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PGA Tour Preview: On Task In Houston
By Scott MacLeod, via Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)
You can’t really blame more than a few PGA Tour players this week as they play the Shell Houston Open. But with the first major of the year just days away, dreams of Augusta and a green jacket can be hard to ignore. That is exactly what an elite field of players must do with more than a million dollars on the line and a stern golf course ready to challenge them for every single nickel they try to earn.
The Rees Jones-designed Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course does not suffer the foolish or inattentive, so to traverse it with the lowest score your game better be on point.
That was the case for Anthony Kim in 2010 who made up for a very weak driving performance (he hit just 23 of 56 fairways) with a parade of par saves and birdie putts to finish regulation play tied with Vaughn Taylor and then par the 1st playoff hole for his 3rd career PGA Tour victory. Until that time only three winners of official PGA Tour events had hit fewer fairways and still gone on to win. Kim had been the 54-hole leader. Both players shot 12 under par in regulation.
Even as the defending champion few would pick Kim to defend his title successfully. Immediately after his Houston win in 2010 is followed up with a tie for 3rd at The Masters and a tie for 7th at the Wells Fargo Championship but bowed out at The Players due to a left thumb injury. After undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in May at the National Hand Center in Baltimore he returned at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, but best finish in his final six starts of 2010 was T48 at the BMW Championship. His best finish so far in 2011 is a T6 at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Even with sagging play of late the headliner in Houston is Phil Mickelson as he preps for his 2010 Masters title defense. Other names of note in the field include recent world No. 1 Lee Westwood, Steve Stricker, Padraig Harrington, Hunter Mahan, Francesco Molinari and Jhonattan Vegas, who claimed his first TOUR win earlier this year in a playoff at the Bob Hope Classic. Molinari will be making his first start in the event while Vegas will make his second after missing the cut as an amateur in 2003.
In total there are 29 of the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings starting the Shell with six of the top ten ranked players in the world set to play.
The Redstone Tournament Course is a favorite for players, especially those prepping for The Masters with minimal rough and course conditions tuned to help players gear up for those they will find at Augusta National.
Keep an eye on the 18th hole all week long as it has proven to be a bear through the years. The par-4, 488-yard 18th hole ranked as the 20th-most difficult hole on the PGA TOUR in 2010, with the field averaging 4.317. In the five years the event has been contested on the Tournament Course, only one champion (Johnson Wagner/2007) has played the 18thhole under par for the week.
Since 2006, 265 balls have found the lake on the left side of the 18th hole (not including J.B Holmes in the 2009 playoff). Included in that total were 53 balls in the water last year (24 in the first round, 18 in the second round, four in the third round and seven in the final round).
As for my pick of the week, it will be hard to top my choice of Martin Laird who went on to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week but I’ll take Ryan Palmer for this week. He’s had some rest since last playing at The Transitions, he’s in his home state of Texas, and he’s fired up for Augusta which means he has his game in focus.
If given a backup I would put my faith in Hunter Mahan who already has four top tens in his eight starts on the tour in 2011.
Shell Houston Open
Dates: March 28-April 3, 2011
Where: Redstone Golf Club, Houston, TX
Par/Yards: 36-36—72 / 7,457
Field: 144
Defending Champion: Anthony Kim
Purse: $5,900,000; Winner’s Share: $1,062,000; Format: 72-hole stroke play
– This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Canada's Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick,com)
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5 Things We Learned: Saturday at the Masters
Just as the honorary starters broke our hearts with the reality of ageing, so too, did Saturday, with the revelation that third-round Tiger Woods is not yet (if ever) what he once was. The great champion struggled mightily to an 82, tied with three others for high round of the day. Among the top ten, the worst score posted was DeChambeau’s 75, but the large Californian remains in the hunt. Day four will see 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler pair with Collin Morikawa in the final game. In front of them will be Max Homa and Ludwig Åberg. The antipenultimate pairing will feature DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele.
If you look at the one-off major winners, most took advantage of their only chance at grand slam glory. For golfers like Homa, Schauffele, and others, Sunday the 14th might represent their best and only chance at claiming a major title. For Scheffler, Morikawa, and DeChambeau, the ability to join the two-time and three-time, major winners club holds great appeal. Finally, a young’un like Åberg seeks to jump-start a more-than-tour-winner career with a major title. Many of the greats won them early, and the Swede from Texas Tech would love nothing more than a chance to join that company.
