people unfairly criticise his pace of play to be honest!

Kwini,

Always thought Ben Crane was considered to be a thoroughly likeable chap. Almost like his slow play comes with an asterix that he's slow but he's a great guy. couple of weeks ago i'm sure on sky they said he has tried to quicken up but can't - really poor if accurate

Kevin Na i cant defend, constant bad attitude, slow play and known to take fish supper like divots in temper after a bad tee shot

Alsie,
He's a good player to be sure, very good putter. I've never followed him on the course so my impressions are merely based on TV and what I perceive as an unfunny sense of humour.
I hope his god likes him . . . . . certainly wouldn't be anywhere top of the list to sit down and have a drink with.

PS: Apparently his buddy Bubba has revealed: "I wore knickers until I was 12 years old."
Too much information, Bubba.

I know all golfers - magnified if you're a professional - have bad days.

But what happened to Rory on Saturday and Sunday confuses me. Is his swing more reliant on timing than I had noticed? He appeared to have a "give up" attitude instead of a going for broke one on his final 9 on Saturday.

I STILL have him earmarked as a long time World #1 and multi major winner, btw.

FWIW, Players can have very slow pre-shot routines and not be a slow player. Jim (the Human Balk) Furyk looks to be very slow, because we see the him backing off putts.

But I have never heard any player complain about his pace of play.

The pre-shot routine is only a small part of the formula of slow play. We don't see players walking down the fairway, we don't see players getting their yardages, we only see them lining up putts.

The only fair to gauge them is how their peers veiw them. Paddy has a terrible reputation as does Kevin Na and Webb Simpson. Crane used to have a bad reputation but that is going away.

Not sure that Webb Simpson had a reputation as a dawdler until Paul Tesori took his bag . . . . . Benefit of the doubt to Simpson for the time being.

Crane is slow, almost park at times, but certainly agree that Furyk is not slow.

One of my favourite Masters moments came at the presentation ceremony, watching Charl Schwartzel presenting Bubba with his fabled jacket, whilst wearing a rather forced smile.

As for slow players, Sean O'Hair can be a little slow as well at times. That being said, I have always liked seeing him do well.

He's had a bit of a strange year, a good tournament in Hawaii, and a string of made cuts, but other than his Hawaiian outing, he seems to be finishing in the middle of the weekend field. However, I do like his chances this week, the course favours accurate ball-strikers, and he, when on song, is one of the best.

One of O'Hair's happy hunting grounds coming up soon, in Charlotte, at Quail Hollow.
(Woods also signed up for Quail Hollow and TPC - don't fancy him seeing the inside of the winner's enclosure at least until Memorial though.)

Rodders, Your mate Robin Freeman is playing in Tampa this week, and Michael Allen of course!

Yes, kwini, the two greatest players never to win on the PGA Tour! Well, Allen you could perhaps make a case for. I think he's due another win on the Champions Tour. Over the past year or so, he always seems to play well, but never seems to sneak over the line. Maybe this week will see him join the eschelons of multiple winners!

“Anyone see the Cap't Ollie news blurb about getting caught speeding, going 97 mph in a county South of Augusta?”

To be fair you would be going pretty quick if you were a gay man trying to get out of Georgia……..


Kwini

Great article as always but firstly something a little OT, how did you get to Bozeman? On a trip to the US once I started looking at ways to get to Yellowstone but it was just so expensive to get there by air.


Secondly, are you trying to get a job for the beeb;

“Was this as thrilling a Masters as Schwartzel's victory in 2010?”


I think you are right to bring up those failing to get into the top 16 as one of the more interesting points from last week for a few posters on these boards. I think we all like Stenson, Molinari and Lawrie and it is a worry they could not book at least one major appearance for next season.


Was it in San Antonio last year where Na took about 16 for one hole?


You have mentioned the greens at Harbor town producing low putting stats, just wondering, as you have played it, why you think this is the case? I have always thought the looked a little flat on TV but maybe they offer something more subtle in the flesh.

'Morning Mac,
Can't believe I did that. Edit to follow!

I've reached the Yellowstone area via Calgary (good because it's only a few hours drive from Glacier National Park, Denver (too long a drive) and Salt Lake City. However you get there you'd have a bit of a drive so might just as well use a "hub" to keep the costs down.

Na's blow-up very definitely at San Antonio, certainly not a course beloved of touring pros.

Not sure what you mean regarding the putting stat's at HT; the greens are small, yield relatively few 3-putts and most of the low (fewest number of putts taken) putting stat's on Tour were achieved there. Lots of chip-ins which only helps - think Blake Adams took just six putts in nine holes last year!

Although the greens are small and relatively flat, they have to be accessed from the correct part of the fairway and, on shorter holes at least, are very difficult targets from the rough. Just as it should be.

kwinigolfer wrote:2).Was this as thrilling a Masters as Schwartzel's victory in 2010?

Did you mean Mickelson in 2010" or Schwartzel in 2011 or could you not make up your mind??!!

