Friday
Sep102010
Wi, Kuchar pacesetters at halfway point
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 1:52PM
Writing from Lemont, Illinois
Friday, September 10, 2010
At the top of the field after two rounds at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club: Charlie Wi and Matt Kuchar, at 6-under par 136 on Dubsdread, the highest score at the halfway point of a Western Open since 2004.
In the middle of the pack with 36 holes left in the 107th Western / BMW Championship: Tiger Woods, whose 1-over 72 on Friday was a stroke better than Thursday’s effort, but hardly what Woods, needing a high finish to advance to the Tour Championship, was hoping for. He’s in 40th place, and that’s not close to cutting it.
At the bottom of the barrel: Dubsdread’s reputation following several days of player complaints about the greens, pockmarked with more indentations than a gallon of Clearasil could remove.
Kuchar, who opened with a 7-under 65, spun his wheels to a 1-over-par 72 on the second day he battled poor health. Things were going in the wrong direction until he visited a restroom. Then he birdied four of the next five holes on the back nine, starting with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th, to come in in 2-under 34.
“It’s probably the worst feeling I’ve had out here,” Kuchar said. “I felt terrible all day. I am very excited to get home and get in bed. I made a few putts, made a few birdies, and tried to give as much self-talk as I could to myself. Hang in there, grind it out, kind of meander up to the ball and see if I could flip a switch for about four seconds and go back to being a zombie out there.”
Looking more pale than the white canvas BMW wraps around everything not moving at the 18th green, Kuchar explained the doctor he saw wasn’t sure if his ailment was viral or bacterial. He was given antibiotics, took them, and if it’s bacterial, the medicine will work. If not, Kuchar will just keep plugging.
In contrast, Wi was feeling perky before, during and after his 2-under 69. His six birdies more than offset a bogey and an unseemly triple-bogey 7 on the par 4 16th, a trip into the Twilight Zone that began with a pulled 3-wood into the swamp and concluded with a three-putt green from 12 feet.
“That’s just being impatient and a little bit anxious,” Wi said.
And that was in contrast to his mantra for the week. He’s written on his pin sheet each day, “It’s a marathon, play one hole at a time.”
It worked.
“When I walked off the 16th green, I told myself 17 is a new challenge. I was really proud of myself to make a birdie there.”
Unlike Kuchar, who entered the week first in the PGA Tour’s playoff standings, and a lock to play the Tour Championship at East Lake in a fortnight, Wi came in on the outside looking in. He’s listed at 37th, and the top 30 advance. A high finish will get him to Atlanta, but there are two rounds to go.
“I’ve been in tournaments where you play 72 holes and there’s no cut, and I’ve found myself being really impatient and looking ahead too far,” Wi said. “This week, I know I’m close to the top 30, and for me to play well, I knew I had to stay in the present and play one hole at a time.”
So far, so present.
Meanwhile, sneaking in with the round of the day, his 6-under-par 65 three strokes better than anyone else: Marc Leishman, who finished tied for second at Cog Hill last year, albeit seven strokes in arrears of Woods. Entering the third round, he’s a stroke back of Wi and Kuchar, and the only guy with something approaching momentum.
“I’ve got some good memories here,” said Leishman, who had compliments, rather than complaints, about the greens (see details in the Round 2 notebook). “You stand on a few greens and you remember what happened last year, and of course the way I played it on Sunday (scoring 69). It’s just cool to have that probably for the first time since I’ve been a pro.”
He faulted to third on the strength of seven birdies, and needs to keep playing that way to advance to East Lake. He came in 57th in the standings, and feels much as he did last year, where the tie for second advanced him to the Tour Championship. Now, he’d like to close the deal and leave Cog Hill with a trophy, as well as a punched ticket.
The Wi-Kuchar duo’s standing at 6 under is unusual in one respect. It’s the first time in over a year in regular PGA Tour events, that the second round score in relation to par was higher than the first round score. Usually in regular Tour events, including at Cog Hill, the leader is twice as much under par after 36 holes, compared to 18. Not including major championships, it last happened at The Memorial last year.
