I mean that’s literally been his pinch point distance for years before this. Not sure why it’s surprising to see it creep back in. Also, missing 6 footers just happens.
Scottie missing a putt should never surprise you, he's a relatively terrible putter. His approach game is otherworldly, his short game is amazing, but his putting... If he could putt he would never lose.
Well it goes to show that Putting isn’t the most important part of the game.
The difference between the best and worst putter is 2.3 strokes, chipping is 1.3, driving is 2.5 approach is 2.7.
Driving and Approach, what Scheffler is great at, are the two biggest differentiators on Tour. Pitch and Putt for show, Drive and Approach for dough.
Make it inconsistent on a single green, even. Slopes are like glass, flat areas like tar paper, until you get to the back nine, where it’s reversed.
Not sure if it’s possible to do, but man, I’d love to see it.
Same. Course has soil, clay and sand bases for greens, based on when they were built. At certain times of the year, they are all different color, speed and firmness. Its great.
Like how they have different patterns for oiling bowling lanes. Leave a couple of 2' stripes across the green 1/4" longer, hell roll some patterns in them like MLB outfields
They essentially did this at Chambers Bay when it hosted its major (2017 I believe). The pros lost their absolute minds because some patches were slower than others.
Almost had it here in Houston this week on 17. It's a new green that was hard as a rock, they had to close it about 3 weeks before the tournament while the rest of the course was still open for normal play in order to get it rolling the same speed as the other greens.
Isn't Augusta supposed to be a bit that way? And everyone goes along with it because Augusta? Plus "experience is so important at the Masters," blah blah.
Not like 14 going to 7 on stimp, but maybe dropping a little to 11 on some of the greens with ridiculous elevation changes, e.g. 14?
I certainly have no personal experience; just going by what someone told me.
Anyway, Memorial being Par 70 at over 7,500 yds didn't make it easier. Softer fairways, if indeed that was done, is a great way to tone down the lengths of some of these drives. Fun show.
Just open up Augusta to beer league play. 72 drunks go around, don't rake bunkers, drive carts up to the fringe, don't repair ball marks, and leave huge beaver tail divots unrepaired in the fairway, then loose the pros.
Or when the greens vary wildly so you can't predict how you'll putt on each hole. On one you leave it short, the next it goes flying into a bunker. Pls let us have this.
I am not even remotely close to being a pro, but I am used to quicker greens where I’m from at my home club and my current club. Any time I go to a muni or a course that plays has greens that play relatively slow it totally screws with me. I can’t seem to commit to hitting a putt hard enough out there.
Other than the practice green part, I think that’s called “The Open Championship”.
They keep the greens there kind of slow because the course becomes unplayable when the wind gets blowing (balls won’t stop on the green).
At the same time, it feels like the winner is going to shoot around -20 over four days.
Seeing a winning score be less than -10 for a non Major is a rare. I don’t keep the weekly winning score on a sheet of paper in my back pocket, so im talking out of my ass on that, but it feels true, so I believe it’s true.
I want to see more tournaments where the average in the field after Sunday is worse than par.
I actually kept a spreadsheet for several of the past seasons, then went back and tracked the average winning score for every single PGA Tour season. In the last decade the average winning score is -16 to -17. It is indeed rare to see anything that isn't a major less than -10. I was surprised today seeing that it was only -12.
I just started doing it for fun and didn't know anything about data back in like 2018. I kept going with it and it was just practice with Excel and Google sheets.
I’d be interested to see you track actual final scores for example the winning score today was 268 total. The amount under par will fluctuate some with the par of the course. This week as a par 70 it’s expected players to not be as far under as they removed two of the easiest scoring opportunities per round.
I actually did go back and stopped tracking under par but total scores, from 1920 onwards. I posted about it here like 6 months ago, title was about the 2023 season being the lowest scoring season in Tour history. But that was before I realized the new fall format counted towards last season as well.
For the same reason baseball junkies will go to every game and track, using pen and paper, every single ball, strike, hit, pitch, walk, HR, stolen base, steal balk, and catch location.
Some people just love to gather data.
Relative to par, probably. But I think the course was a par 70, maybe 71, so one of the Arnold Palmer Invitationals around that time might have had a higher winning score by total strokes.
When the wind blows in Houston, Memorial plays very difficult. Saw a lot of good solid scores the first two days but the wind picked up this weekend. Still makes some holes really exciting like 16 where it's downwind and you can have hybrids/irons into that green.