Sunday at Augusta, as always, will be riveting. It will provide hope throughout the first nine holes, then gut many a competitor’s heart coming home, rewarding just one with a new item for the wardrobe. Plan your menu and choose your outfit. Masters 2024 is about to conclude. Until then, let’s reveal five things that we learned on day three of the year’s first men’s major.
1. The three most critical holes on the first nine are …
numbers four through six. You might make some birdies at the first and last trios of holes, but the middle triumvirate of fairways and greens determines your day. Play them even par or better, and you’ll lose zero shots to the field. Get on a downward spiral of slightly-wayward shots, and recovery will be nigh impossible. Anyone who makes three at the fifth, as Tiger Woods did on Saturday, will get giddy.
Tiger Woods makes a lengthy birdie putt on No. 5. #themasters pic.twitter.com/bm3zw6cllK
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
2. The three most important holes on the second nine are …
ten through twelve. We realize that we commit heresy by omitting one of Herbert Warren Wind’s Amen Corner traces, but par or better is critical at 10. Dry landings at 11 and 12 set the competitor up for two par fives in three holes, sandwiched around a straightforward, par-four hole. Remember when Ben Crenshaw began his march to glory in 1995? It all started with birdie at the 10th.
A three on No. 10 ties Bryson DeChambeau for second place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/EPHQARauPl
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
3. The most interesting and efficient round of day three came from …
Collin Morikawa. Birdies at the first three holes, followed by bogey-birdie at six and eight, then ten consecutive pars to finish off the second-low round of the day. Morikawa has improved each day, from 71 to 70 to 69. He has won majors in England and California. He has the temperment for this sort of day, but will certainly be in the hottest of all cauldrons around 3 pm on Sunday.
Three straight birdies to open Collin Morikawa’s third round. He’s one stroke off the lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/nzA9kSJD11
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
4. The guy who lost the most ground on day three was …
Nikolai Hojgaard. The dude failed to make par from the seventh green to the 16th. After three consecutive birdies around the turn (8 through 10), the Great Dane tumbled to earth with five consecutive bogeys. 11 and 12, we understand, but 13 and 15 are par-five holes, for goodness sake! No matter where he finds himself on day four’s back nine, it will be hard to put that stretch of golf out of his mind.
Nicolai Højgaard birdies Nos. 8 and 9 to leap into a tie for second place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/Wkoh39dEKE
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
5. Our pick for the green jacket is …
impossible to nail. We suspect that certain players should and could perform on Sunday. We remember when Retief Goosen, a great US Open winner until round four of 2005, lost his mojo. We recall days when Rich Beam and Y.E. Yang pulled major titles away from Tiger Woods. Things go wrong on Sunday, and they go wrong super-quick at Augusta.
We’ve decided to ascend Mount Olympus for our Sunday selection. Who better than the 2021 Olympic champion to add a long-awaited, first major title. It’s Professor X for us: Xander Schauffele.
Eagle for Scheffler. He returns to a tie for the lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/3mWXrXVTL6
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024
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5 Things We Learned: Friday at the Masters
You don’t see leaves on the ground at Augusta National. The grounds crew and superintendent’s staff take care of those sorts of things, so that both course appearance and consistency of play are preserved at the top tier. We saw leaves on the ground today and, given the force and perseverance of the wind, we’re lucky that we didn’t see tree trunks along the fairways. We did see higher scores than secured in round one, and some of the three- and four-hole stretches were downright inconceivable. The cut after 36 holes came at six over par, and five dozen golfers reached the weekend of play. Numbers always define the story of a tournament, and we’ll let them define the five things we learned on day two of the 2024 Masters tournament.
One: 60 + 10
Sixty golfers posted scores of 148 or better through 36 holes, to reach weekend play. Ten more golfers posted 149 and missed the cut by a single stroke. The ones who missed the cut by a stroke included former champions Mike Weir, Zach Johnson, and Sergio Garcia. Also among the brood were current US Open champion Wyndham Clark, and Nick Dunlap, who won on the PGA Tour as an amateur in January, and subsequently turned professional. Of the ones who survived by the slimmest of margins, surviving to the weekend were former champions Jose Maria Olazabal, Hideki Matsuyama, and Adam Scott, along with Rickie Fowler and Tom Kim. Golf’s cut is a cruel and unconcerned blade, and each Masters tournament reminds us of this fact.
