A Lesson Learned: The 2010 WGC-CA Championship (PGA.com)
March 15, 2010
Ernie Els displayed great patience in his course management on his way to victory. (Halleran/Getty Images)
Two big things returned to the stage in this year’s tournament at the TPC Doral Blue Monster: Ernie Els as one of the premier names and players in the world demonstrated his top form; and so did the famous TPC Blue Monster Golf Course.
Wind gusts ranged from 15-25 mph or higher during all four days of competition. The 18th hole returned to its billing as one of the toughest holes on the PGA Tour and the most difficult finishing hole on the Tour. The lesson learned that stood out for me this week, however, was in the ability to score well. Not necessarily strike it well, but to get the most out of your round and get the ball into the hole.
Let’s start with Ernie Els. He played two bogey-free rounds in extremely difficult conditions. His return to form comes at a perfect time leading into the Masters.
This golf course has many “gut checks” throughout this Dick Wilson masterpiece. The first comes on the third hole with a difficult tee shot and then again a brutal par-3 fourth. Both holes have what Pete Dye refers to as the ultimate penalty in golf—water hazards.
During the final round, I watched the tee shots at the fourth hole, a 226-yard par 3 carry over water. Of all the players that went through during that time only five players managed to hit the green in regulation (only one went into the water and most played short of the green). Els stepped up and passed this “gut check” with flying colors.
Unlike in the Masters in a few weeks, when you stand on the tee and toss some grass into the air to determine which way the wind is blowing, there was no swirling winds like at Augusta. Instead, you were faced with a 226-yard carry over water and dead into a 25 mph wind. And, by the way, there are extremely difficult bunkers to the left and the green slopes right toward the water.
But on this day, Els simply came out swinging with birdies on 1, 3, and 4. He was the exception. Almost everyone else tip-toed through the fourth hole and had to scramble to make par. Els played amazing golf that had to be seen in person to understand how impressive it was. Although he converted par saves over the week, he really played all around great golf… period.
What also really made an impression on me was the scoring that was demonstrated in these difficult windy conditions by other top players. Padraig Harrington went for the 10th hole in two shots (very aggressive) and missed his approach shot to the left and into the water hazard, but it just barely stayed out of the water. Harrington stood on the rocks and managed to hit it onto the green and then he made the putt.
Just before that happened, Matt Kuchar hit his third shot on 10 left of the green and it was an awful shot and almost went into the water. He managed to stand on the rocks and find a way to get the ball onto the green and then he too holed out the putt for par.
Getting the most out of your round is really hard to do and takes skill. It takes mental toughness and the ability to stay focused on your current shot. It also takes skill to recover from difficult bounces or breaks that come from the conditions.
It takes a great short game to convert the save opportunities.
Finally, another major component in scoring is course management. Give yourself the best chance to make the lowest score and play to your strengths. If you don’t hit 50-yard wedge shots well, don’t hit driver downwind to 50 yards. Lay back to a more comfortable distance. It was awesome to watch so many players struggle in these conditions out on the course and yet convert and score so very well today.
They are clearly the best in the world. It was also nice to see the Monster have some teeth this year on Thursday and Friday when it was into the wind on 18.
Thomas Giles is a PGA Apprentice and a Certified Instructor at the Jim McLean Golf School at Doral Resort and Spa. If you would like to contact Giles, send him an email directly at thomasgilesgolf@gmail.com.
Tee it up with Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Golf 10