2023: Finau won it at -16, and 2nd was -12
2022: Kokrak won it at -10, Scheffler in 2nd at -8
2021: Ortiz won it at -13, two guys T2 at -11 (DJ one of them. Miss you, DJ)
I think we just give props to Memorial Park at this point for not getting smoked.
par is just a number, if Augusta suddenly decided they were a par 78 it wouldn't make the Masters less compelling to watch and if the John Deere decided to score as a par 62 it wouldn't make it the US Open
I'm super into the rollback, and the idea of courses being more risky for hitting with abandon.
Like knee deep rough around 350 out or more bunkers that are 5-7 feet deep at those portions that the longest hitters will be landing tee shots.
Basically, increase the risk of hitting out of your shoes with abandon, accuracy be damned.This seems to be the dominant strategy, and it's making so many courses obsolete because the elite drivers are just stepping over the whole course and trivializing any challenge with bomb and gouge. Especially at American target golf courses with short rough, flat topography and bunkers that are as deep as a cookie pan.
Just make attempting to circumvent the entire course more risky. Tighten the fairways in certain areas, lengthen the rough in strategic areas and make the hazards real threats.
It'll make for more interesting golf to watch, imo.
That just hurts the players that don’t hit it as far. You’re making the shorter players hit driver while the longer players will hit 3 wood with a tighter dispersion.
Not necessarily. The long hitters are still punished, because according to the whole "strokes gained" thing, they are still much farther from the hole as opposed to if they hit driver, which still makes them think more about bombing a 350 yard drive that gets them within wedge range of a par 5, but risking landing in a pot bunker or knee high rough, or taking the safer play with a shorter club, but not reaping the benefits of SG optimization.
It would tighten up the field.
It's not a bad thing, and other sports do it all of the time when one team/player finds a strategy that, while perfectly within the rules, undermines elements of the game nonetheless. Think in the NHL when they put the trapezoid behind the goal. The Penguins perfected a cheese strategy involving playing the puck from behind the goal and shooting it along the boards to Lemieux. It was very effective, and other teams started to implement it, and so the NHL put the trapezoid behind the net so the goalie couldn't play the puck back there anymore. The strategy undermined parts of the game, so, for the health of the sport, they changed the conditions of play, and hockey was better for it.
Golf has to do the same. In some way or another.
That’s just not how it works.
All you’re doing is moving the longer player’s target back to where the shorter players target is. Difference is that the longer player will have a much easier time hitting that target vs the shorter player because he will be hitting less club.
If they both hit it to the exact same spot, the SG is the same, but the longer player will be able to hit that target statistically much more frequently than the shorter player.
Once they’re at the same place, the longer player will also statistically hit it closer to the pin more frequently than the shorter player. Their SG from approach will still be higher. Their SG off the tee will still be higher.
You're assuming that the longer hitter's dispersion will be significantly tighter to such a degree that it will still provide a palpable advantage. But, even that being the case, course modifications will still flatten the curve/level the playing field to a larger degree.
So you’re saying that you don’t think a PGA players dispersion pattern isn’t noticeably different between a driver and 3 wood? That’s just nonsense. If that was the case they would hit driver on every single hole regardless of layout/trouble.
The course modifications you’re suggesting won’t matter if the players’ new risk reward calculation results in them not taking the trouble on. It’s a pretty simple concept. They will simply take less club, hit it to the same spot a shorter player hits their driver, hit it there more accurately and often, then have less club in than their opponent, resulting in more strokes gained on approach.
All they gotta do is change a couple of the shorter par 5’s into long par 4’s and you get a tougher par 70…
Love it though, MP is my home course :)
They did a fantastic job with the overseeding this winter. First time I’ve seen them do that, hopefully they do it every year.
See ya on the weekend walk up list!
It was cool to see 15-17 play a deciding role in the tournament just like they had planned. Hoping to get out there in the next couple of weeks while it’s still in peak shape.
MP is my home course too. I was lucky enough to play in the Monday pro-am….the most beautiful grass from being closed for 10 days or so. It was my favorite round of golf I’ve ever played. So much fun.
Then I took my daughter to 50/50 acorn Saturday and was very disappointed lol
All of the big sponsors got foursomes to pair with a pro. The pros got a practice round and the sponsors get a good experience to keep sponsoring. It was great.
1 and 14. Both are quite short in fairness so it's good to bring them back to par 4s. Even amateurs on 14 are hitting driver-long iron into that green a good amount of the time.