Tom Kim makes just the third birdie of the day on hole No. 4. #themasters pic.twitter.com/gtlLbVcQi6
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
Two: One
The number of amateurs to make the cut in the 2024 Masters is solitary. His name is Neil Shipley, and most folks love him. He wears his hair to the shoulder, and appears to have the proper balance of intensity and chill. Shipley opened with 71, then held on for 76 on day two. He made the cut by three shots, and will collect his share of hardware on Sunday. It’s safe to say that Shipley will turn his attention to learning the course, as well as his own self under pressure.
Following a birdie on No. 13, Neal Shipley is the lowest amateur on the course. #themasters pic.twitter.com/3MAjI3yltE
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
Three: 23
For most sorts fans, 23 recalls the greatest NBA player of all time, Michael Jordan. For Justin Thomas, it’s a number that will haunt him for a long time. Thomas reached tee number fifteen on Friday at even par. The two-time PGA Champion played the subsequent, four-hole stretch in 23 shots, missing the cut by a shot. On fifteen, he went for the green in two, in some sort of halfhearted manner. He got wet with shot number two, went long with his pitch, and three-putted from the fringe. On sixteen, he played away from safety and found elevated sand. His blast went down the hill, and he missed his approach putt in the wrong place. On seventeen, he missed his drive right and his approach long, and lost another shot to par. The coup de grace took place on the home hole: drive so horribly left that he had to pitch out to the fairway and hit three metal into the green. His third double bogey in four holes dropped him all the way to 151 and plus seven. Among the many questions, the foremost one was why he dropped his longtime caddy on the eve of a major championship. Surely Bones would have saved him one of those shots, and perhaps more.
Justin Thomas | 15th Hole, Round 2, Stroke 2 https://t.co/TYudRsbM8g
— ?????BuffaloGolfer.Com????? (@buffalogolfer) April 13, 2024
Four: Forty-Nine divided by five or six
Tiger Woods cannot possibly win title number six at Augusta in his 49th year, can he? Not on this broken body, and not from seven strokes behind, right? Not with so few competitive rounds over the most recent months, and not one year removed from a third-round withdrawal from this very tournament. Well, if he cannnot possibly win, allow us to dream and hope a bit, and hold on to a fantasy.
Tiger Woods gets back to one over par with chip-in birdie on No. 6. #themasters pic.twitter.com/h4G5CrbgdJ
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2024
Five: 3 that we like
We like Scottie Scheffler, of course. He seems to have a sense of Augusta National, and he was able to hold on in 2023 for the championship. We like Nikolai Hojgaard, because he might have just the proper combination of naivete and experience for a first-time winner. Finally, we like Collin Morikawa, a winner of two separate major titles. Winning at Augusta National requires a certain amount of length, unless you putt lights out. Morikawa might be embedded in one of those putting weeks.
Nicolai Højgaard chips in on No. 7 to move to red numbers. #themasters pic.twitter.com/CTE34kuOdh
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
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5 things we learned: Thursday at the Masters
The rains came early at Augusta, just as they did in Buffalo. The distinguishing factor was, they had a tournament to start in Augusta. Folks in Buffalo simply went to work, and paid attention to the clouds in north Georgia. By ten o’clock, the skies had cleared enough to begin play. Honorary tee shots were hit, and competitive play began. The delay assured that some of the afternoon groups would not sign scorecards on Thursday evening. Instead, they would rise early for completion of play, then turn right back around and go out for round two.
Round one was filled with the usual characteristics of major championship golf. A pair of golfers shot low rounds, with no guarantee that either would be able to preserve the blistering pace. Others gave shots inexplicably away, on the most confounding of holes, to push themselves away from the dream of the green jacket. Others played solid if unspectacular golf, to maintain the top of the board in sight. Finally, some held to a preserver for dear life, finding a way to stay within shouting distance of the leaders.
