Golf Confessions

Oak Hill CC was too tuff to handle this week for the senior players.  A winning score of seven over par won the event for Jay Haas.  The players struggled with the rough and the severly undulating greens.  Most of the players thought the course played harder than any of the majors they had played in on the course on the regular tour.

There were very few rounds under par all week and the players were in a defensive mode for the entire tournament. The week started off with very cold and wet conditions.

Haas battled Bernhard Langer down the stretch to notch his win.  Langer had an opportunity for a birdie on eighteen and a tie but had to settle for a par and finish in second place.

Phil Mickelson hits a miracle shot from the left trees to set up a winning birdie putt on the eithtenth hole at Colonial.  Rod Pampling had a one shot lead over Phil for most of the final round.  Rod bogeyed the sevententh hole to fall into a tie with Mickelson and Tim Clark.  Clark birdied sixteen and seventeen to have a chance for the win.

Phil with his fourth birdie on the eightenth hole won the tournamnet for the second time after his win in 2000.  Mickelson will play next week in The Memorial and then take his hot game to TorreyPines in San Diego for the Open. 

The players in The Corning Classic were greeted by some very cold and windy conditions for their first round.  Even with these bitter conditions the field handled these adverse conditions and shot some very respectable numbers.  Erica Blasberg has a two shot lead after opening with a seven under par 65.

The top ranked player in the field is Paula Creamer who opened with a two under par 70.  Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam the top two ranked women players in the world are taking  the week off.

Again, if you look at the field the American players are few and far between.  The world golf scene is no longer dominated by the American players.  The college ranks are full of the foreign born player and they continue their dominance into the pro ranks.

Jay Haas is the only player under par for the first round of the Senior PGA.  Jay who had it to three under at one point finished his first round at one under par.  The wind blew and the temperatures were low.

The very demanding Oak Hill does not need any help from Mother Nature to inflict pain on the senior group.  The wet conditions were very difficult when a player missed the fairway and had to deal with the long and wet rough.  Most of the greens are elevated and protected by magnificant bunkering.  Tom Watson who had it under par at one time finished with a disappointing eight over par 78 and will have to pick it up to make the cut.

Bernhard Langer who has been playing well on both tours had a one over 71.  Look for the steady playing German to be there on Sunday afternoon.  Langer plays very well on hard courses and does not normally beat himself.

Greg Norman shot a respectable two over 72.  Greg has not been playing on the senior circuit for the past two seasons.

Wagner went out early and fired a course record 63.  Johnson posted nine birdies and had two bogeys midway through his round to shoot the course record.  The afternoon players saw more wind and harder conditions.  Phil Mickelson and Bret Wetterich had the two best rounds in the afternoon 65’s.

 Corey Pavin showed his ability to maneuver the ball with a fine 67.  This course is not overwhelming in length and requires the ball to be moved around and under the giant pecan trees that line the fairways and lean over the entrances to he greens.

Two time champion Kenny Perry who has been playing well lately but unable to close the deal recently, had an even par round 70.

Paul Goydos who just recently had a shot at winning The Players Championship had a two under par 68.  This course also fits someone like Goydos.  Look for Paul to rebound after his loss to Sergio Garcia in a playoff for The TPC title.

Phil Mickelson is using these next two tournaments to get ready for The US Open at Torrey Pines.  Next week is Jack Nicklaus tournament The Memorial which always has a good field.  Phil is putting in a lot of work on his short game, especially his putting.  Phil has been working mainly on his full swing and the short game has suffered.  But with the rough that is usually associated with the Open, the short game and putting will be very crucial in saving those valuable pars. 

The tournament at The Colonial in Ft. Worth has been in existance for the past 62 years.  Ben Hogan won the tournament five times and the course has withstood the test of time and the modern golfer and modern equipment.  The course has not been rennovated over and over to protect itself against the 460CC drivers the straight golf ball and the modern grooves.

Phil Mickelson should be able to maneuver his way around the narrow tree lined fairways.  The course favors a draw by the right handed player which means that Phil can hit a controled fade.  Most of Phil’s misses tend to be to his left. 

Kenny Perry who has been playing well of late should be one of the favorites going into this week’s event.  Kenny has won at Colonial and the course sets up well for his big draw.

This tournament is one that all of the players want to win.  The course is an old traditional style and the players enjoy playing a course that is what you see. 

Lorena Ochoa held off the hard charging Morgan Pressel and four other contenders to win the Sybase.  Annika Sorenstam eager to regain her number one ranking could not recover from a second round 73. 

Ochoa shot a final round 71 and survived despite a balky putter.

Kenny Perry must have felt that the golf gods really did not want him to win this week in Atlanta.  On the first playoff hole on the par five eighteen, Kenny went for the green, hit a tree behind the green and bounched back across the green into the water.  Imada had lost this tournament to Zack Johnson last year when he hit his second shot into the water in a sudden death playoff.

This was Imada’s first victory on the PGA.  Perry was quite upset with the defeat and did not talk with reporters after the loss.  Perry has made it very clear that he wants to be on the Ryder Cup team that will play this year in his home state of Kentucky.

Kenny Perry did not show any ill effects of his last round falter in the TPC last week.  Kenny is tied for the lead at the AT & T Classic being played in Duluth, Ga. on the Sugar Loaf course which is just north of Atlanta. 

The first round was quite a struggle for the afternoon players as they fought the weather.  A constant rain caused a short delay in the afternoon and left 35 players with an incomplete round.  Perry had the best round of the evening group.  Most of the good rounds were recorded by the early starting times.

Paul Goydos who lost in a playoff to Sergio Garcia last week may be feeling the effects of his near miss.  Paul opened with a one over par 73 and will have to make up some ground if he expects to make the half way cut.

Course designer Greg Norman had his son on the bag, but it was of little help as Greg opened with a 80.  Another former number one player David Duval continues to struggle with a 78.  David continues to insist that his game is real close.  Duval needs to have a good tournamnet and gain some confidence.

Annika finds herself tied for the lead after the first round of play at the Sybase Classic in Clifton, N.J.  This could be two weeks in a row that Annika wins with number one Lorena Ochoa in the field.

Sorenstam leads Ochoa by one shot entering the second round of play.  Annika is playing very well and all phases of her game are working.  It will be great for the LPGA if the two top players can enter the weekend in a battle for the championship.

A player that has not gotten off to a hot start this year is Natalie Gulbis.  Natalie won her first tour event last year and great things were expected for this year.  She may still be struggling with swing changes that she and coach Butch Harmon are working on.