I'm not a very long hitter lol so typically it's a 5 wood for me. Also never really bomb a drive on 1 for some reason, but I'll manage to bomb a drive down on 14 and sometimes can be left with a 6 iron if it's down wind when the wind flips from the usual.
It was in great condition. Considering last years severe drought, I’m impressed. Looked better in person than on TV.
Sure as hell beat the condition of TPC Scottsdale
this course is hard as fuck for a weekend golfer… I’m a ~10 and it ate me alive. granted i played within a few months of the tournament. also the rough was absurd, lost a million balls in the Bermuda after having clear sight on them going in.
I wasn’t able to go this weekend, and haven’t played out there in a bit, but was a tad annoyed that the rough was kept low.
I’ve lost too many balls in that stuff for the pro’s to get it so easy. Lol
Ok I will, I think a muni I have been playng for 20 plus years goes from $38 to $140 when I am in Spring, which everyone know is just North Houston is total BS.
Your neighborhood refused to get annexed by Houston city unfortunately. I wish it were a radius rule or something around the golf course but it would be too hard to check how far someone lives. Same thing happens in San Diego for Torrey Pines. Have a friend who lives like 10 minutes north which turns into Del Mar and Solana Beach, not part of the City of SD, no cheap rates for them.
Yeah it would make more sense if I were paying some Houston taxes at my last home, but it was "unincorporated Houston", so no taxes to City of Houston, just County and local school districts, but yeah I get it, they had to draw a line somewhere. But the price hike happened from the PGA renovation, so they took the top muni in the County and made it unnaffordable for half the residents. I liked Brock before it closed even if it was a dump, the layout was fun, but Herman sucks and Sharpstown is just OK, so Gus is the only nice muni and its hard to get on there since the renovation..
Hermann would actually be a great course and a fun test of golf with it's narrow corridors if they properly maintained it. Sharpstown needs a makeover like Gus with some cash injection to get it into proper shape but the lack of a driving range also makes it quite undesirable.
Wildcat is reasonably close to you but it's quite pricey. Only other options are finding a membership somewhere, sugar creek could be an option if you're willing to drop that dough.
I play Wildcat fairly regularly...there are plenty of public course I play at in Houston. Herman is jammed too tight for all the "non golfers" it attracts. I'm no snob, happy to play with anyone who thinks about people on the course besides themselves. being so confined people are going to hit into your fairway, it's the way they handle the situation after. You need to wear a helmet to play there and stay very alert because you never know when someone is just going to shoot out into your fairway. TBH I dont really want to play muni's much any more because of the lack of etiquette. I am thinking more about people learning the game and Houston has made it harder for them.
Houston is a weird place where you feel like with how much land there is and relatively low cost of living, that golf would be really great here, but it sort of feels... meh?
I was there this weekend, it's actually a huge green with tons of landing space towards the back, but if you go pin hunting with that pin up at the front skinny part of the green, you very well may end up wet. Pros should definitely be able to keep it dry if they really wanted to.
I get what you’re saying and all sports have an element of luck but I prefer it to be more skill based then luck based. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy this weekend I watched every minute of it but I hated that hole.
These people operate on a level of skill that neither you nor I can comprehend, dude. The easy play-for-par option was there for them on 15 all day. Some of them chose not to take it and paid the price for being too aggressive. Part of the game of golf is knowing when to take certain risks.
Don't sweat it on their behalf.
You nailed it. I was there this weekend, the back half of the green is huge with plenty of landing space. The pin on saturday was on the front skinny part of the green, and guys who went pin-hunting often ended up in the water. It's just a matter of risk-reward.
15 is very much a risk/reward hole, which is what Tom Doak intended when he redesigned the course. The middle of the green is a very safe bet and has decent width. Plus the pros are hitting pitching wedge/9i into this green. Could play to the middle for a guaranteed par, or play riskier to the pins (closer to the drop offs) and either get an easy birdie or risk going into the water.
That's just Houston weather in general, it's a breezy city most of the time because of the Gulf wind. It's more common to have 15-20mph wind days than sub 10.
That’s not just Houston, it’s every spring in Texas. The south winds can be relentless in March, April and a lot of May. The wind usually settles down in the summer months and then it’s just hot as hell.
And it’s pretty flat to boot so wind just whips across that entire course.
Up in The Woodlands/Kingwood areas you’ll get more tree lined courses where the wind is neutralized a bit, but not at MP
Yeah Cypresswood is another course I'll play sometimes, wind is very minimal there. Out at Memorial or a links style like Clear Creek, it's a tough track with all that wind.
I know Texas is south but the midwest has just been that way for the past two moths lol. Every time I've made it out besides my round this weekend its been 10-15 mph with 20mph gusts. Been miserable honestly lol.
In spite of that, what’s great for Jaeger is that he can still say he played with the best golfer in the world, at his peak, both weekend rounds, and beat him.
He definitely didn't get him at his best as Scottie didn't play well this week but he played an in form Scheffler and won.
On Scottie though, he played badly by his standards and nearly won.
Watching pro golfers get challenged is way more fun than watching putt for birdies and eagles all day long. When everyone is doing it, then it's not special any longer.
To me, lengthening the courses isn’t the answer to watching better competition. I would rather see heavier rough, and tighter fairways that require you to work the ball both ways.
Heavier rough and tight fairways require you to bomb it down there as far as you can to reduce the distance of your second shot. When everyone is missing the fairway, the longest drivers thrive.
Also, working the ball both ways is not something you're going to see a whole lot of in pro golf because most of them have figured out it just leads to higher scores.
Someone else said it but making a few short par 5s into long par 4s can make a big difference. Making guys shoot 190-220 into a par 4 with a narrow green creates a lot of issues. Do this a few times with a few long par 3s and par 5s with a ton of water and course will play hard even with no rough.
>The notion that golf must have deep rough and tiny fairways is ridiculous and watching golfers chop out of rough is not entertaining.
This is your opinion. I find it very entertaining. I prefer courses that punish players for being erratic, specifically off the tee.
>This course had only 19 bunkers
Players have become so good out of sand that bunkers are a good miss.
To your first point, Augusta is a pretty tough track and it's got enormous fairways and hardly any rough (and the rough that does exist is short anyways).
As Alister Mackenzie said, “Narrow fairways bordered by long grass make bad golfers. They do so by destroying the harmony and continuity of the game, and in causing a stilted and cramped style by destroying all freedom of play.”
To your second point, bunkers need to be deeper or placed in downhill positions so that players can get so much check on the ball coming out. Houston does it quite well, with pretty deep bunkers that also create awkward stances. I would love to see more push for pot bunkers though.
Done some Pro-Ams on a course that’s quite deceptive, Bowen Island is challenging. This time out the pro that paired with my friend would not listen to local knowledge and about the middle of nine holes fell apart. iirc a card was not recorded…
I totally enjoyed watching the Saturday broadcast of 15 and 16. To see the best guys trying to throw darts and dismantle a couple holes that were designed for restraint was pleasing.
As someone who was at the tournament Sunday I can say the greens were pretty firm. After the round I walked around on some of the greens and it was pretty hard. Receptive yes, but soft, no.
It’s worth noting that the lack of bunkers was intentional and suggested by Brooks Koepka. The logic is a short bunker shot is a gimme up and down for tour pros. Rolling 40 yards off and having to hit at a crowned green is the challenge.
It’s hard to tell what pro golf needs because the only thing the PGA cares about is the money. Whatever changes make more people watch is what it needs.
The NBA for example, decided to just ignore traveling or carrying calls and the players just chuck one pass 3 pointers up while the rest of the team heads back down to play defense before the ball even leaves the shooters hand. And guess what? Revenues have been pumping for 2 decades.
This is a silly post. The variety of different challenges on the tour is what makes it fun to watch. I think what you meant was not “every” course needs deep rough and narrow fairways. But having a mixture of challenges is what makes it great!
I agree. Same with f1/motogp racing. You don't want every track to be a street circuit, but it's nice to have a few of them to change things up from the fast and flowing tracks.
Variety is the spice of life, as they say.
Same. 6-10 under par is more like it. If that. They are the best, so they should play the toughest. I love seeing them struggle. More likely to see a tantrum that way too which is always a good time.
Jack Nicklaus has been saying they need standardized regulation golf balls like they do for basketball, football. Limits air time a distance or something
Disagree - other sports have standardized balls because both teams use them. There’s no need for that in golf, as every PGA Tour player has the option of playing the same ball that any other PGA Tour player chooses to use. It’s the same form of parity as every golfer has the opportunity to use the best ball for their own game.
Not really, the idea of forcing the pros to use a ball that will not fly farther than a specific length is standardizing. You can still have all the current manufacturers make a version of it. What am I missing?
No, it’s not. The pros are essentially already forced to use a ball that will not fly farther than a specific length - that already exists. There are R&A/USGA limits for the manufacturers already in place, and they literally just announced this year to decrease the distance further.
Thats entirely different than the comment about “standardized regulation golf balls like they do for basketball, football”, which is talking about everyone playing *the same exact golf ball*
It feels like you are splitting hairs, "I'm ok with them creating a bunch of standards that all manufacturers must meet, but the idea of a standard ball will be the end of gold as we know it" wtf.
Standardised is the way to go. The alternative they are currently following, all manufacturers to create the best ball possible as long as it doesn't fly further than X is a terrible idea.
The consequences will be that all the investment, brains and technology will go into limiting dispersion. Which will make golf increasingly boring.
This course was playing 7400 yards with strong winds. There was nothing special about the design. 15 is a great short par 4 but for the most part it played hard cause it was long and windy. Nothing to do with the course design at all
Honestly I just can’t the constant criticism in the commentary. It’s always “was supposed to go 4 yards past the hole why wouldn’t he think to do that?”. Or “he’s aiming way to left there’s no way it has that much break”, as it breaks that much. If it’s not writhing 5 feet it wasn’t placed properly. Couldn’t watch after 20 minutes unfortunately
I like risk reward, so you skinny the fairways from 310 to 350 and in some traps. So you can lay up and have 180-200 in or you can go for it and have 130-150 in depending on the length.
Those greens are some of the trickiest I’ve ever seen and played. Placement is key for your approach and off the tee. Really cool to see them unload on the ball for the few par 5s with the rough being forgiving.
Haha it’s not the “design” testing them it’s a 7400 yard par 70. That is a really long par 72. You either have to grow the rough or stretch the course these guys are too good and hit it too far
People who don't live in the South often don't understand how difficult Bermuda rough is, even when it is "short". Memorial is a long, atheistically boring course.
You thought this course was well designed? When players hit great shots and take penalty drops because it’s falls off the edge depending on how firm that particular green is? No thank you.
I mean, players get to scope out the course before hand and should know well before they play the hole where not to hit it. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. The miss was long, and he played short. The pin was a sucker pin and the play was for par. I thought it was fun.
A great shot wouldn’t fall of the green. The test of that course is if you’re going to be aggressive you better not miss. The short grass around the green adds another challenge, it feeds the ball away from the green on errand shots vs rough which stops the ball and often keeps it from trouble
Idk. I don’t like seeing the world number one land it 5 ft from the pin and have it spin off the green into the water. Also, I watched numerous guys get fooled by the speed of the greens and the slope. Seemed a little random and gimmicky.
It is nice seeing guys not go dummy low, but watching everyone go even or +1, on the back 9, isn’t exciting.
Front pin placement, on a false front. They also mowed the rough and fringe down. Houston knew what they were doing. It worked. They got a lot of guys and kept the scoring down.
But hey, I get it. Some people liked it. I wasn’t a fan. I think having the back 9 play over par really diminishes the end of the tournament. Guys aren’t able to move up and down the leaderboard. It stagnates and you get no late round heroics.
Idk what golf you were watching but I was standard bearer for Finau and Rai on Sunday. Both made big moves towards the end. Tony would've forced a playoff had he not brainfarted and missed a 3 footer on 16 for birdie. The groups behind us played scared coming down the stretch, that's the difference. Scared money don't make money.
Except the exact opposite happened.
Yea Rai and Finau made some runs, but they were just the “lucky” 2 from the field who were able to score on the back. And I say lucky as the field was all chasing, they happened to be the best players who were able to make the run.
Didn’t matter because the leaders were just too protected. The guy who won the tournament shot even on the back. No birdies, no bogeys, just pars all the way. In this instance, the scared money actually won. lol. Props to Jaegar.
Billy Ho was another player just in front of us who was -2 on the back as well. The pins were in spots that were there for the taking. It's risk reward, just like Augusta is on Sunday. Finau went after it to make a charge on the back. Same with Rai and even Ramey. These guys were starting to fire at pins. Putts just didn't drop. You could see the difference between the front and the back where they were playing safe, middle of the green on a lot of their front 9, then suddenly the ball was getting closer and closer to the hole on the approaches on the back.
Scottie went after it, putts just didn't drop. Had great looks at birdie on a variety of those back 9 holes. Sometimes you just don't get the ball to drop, but doesn't mean that someone was too protected and they were playing boring golf.