Great read as always..............

John

I wonder if Ian carter is tempted to comment on this just to get somw own back.

The first groups are playing their first hole. A bit brass monkeys out there - temps hovering around 50F with a gusting wind. Expect higher scores than normal until things warm up (only to the high sixties today) and calm down (might not happen).
Much better scoring weather forecast for Friday and, so far at least, the weekend.

Donald out at 8.20 a.m., local time, Harrington and Laird off at 8.30 a.m.

Heard that Mr Carter won in the media poll this year, and got to play Augusta National (from members' tees), carding a respectable score in the 80s.

Made me wonder if the [potential] opportunity to play that course has anything to do with, oh I don't know, let's say ex-footballers and/or ex-cricketers for example, offering golf commentary services to the BBC at bargain rates...?

Never seen that one on the shot tracker before, for Cejka at the 14th:

1. 178yds to Wall, 18yds to hole

14th is often the highest scoring hole on the course; if anyone's going to do something eccentric there, you'd figure Cejka would be top of the list.

Only 10 players under par out of 55.

Disaster start for Sang-moon Bae - he's clearly got a ton of potential but so much inconsistency this season. Still like his chances to pick up at least one win this season.

Saw yet more annoying Rory-Tiger stuff, this time on a Golf Channel segment. They made an odd comment about how instead of someone dominating it's a 50-60 person free-for-all. Not sure how they say that particularly at the moment given the caliber of winners we've seen this season :P

No-one's completed ten holes yet, but 11 golfers +3 or worse, 12 under par. Windchill!

Damnation: Don't you rather imagine Bae may be a touch overgolfed at the moment? He seems to have been in an unusual amount of relatively high profile situations in his young PGA career. Time for a break.

Golf Channel IS annoying - must admit, I find it unwatchable except for live golf. The rest of their rubbish is exactly that. Garbage.

At one time I hoped the golf channel would take a more critical review of the game, the architecture, the global influence, etc.

But I also had the same hope for the food channel, which has defaulted, like the golf channel, to simple-minded reality shows and how candy is extruded.

That's ratings for you!

A number of PGA Tour members playing this week's Nationwide event, in California.
Russell Knox is there, Chopra, Elkington. Lonard is there also so there are two aussies you want on your side next time a fight breaks out.

Wildlife endangered at Harbour Town, bogeys a-plenty. Still windy.

No-one who started on #10 is under par . . . . . .

Only 8 players under par, 2 thirds of the field out are over par, blimey

And apropos of Kwini's Nationwide shout-out, good luck to Switzerland's Fredrik Svanberg, Monday-qualified for his first start on either tour (and possibly Switzerland's first?)

Six greens hit and 13 putts for Lukey, after nine holes.
Where's the hotshot putter who never 3-putts? He had a few last week, understandable, but he's got a vulnerability in his short game that we never saw the last two years.

Ned,

Never heard of him. Can't think who else might have made a start.

Luke missed a five-footer to get into the red very early on, suspect that might have knocked him back a bit, needs to get the recovery going soon though. Nice start from Laird, didn't have him down as a windy-day golfer.


My research (the Swiss Golf Association site) tells me Svanberg is a 29 year old from Davos who played for the University of California, has spent a few years on the Alps Tour and has a win on the Gateway Tour. And a quick look up of the handful of other Swiss golfers I can name shows Bossert technically has a Tour start at the 05 Open, and Rominger, late of the Asian Tour, definitely has 3, having teed it up at New Orleans in 06 thru' 08, making the cut in the middle year. No sign of any Nationwide predecessors for Freddie though.

Camilo +8 after ten holes. Whatever has become of him?

His decline seemed to be linked with his caddie going off to play golf. That and being a streaky putter, at best. Not sure if he doesnt have the old caddy back on the bag now though?

Some predictable names near the top of the scoreboard. Happy to see Stanley showing signs of promise again. Impressive golfer I think.

Unless Gary Christian does the business later on, this is going to be one of my worst fantasy team selections ever...

Isn't it a bit strange to see guys with some of the oddest swings in town (i.e. Furyk & 2Gloves) doing particularily well on a tight and tricky course like this? And stranger still, it's not for the first time when they play well here...

Furyk has always been known as a shorter, but straighter hitter. And, he sure can get the flat stick going at times. Not surprised to see him making some noise.

But I am surprised to see Luke struggling. He'll need to card some birdies tomorrow if he wants to see the weekend. (Unless this afternoon plays even harder than this morning.)

This might be a big case of, as Bonnie Raitt might sing, the "Luck of the Draw".
Temps warming up this afternoon, breezes not so blustrous, and warmer and very light winds forecast for Friday morning.
No excuse for Luke Donald though, just about last in the "strokes gained putting" stat; putting like a drain all month and doesn't seem to be scrambling like we're used to seeing. Outplayed by Sneds and Stanley.

Bae withdraws. Don't blame him.
Wish Funk would withdraw to the Champions Tour after his 81 this morning.