The critics will immediately say that it wasn’t because Dubsdread was tough, but rather because of the bumpy greens. In fact, the course was allowed to bare its teeth in spots, even though it was set up to play only 7,310 of its maximum 7,616 yards. With an easterly wind getting above the posted 14 mph in some areas of the course, there was ample opportunity for trouble, and some of the 70 players found it, starting with Wi. The victims included Michael Sim, who carved out an triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 15th, and Vijay Singh, who made a 7 there thanks to a tee shot that ended up in Cog Hill’s version of Borneo.
The howling about the greens continued, with the major exception of Leishman. Owner Frank Jemsek noted earlier today that the presence of a SubAir system wouldn’t have prevented the softness from occurring after a long, hot, wet summer, because it works on the substructures, not the putting surface itself. What it did was prevent flooding. What the heat did was prevent proper growth of the bentgrass, in its second full year after the remodeling by Rees Jones.
“I wish they were saying good things about the golf course, but it’s hard to fight the facts,” Jemsek said.
(For more from Jemsek and player comments, see an earlier story from Friday below.)
Finally, there’s Woods, the leader of the world rankings, and alter-ego Phil Mickelson, seemingly the perennial No. 2. Neither played brilliantly, Woods’ 72 barely surpassed by Mickelson’s even-par 71. But their outlooks on the weekend are different, for Mickelson is 14th in the point standings and Woods is 51st. El Tigre needs to make up seven strokes to finish somewhere in the neighborhood of fifth place, which is projected as necessary for him to make it to the Tour Championship.
“I made nothing today,” Woods said. “I hit the ball a hell of a lot better than my score indicates. I had a lot of putts inside 15 feet, and I think I made one on the last hole. Every birdie putt I had, I didn’t make.”
He made three, but he also made a double-bogey for the second time in as many rounds. Thursday’s 73 brought to an end his streak of 11 straight rounds in the 60s on Dubsdread. While there’s no cut with the 70-man field, by Sunday night, his streak of playing in the Tour Championship may be ended as well.
Last year, he scored a course-record 62 on Saturday, and won on Sunday, annexing his fifth Western Open.
“I’m just trying to post good numbers, hit good shots, place the ball accordingly on the correct side of the fairways, correct side of the greens,” Woods said. “Go from there.”
He’s 60th in fairways hit, 39th in hitting greens in regulation, and 26th in putting. That’s not the road to another 62 – or to Atlanta.
– Tim Cronin
Friday, September 10, 2010
At the top of the field after two rounds at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club: Charlie Wi and Matt Kuchar, at 6-under par 136 on Dubsdread, the highest score at the halfway point of a Western Open since 2004.
In the middle of the pack with 36 holes left in the 107th Western / BMW Championship: Tiger Woods, whose 1-over 72 on Friday was a stroke better than Thursday’s effort, but hardly what Woods, needing a high finish to advance to the Tour Championship, was hoping for. He’s in 40th place, and that’s not close to cutting it.
At the bottom of the barrel: Dubsdread’s reputation following several days of player complaints about the greens, pockmarked with more indentations than a gallon of Clearasil could remove.
Kuchar, who opened with a 7-under 65, spun his wheels to a 1-over-par 72 on the second day he battled poor health. Things were going in the wrong direction until he visited a restroom. Then he birdied four of the next five holes on the back nine, starting with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th, to come in in 2-under 34.
“It’s probably the worst feeling I’ve had out here,” Kuchar said. “I felt terrible all day. I am very excited to get home and get in bed. I made a few putts, made a few birdies, and tried to give as much self-talk as I could to myself. Hang in there, grind it out, kind of meander up to the ball and see if I could flip a switch for about four seconds and go back to being a zombie out there.”
Looking more pale than the white canvas BMW wraps around everything not moving at the 18th green, Kuchar explained the doctor he saw wasn’t sure if his ailment was viral or bacterial. He was given antibiotics, took them, and if it’s bacterial, the medicine will work. If not, Kuchar will just keep plugging.
In contrast, Wi was feeling perky before, during and after his 2-under 69. His six birdies more than offset a bogey and an unseemly triple-bogey 7 on the par 4 16th, a trip into the Twilight Zone that began with a pulled 3-wood into the swamp and concluded with a three-putt green from 12 feet.
“That’s just being impatient and a little bit anxious,” Wi said.
And that was in contrast to his mantra for the week. He’s written on his pin sheet each day, “It’s a marathon, play one hole at a time.”
It worked.
