Sunday, January 6, 2002
[MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS]
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KAPALUA, Maui >> If the answers are blowing in the wind as Bob Dylan once claimed, the 32 golfers enduring the Kona variety at this week's Mercedes Championships want to know -- and in a hurry. Field hoping winds change
NOTEBOOK
By Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.comWeather forecasters predict the breezes will swing around to the more traditional trades, which should add some spice to today's final round of the $4 million winners-only event.
"Is that true?" Tiger Woods asked after shooting his second consecutive 74. "That could make things very interesting."
Very interesting indeed. Most of the golfers are just now getting used to the unusual Kona winds that have plagued the spacious Plantation Course all week. To make a major adjustment for the final 18 holes could leave yesterday's leaders in a lurch.
"If the winds do change, who can adjust the quickest will have the best chance to win," said Mark Calcavecchia, who shot a 71 to trail frontrunners Scott Verplank and Kenny Perry by three shots. "It was brutal out there. Not a lot of fun. It's not so bad if it's blowing 15 to 25 (mph), but 40 is too much That makes it very difficult."
No one would argue with that assessment. From the opening tee shot by Hal Sutton to the final putt by Kenny Perry, the wind howled all late morning and early evening. It made the first two holes play particularly long.
The par-4, 473-yard opening hole that plays downwind in the trades was rated the toughest on the PGA Tour since the 2000 British Open at St. Andrews. The par-5 fifth was a monster as well, with two golfers shooting triple bogeys and only two, Joel Edwards and David Gossett, managing to birdie the 532-yard hole.
"The key in wind like this is to get off to a good start," Verplank said. "You stand up there on one and look down to that hole nearly 500 yards away, and know it's a par-4, well, it leaves you a little weak in the knees. I bogeyed the first two holes and really put myself in trouble. But I was able to stay with it and shoot a 70."
The real problem was putting. The greens were grainy, the wind gusts unnerving and the three-putts rampant. It led to 15 golfers breaking par, including Woods. Scores ranged from a best of 68 by Chris DiMarco and Sergio Garcia, to a worst of 85 by Robert Damron.
"I'm just glad to be out of the wind right now," DiMarco said from the safety of the clubhouse. "You know, it was really tough. It was blowing so hard, it was almost weird at times. Putting was particularly difficult. I had one on number five. Hit it about eight feet. Had an eight-footer for par.
"Putted up probably about a foot short. I said I would go mark. Went to mark my ball, the wind blew it another five, six, seven feet. Ended up missing the putt. It was that kind of day."
Unlike most of the golfers, Garcia enjoyed his round in the wind.
"What wind?" he asked, then smiled. "I was fortunate today. I felt really comfortable putting. Some of the long putts I had, I hit them to give. With the wind, it's very difficult to judge. The only wind that was tougher than this was at my first British Amateur."
Like many of the leaders, David Toms, who is tied for third with DiMarco behind Verplank and Kenny Perry, said the wind was troubling on the opening two holes.
"I can't speak for everybody, but I bogeyed both and really struggled to overcome that," said Toms, who shot a 1-under 72. "I just tried to hang in there the rest of the day. I was really grinding to make that. It was a tough day mentally and physically."
Perry put it this way: "I'm just glad to survive."
News and notes from yesterday's action at the Mercedes Championships: NOTEBOOK
Opening hole giving Woods trouble
KAPALUA, Maui >> Tiger Woods exited the scoring tent with a smile spreading across his face as he saw the group of reporters waiting for him a few feet away."What do you guys want?" Woods asked. He shot a second consecutive 1-over 74 for a three-day total of 216, some 10 strokes off the pace set by leaders Kenny Perry and Scott Verplank. Someone asked, "Are you having any fun yet?" Woods' reply: "Next question."
The problem for Woods yesterday and Friday was a pair of big numbers on the picturesque opening hole that plays particularly difficult in the strong Kona breezes that have been blowing across the course this week.
"Not a good start the last two days," Woods said of the triple-bogey seven he posted Friday and double-bogey six he carved out yesterday. If he played that hole even those two days, he'd be 8-under and right in the thick of it. "I fought back. I got all the way back to 3-under. It was a heck of a fight."
Woods blamed the wind for his troubles. Claiming it's difficult to use a long iron right out of the bag across the wind-swept first fairway, he just hasn't been able to hit the proper approach coming in.
"You have to hit a long iron left of the green with a draw," Woods said. "Once you get a feel for the wind, it's easier to hit that kind of shot. After I got off to the bad start yesterday, as well as today, I just tried to get back to even-par by nine. That didn't work. Then I tried to get back to even-par for my round. That didn't work out, either."
Woods also believes putting the ball in the wind on these grainy greens is particularly challenging. If you hit it tentative, or catch the wind blowing the wrong way, trouble awaits.
"Some British Opens are that way, when the wind is howling," Woods said. "It's hard to stay steady. It's hard to stay committed to your lines. If the wind lets up here, you have to change your alignment as you go. Once you get a gust, it's gone. It's outta here. It's just part of playing in the wind. You know that. You accept that."
Despite his struggles, Woods believes he has a chance if he can put up a magical number early and hope the field comes back to him.
"It's gotta be windy like today," Woods said. "You have to get off to a fast start and get it rolling. If you can do that and the leaders start to come back to you, who knows? I have to shoot a low round. I don't know how. But in these conditions, anything can happen."
Faxon makes a move: Defending Sony Open champion Brad Faxon made a move up the leaderboard with a solid 69 to move to 8-under for the tournament. Faxon got off to a solid start, which has been key this week.
"I hit driver/3-wood on the first hole and had a great up and down," Faxon said. "That set a good tone for my round. I hit a really hard pitch shot to six feet. I hit some good shots today, which is what you need in conditions like these."
The Rhode Island resident believes a fast start today and continued luck on the greens will give him his best shot at finishing high on the leaderboard.
"If you get off to a bad start, it's tough to recover," Faxon said. "The putting is the hardest. The ball is shaking and it's hard to keep your balance. Hopefully, I can come back on Sunday and put up another good number."
Only human: Robert Damron played his round with Woods and not very well, mind you. He shot an incredible 85 to go from 4-under to start the day to 8-over at the finish. One reporter who had walked with him on the back nine had hoped to get a quote. Damron's response, "Are you kidding?" He got into the cart and rode away to the safety of the clubhouse.
Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin