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
Big preliminary numbers from Friday's telecast of the 2013 WGC Cadillac:
· Round Two PRELIM: 1.5 HHs, 1,471,000 viewers. A 24 percent increase over same round in 2012 and a 45 percent increase from Thursday’s round one on Golf Channel.
· Highest rated / most watched early round since cable ratings started to be reported for this tournament (1995-2013).
· Highest rated / most watched early round since Friday’s second round at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola (Sept. 21, 2012, 1.6 HHs / 1,559,000 viewers)
A stellar leaderboard is pursuing Tiger Woods who, according to Dave Shedloski, "has never lost a 54-hole lead when ahead by at least three strokes, and he's won 50 of 54 times when owning at least a share of the lead."
This will be the final time we see this iteration of Doral, as it's slated to undergo a makeover soon after the final putt drops today. Try not to get emotional.
Coverage starts at 1 pm ET on Golf Channel, and 3 pm ET on NBC with bonus coverage of holes 15, 16 and 18 on Golf Channel at 3 pm ET.
Steve DiMeglio on how Phil Mickelson hit a 450-yard drive on the 419-yard 17th hole, finished on a cart path and then made birdie en route to an opening 67 in the WGC Cadillac at Doral.
The video:
Even better, Phil's got a few minutes of footage "in the can" for his next short game DVD upon giving Steve Sands an impromptu live clinic on the Art Of The Cart Path Recovery:
Torleif Sorenson posts Gil Hanse and Donald Trump's vision for the TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral, though I'm hard pressed to see many major changes other than the par-3 15th which has lots of water around it.
The Donald told the media Tuesday that it's going to be an island green.
But Bradley Klein explains that's been a source of disagreement between the design partners.
But when it came to a proposed island green, Hanse balked. When Trump urged extension of a pond to encircle the otherwise placid, landlocked green on the par-3 15th, Hanse resisted, explaining that it would be out of character with Wilson’s emphasis on diagonal lines of play. So the plan now is to project the relocated green out into a corner of the expanded pond and form a sharp diagonal, with the putting surface flanked by water front left and deep to the rear.
**Here is an updated plan. You can tell because the logos are getting tackier by the plan.
At least the one above will provide a point of comparison. The 15th is still not an island green. Thankfully.
As a bonus, a close up of the 15th and 16th holes.
Jason Sobel has obtained Darrell Survey results showing long putter use is way down in 2013 (they do not track whether players anchor). So far the 94 who have used the long wand made 61.7 percent of cuts and scored nine top-10s, slightly above the average.
Broken down, the data shows a decrease at each event: Hyundai Tournament of Champions (from seven to five); Sony Open (24 to 21); Humana Challenge (30 to 18); Farmers Insurance Open (31 to 13); Waste Management Phoenix Open (25 to 11); AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (25 to 10); and Northern Trust Open (33 to 16).
With most of the success coming for long putter users coming in Hawaii, Sobel says:
Yes, the game’s governing bodies still must determine whether an anchored putt should be defined as a legal stroke, but any notion that this is greatly affecting the game at its uppermost level has so far been summarily dismissed by the statistics.
Reading that, I realize the "no competitive advantage" talking point really is problematic either way it is used as an argument.
Those claiming it--while ignoring the major championship wins and improved putting by several players in majors where pressure is greatest--must have a hard time keeping a straight face.
But to also claim there is simply no advantage--that it can be "summarily dismissed"--helps the governing bodies say, okay, we do not see this as a traditional stroke, you say there is no advantage, everyone with back issues can keep using a long putter, so what's the problem again?
Michael Bamberger scored an exclusive Sunday night conversation with the lad who admitted that his quitting on the ninth hole of the Honda Classic was a "reactive decision" and that he knew soon after he left the course.
The wisdom tooth issue appears to have been exaggerated. I know you're shocked to learn this.
On Monday his Belfast dentist, Mark Conroy, faxed a letter to the PGA Tour offices describing McIlroy’s condition with both of his lower wisdom teeth. McIlroy said he wore braces for a period last year in an effort to create separation for the two teeth, one of which he said was “growing sideways.” He also said he has been prescribed a painkiller, which he did not use on Friday but will use as needed until he next sees Conroy, most likely after the U.S. Open in June. At that time, his lower right wisdom tooth is expected to be pulled.
Now it's after the U.S. Open?
On Friday, within a half hour of shaking hands with Els and Wilson, McIlroy knew that by quitting he had done the wrong thing. He drove to his home, in a gated development in Jupiter, with his instructor, Michael Bannon, and his caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald. Soon after, he was joined by his parents, Rosie and Gerry, and by liaison Sean O’Flaherty, who works for Horizon Sports Management, the Dublin agency that represents McIlroy. Rory spoke by phone to his agent, Conor Ridge. “By the time I got home I was saying, ‘We need to reassess here,’ ” McIlroy said.
"Reassess" was apparently in reference to his swing, which he worked on with Michael Bannon over the weekend, and not in reference to spinning the PR aftermath.
So glad we're in Florida to watch people walking around all bundled up, but at least the Honda Classic at Bear Trap National has served up a delicious final round setup: two vets in Ogilvy and Westwood both in major need of a PGA Tour win, pursuing two of the sweeter swinging young guns you'll ever see in Guthrie and Thompson.
Throw in the tough conditions, a few players capable of getting in the clubhouse early and it should be a dandy. NBC airs at 3 ET, with Golf Channel supporting prior and with Bear Trap coverage to compliment the network telecast.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