“When I walked off the 16th green, I told myself 17 is a new challenge. I was really proud of myself to make a birdie there.”
Unlike Kuchar, who entered the week first in the PGA Tour’s playoff standings, and a lock to play the Tour Championship at East Lake in a fortnight, Wi came in on the outside looking in. He’s listed at 37th, and the top 30 advance. A high finish will get him to Atlanta, but there are two rounds to go.
“I’ve been in tournaments where you play 72 holes and there’s no cut, and I’ve found myself being really impatient and looking ahead too far,” Wi said. “This week, I know I’m close to the top 30, and for me to play well, I knew I had to stay in the present and play one hole at a time.”
So far, so present.
Meanwhile, sneaking in with the round of the day, his 6-under-par 65 three strokes better than anyone else: Marc Leishman, who finished tied for second at Cog Hill last year, albeit seven strokes in arrears of Woods. Entering the third round, he’s a stroke back of Wi and Kuchar, and the only guy with something approaching momentum.
“I’ve got some good memories here,” said Leishman, who had compliments, rather than complaints, about the greens (see details in the Round 2 notebook). “You stand on a few greens and you remember what happened last year, and of course the way I played it on Sunday (scoring 69). It’s just cool to have that probably for the first time since I’ve been a pro.”
He faulted to third on the strength of seven birdies, and needs to keep playing that way to advance to East Lake. He came in 57th in the standings, and feels much as he did last year, where the tie for second advanced him to the Tour Championship. Now, he’d like to close the deal and leave Cog Hill with a trophy, as well as a punched ticket.
The Wi-Kuchar duo’s standing at 6 under is unusual in one respect. It’s the first time in over a year in regular PGA Tour events, that the second round score in relation to par was higher than the first round score. Usually in regular Tour events, including at Cog Hill, the leader is twice as much under par after 36 holes, compared to 18. Not including major championships, it last happened at The Memorial last year.
The critics will immediately say that it wasn’t because Dubsdread was tough, but rather because of the bumpy greens. In fact, the course was allowed to bare its teeth in spots, even though it was set up to play only 7,310 of its maximum 7,616 yards. With an easterly wind getting above the posted 14 mph in some areas of the course, there was ample opportunity for trouble, and some of the 70 players found it, starting with Wi. The victims included Michael Sim, who carved out an triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 15th, and Vijay Singh, who made a 7 there thanks to a tee shot that ended up in Cog Hill’s version of Borneo.
The howling about the greens continued, with the major exception of Leishman. Owner Frank Jemsek noted earlier today that the presence of a SubAir system wouldn’t have prevented the softness from occurring after a long, hot, wet summer, because it works on the substructures, not the putting surface itself. What it did was prevent flooding. What the heat did was prevent proper growth of the bentgrass, in its second full year after the remodeling by Rees Jones.
“I wish they were saying good things about the golf course, but it’s hard to fight the facts,” Jemsek said.
(For more from Jemsek and player comments, see an earlier story from Friday below.)
Finally, there’s Woods, the leader of the world rankings, and alter-ego Phil Mickelson, seemingly the perennial No. 2. Neither played brilliantly, Woods’ 72 barely surpassed by Mickelson’s even-par 71. But their outlooks on the weekend are different, for Mickelson is 14th in the point standings and Woods is 51st. El Tigre needs to make up seven strokes to finish somewhere in the neighborhood of fifth place, which is projected as necessary for him to make it to the Tour Championship.
“I made nothing today,” Woods said. “I hit the ball a hell of a lot better than my score indicates. I had a lot of putts inside 15 feet, and I think I made one on the last hole. Every birdie putt I had, I didn’t make.”
He made three, but he also made a double-bogey for the second time in as many rounds. Thursday’s 73 brought to an end his streak of 11 straight rounds in the 60s on Dubsdread. While there’s no cut with the 70-man field, by Sunday night, his streak of playing in the Tour Championship may be ended as well.
Last year, he scored a course-record 62 on Saturday, and won on Sunday, annexing his fifth Western Open.
“I’m just trying to post good numbers, hit good shots, place the ball accordingly on the correct side of the fairways, correct side of the greens,” Woods said. “Go from there.”
He’s 60th in fairways hit, 39th in hitting greens in regulation, and 26th in putting. That’s not the road to another 62 – or to Atlanta.
– Tim Cronin
Reader Comments