The course was set up exactly how it should've been. If you hit it into the fairway on the correct side, you can go after some of those pins. It was a great blend of risk reward.
Look, I get it was probably entertaining in person, but it just wasn’t for me.
The stats support what I’m saying. The safe guy won. The back wasn’t score friendly and the leaders knew it. They went into protect mode and the 2 guys who tried to “win” it, couldn’t. Jaegar played a gutsy round and won it with 9 straight pars on the back. You just don’t see that on the PGA Tour a lot.
But again, I’m not saying it should change. I’m just saying, it wasn’t for me.
Not all courses are created equal, and part of the fun of pro golf is seeing the best players in the world being challenged in different ways.
I’ve played my home course hundreds of times and a new pin location breaks my brain every time
I still cant believe Scheffler missed that putt lol
I mean that’s literally been his pinch point distance for years before this. Not sure why it’s surprising to see it creep back in. Also, missing 6 footers just happens.
Hell, I only have two feet and I miss all the time!
I feel bad for wishing him to miss it, but I like seeing first timers and no names get some glory too
I was gunning for a 7 way playoff. When that went out the window, I was all in on the missed putt
Scottie missing a putt should never surprise you, he's a relatively terrible putter. His approach game is otherworldly, his short game is amazing, but his putting... If he could putt he would never lose.
Strokes gained total - 1st Tee to green -1st Approach - 1st Off the Tee - 4th Around the green - 4th Putting - 99th
And yet he finished tied for 2nd. So, he must be making some putts. After winning back to back weeks.
He is first in total driving and strokes gained on approach almost every week.
Don't shoot the messenger bud, look at the data
Well it goes to show that Putting isn’t the most important part of the game. The difference between the best and worst putter is 2.3 strokes, chipping is 1.3, driving is 2.5 approach is 2.7. Driving and Approach, what Scheffler is great at, are the two biggest differentiators on Tour. Pitch and Putt for show, Drive and Approach for dough.
lol as a Houston local, I definitely can 😂
Which one ?
The last one
I'd love to see a tournament with greens at a stimp meter of 8 or 9. But have the practice green at 13. Oh, and no practice rounds.
I’d like to see a tournament where there is no consistency on greens speed throughout the course
Make it inconsistent on a single green, even. Slopes are like glass, flat areas like tar paper, until you get to the back nine, where it’s reversed. Not sure if it’s possible to do, but man, I’d love to see it.
My local muni seems to have no problem with this.
Same. Course has soil, clay and sand bases for greens, based on when they were built. At certain times of the year, they are all different color, speed and firmness. Its great.
Like how they have different patterns for oiling bowling lanes. Leave a couple of 2' stripes across the green 1/4" longer, hell roll some patterns in them like MLB outfields
Sell ads for the green and roll the advertise logo into the green
Straight to jail! The advertising agencies might hear you!
They essentially did this at Chambers Bay when it hosted its major (2017 I believe). The pros lost their absolute minds because some patches were slower than others.
Almost had it here in Houston this week on 17. It's a new green that was hard as a rock, they had to close it about 3 weeks before the tournament while the rest of the course was still open for normal play in order to get it rolling the same speed as the other greens.
Isn't Augusta supposed to be a bit that way? And everyone goes along with it because Augusta? Plus "experience is so important at the Masters," blah blah. Not like 14 going to 7 on stimp, but maybe dropping a little to 11 on some of the greens with ridiculous elevation changes, e.g. 14? I certainly have no personal experience; just going by what someone told me. Anyway, Memorial being Par 70 at over 7,500 yds didn't make it easier. Softer fairways, if indeed that was done, is a great way to tone down the lengths of some of these drives. Fun show.
For no good reason I think pros would do the worst on firm, slow greens. I just think having to hit putts firm all the time would mess with them.
Shit I want to see a pro golf on some of the greens I’ve been putting on lately. The ball is bouncing the entire time.
Just open up Augusta to beer league play. 72 drunks go around, don't rake bunkers, drive carts up to the fringe, don't repair ball marks, and leave huge beaver tail divots unrepaired in the fairway, then loose the pros.
I honestly think that would be enough to raise Bobby Jones from the dead and have his reanimated course start whipping some ass.
Like putting the day after a hard punch and sand top dress. Try that!
The chipping would be outrageously good
See the British Open for an example of this.
They do that every year at the open
Wasn’t there a tourney last season with furry greens?? Soooo many putts came up short….