With that little bit of tease to lead us in, let’s get straight to the five things that we learned on Thursday at the Masters.
One: Can a horse be a horse for a course, for more than one round?
Both Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler have plenty of successful memories ’round the Augusta National course. Scheffle owns the ultimate prize, the 2022 green jacket, while DeChambeau was low amateur in 2016. That’s where the similarities end, however. DeChambeau has never finished higher than that low-am T21, while Scheffler has never finished outside the top 20 in four starts. DeChambeau has had fits of brilliance over the MacKenzie hills, but Scheffler is the one with four-round history.
While it seems unlikely the DeChambeau will miss the cut for a third consecutive time, the question of his ability to put rounds together remains. On Thursday, DeChambeau notched eight birdies on the day, and stumbled for bogey just once, at the ninth hole. For much of the day, he held a multi-shot lead over former champion Danny Willett, until Scheffler finished fast, with birdies at 12, 13, 15, and 16. His 66 brought him within one shot of the leader. Scheffler went without a bogey on the day, and ensured that DeChambeau would have much to consider over the night’s sleep.
Scottie Scheffler’s bunker shot on No. 12 finds the hole for birdie. #themasters pic.twitter.com/urr9NMj8gV
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
Two: Find a way to hang around
Rory McIlroy never looked like he had his best stuff on Thursday. Three bogeys on the day, including one at the gettable second hole, had him steaming. Unlike prior years, when his not-best stuff led to mid-70s numbers, Roars was able to four birdies along the way. His 71 won’t win any crystal, but it will keep him in the tournament. Does he need a 67 on Friday? Absolutely.
Will Zalatoris plays Augusta National as well as anyone. Eagles and birdies are always on the table for the young Texan. He reached four-under par at the 15th, but closed with two bogies for 70. Without the shot that you see below, he may never have found the mojo needed to reach minus-four. Moral of the story: find a way to get in the house with a number.
Will Zalatoris chips in on No. 5 to save par and remain in red numbers. #themasters pic.twitter.com/BeyiTsLiUp
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
Three: When you do things like this, find a way to keep it together!
The leaders’ board was filled with golfers like Ryan Fox (five-under through 12, inexplicable bogey at 13, finished minus-three), Erik Van Rooyen (minus-four through 13, only to close with three bogeys to finish one deep) Viktor Hovland (four below through nine, double at ten, one below at day’s end) and Matt Fitzpatrick (four deep through 13, three bogeys coming home.) What keeps these golfers from going deeper under par, or at least preserving their successful stature? It’s usually greed or the razor’s edge. There are too-safe places on the greens of Augusta, but there are always properly-safe areas, from where a two-putt is a probablility. In the case of most of these golfers, they either went at flags and short-sided themselves (leading to bogey) or tried to preserve their position, and landed in the three-putt zone.
Matt Fitzpatrick hits his tee shot close on Golden Bell, No. 12. #themasters pic.twitter.com/mRVfqszN3g
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
Four: How could you do this?
Rickie Fowler at 76, alongside Hideki Matsuyama. Guys, there were plenty of birdies out there! How could you manage to avoid them, and instead, stockpile the bogeys? Well, at least Hideki has a green jacket already, and at least Rickie has some crystal from Wednesday. Odds are that one of them will post 68 on Friday and make the cut.
A Wednesday to remember. #themasters pic.twitter.com/ycWS0DK9sb
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 10, 2024
Five: Which golfers do we hope to see finish strong?
With plenty of round-one action left for Friday morning, we’ve scanned the board and determined that Nicolai Højgaard looks pretty good at five-under through fifteen. We’ll take three pars. We expect one birdie. We’d love to see two or three birdies coming home. Yup, we’re greedy!
Max Homa bounced back from bogey at 12 with birdie at 13, to get back to four under par. We have the same expectations for the California kid: lots of birdies coming home. We have our eyes on a couple of guys at minus-one, and then there’s Tyrrell Hatton at three-deep, along with Ludvig Åberg at minus-two. Plenty of golf left for first-round positioning. Set your alarm for early and don’t miss a single shot!
Tiger Woods couples his drive with an accurate approach and putt to birdie hole No. 1. #themasters https://t.co/2mrLiETCzy pic.twitter.com/YhiQsIQgZH
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2024
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