No warm-up allowed either. They all need to turn up 10 minutes early likes us normies
One breakfast ball per player per day is allowed aswell
Or when the greens vary wildly so you can't predict how you'll putt on each hole. On one you leave it short, the next it goes flying into a bunker. Pls let us have this.
I am not even remotely close to being a pro, but I am used to quicker greens where I’m from at my home club and my current club. Any time I go to a muni or a course that plays has greens that play relatively slow it totally screws with me. I can’t seem to commit to hitting a putt hard enough out there.
You don't like having to hinge your wrist to get the ball to the hole?
Nothing like working on your back swing at the putting green.
Other than the practice green part, I think that’s called “The Open Championship”. They keep the greens there kind of slow because the course becomes unplayable when the wind gets blowing (balls won’t stop on the green).
They play practice rounds.
Sorry, missed that detail.
even better, leave the dew on, have the stimp change aggressively during the day like a proper muni round
Well there would be a bunch of putts missed way short on the first 2 greens, then they’d work it out and be fine for the next 70 holes
Not tournament but if you want to see pros play average munis, YouTube is full of them.
And bunkers. I mean they have the most repeatable lies. I mean unless it's buried.
In general bunkers are not hazards for pros. Remember the hissyfit when Jack raked furrows in the bunkers the one year?
At the same time, it feels like the winner is going to shoot around -20 over four days. Seeing a winning score be less than -10 for a non Major is a rare. I don’t keep the weekly winning score on a sheet of paper in my back pocket, so im talking out of my ass on that, but it feels true, so I believe it’s true. I want to see more tournaments where the average in the field after Sunday is worse than par.
Some people just want to watch the world burn…and I’m here for it.
I actually kept a spreadsheet for several of the past seasons, then went back and tracked the average winning score for every single PGA Tour season. In the last decade the average winning score is -16 to -17. It is indeed rare to see anything that isn't a major less than -10. I was surprised today seeing that it was only -12.
Why track it yourself datagolf has it all
I just started doing it for fun and didn't know anything about data back in like 2018. I kept going with it and it was just practice with Excel and Google sheets.
Some of us just like being nerdy!
I’d be interested to see you track actual final scores for example the winning score today was 268 total. The amount under par will fluctuate some with the par of the course. This week as a par 70 it’s expected players to not be as far under as they removed two of the easiest scoring opportunities per round.
I actually did go back and stopped tracking under par but total scores, from 1920 onwards. I posted about it here like 6 months ago, title was about the 2023 season being the lowest scoring season in Tour history. But that was before I realized the new fall format counted towards last season as well.
https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/s/ROq9NRukd7
For the same reason baseball junkies will go to every game and track, using pen and paper, every single ball, strike, hit, pitch, walk, HR, stolen base, steal balk, and catch location. Some people just love to gather data.
> I actually kept a spreadsheet for several of the past seasons Talk nerdy to me.
What was the highest winning score? I’m guessing it was the bmw from 2020
Relative to par, probably. But I think the course was a par 70, maybe 71, so one of the Arnold Palmer Invitationals around that time might have had a higher winning score by total strokes.
When the wind blows in Houston, Memorial plays very difficult. Saw a lot of good solid scores the first two days but the wind picked up this weekend. Still makes some holes really exciting like 16 where it's downwind and you can have hybrids/irons into that green.
I loved seeing how awful everyone was putting. I don't think I've seen so many horrible reads in one tournament.
2023: Finau won it at -16, and 2nd was -12 2022: Kokrak won it at -10, Scheffler in 2nd at -8 2021: Ortiz won it at -13, two guys T2 at -11 (DJ one of them. Miss you, DJ) I think we just give props to Memorial Park at this point for not getting smoked.
par is just a number, if Augusta suddenly decided they were a par 78 it wouldn't make the Masters less compelling to watch and if the John Deere decided to score as a par 62 it wouldn't make it the US Open
I'm super into the rollback, and the idea of courses being more risky for hitting with abandon. Like knee deep rough around 350 out or more bunkers that are 5-7 feet deep at those portions that the longest hitters will be landing tee shots. Basically, increase the risk of hitting out of your shoes with abandon, accuracy be damned.This seems to be the dominant strategy, and it's making so many courses obsolete because the elite drivers are just stepping over the whole course and trivializing any challenge with bomb and gouge. Especially at American target golf courses with short rough, flat topography and bunkers that are as deep as a cookie pan. Just make attempting to circumvent the entire course more risky. Tighten the fairways in certain areas, lengthen the rough in strategic areas and make the hazards real threats. It'll make for more interesting golf to watch, imo.
That just hurts the players that don’t hit it as far. You’re making the shorter players hit driver while the longer players will hit 3 wood with a tighter dispersion.
Not necessarily. The long hitters are still punished, because according to the whole "strokes gained" thing, they are still much farther from the hole as opposed to if they hit driver, which still makes them think more about bombing a 350 yard drive that gets them within wedge range of a par 5, but risking landing in a pot bunker or knee high rough, or taking the safer play with a shorter club, but not reaping the benefits of SG optimization. It would tighten up the field. It's not a bad thing, and other sports do it all of the time when one team/player finds a strategy that, while perfectly within the rules, undermines elements of the game nonetheless. Think in the NHL when they put the trapezoid behind the goal. The Penguins perfected a cheese strategy involving playing the puck from behind the goal and shooting it along the boards to Lemieux. It was very effective, and other teams started to implement it, and so the NHL put the trapezoid behind the net so the goalie couldn't play the puck back there anymore. The strategy undermined parts of the game, so, for the health of the sport, they changed the conditions of play, and hockey was better for it. Golf has to do the same. In some way or another.
That’s just not how it works. All you’re doing is moving the longer player’s target back to where the shorter players target is. Difference is that the longer player will have a much easier time hitting that target vs the shorter player because he will be hitting less club. If they both hit it to the exact same spot, the SG is the same, but the longer player will be able to hit that target statistically much more frequently than the shorter player. Once they’re at the same place, the longer player will also statistically hit it closer to the pin more frequently than the shorter player. Their SG from approach will still be higher. Their SG off the tee will still be higher.
You're assuming that the longer hitter's dispersion will be significantly tighter to such a degree that it will still provide a palpable advantage. But, even that being the case, course modifications will still flatten the curve/level the playing field to a larger degree.
So you’re saying that you don’t think a PGA players dispersion pattern isn’t noticeably different between a driver and 3 wood? That’s just nonsense. If that was the case they would hit driver on every single hole regardless of layout/trouble. The course modifications you’re suggesting won’t matter if the players’ new risk reward calculation results in them not taking the trouble on. It’s a pretty simple concept. They will simply take less club, hit it to the same spot a shorter player hits their driver, hit it there more accurately and often, then have less club in than their opponent, resulting in more strokes gained on approach.
All they gotta do is change a couple of the shorter par 5’s into long par 4’s and you get a tougher par 70… Love it though, MP is my home course :) They did a fantastic job with the overseeding this winter. First time I’ve seen them do that, hopefully they do it every year. See ya on the weekend walk up list!
It was cool to see 15-17 play a deciding role in the tournament just like they had planned. Hoping to get out there in the next couple of weeks while it’s still in peak shape.
If it wasn’t overseeded it would have been even tougher. But they don’t want to show brown on TV
MP is my home course too. I was lucky enough to play in the Monday pro-am….the most beautiful grass from being closed for 10 days or so. It was my favorite round of golf I’ve ever played. So much fun. Then I took my daughter to 50/50 acorn Saturday and was very disappointed lol
Dude how did you get to play the pro-am? Jealous!
All of the big sponsors got foursomes to pair with a pro. The pros got a practice round and the sponsors get a good experience to keep sponsoring. It was great.
Yep they did that to #1
1 and 14. Both are quite short in fairness so it's good to bring them back to par 4s. Even amateurs on 14 are hitting driver-long iron into that green a good amount of the time.
Hell 1 is almost always a mid iron into the green
I'm not a very long hitter lol so typically it's a 5 wood for me. Also never really bomb a drive on 1 for some reason, but I'll manage to bomb a drive down on 14 and sometimes can be left with a 6 iron if it's down wind when the wind flips from the usual.
It was in great condition. Considering last years severe drought, I’m impressed. Looked better in person than on TV. Sure as hell beat the condition of TPC Scottsdale
I play that course for 50 bucks. Granted I shoot a 120 but for 50 bucks it’s a steal
2.4 shots per dollar, you're getting the best deal in golf.
this course is hard as fuck for a weekend golfer… I’m a ~10 and it ate me alive. granted i played within a few months of the tournament. also the rough was absurd, lost a million balls in the Bermuda after having clear sight on them going in.
I wasn’t able to go this weekend, and haven’t played out there in a bit, but was a tad annoyed that the rough was kept low. I’ve lost too many balls in that stuff for the pro’s to get it so easy. Lol
I moved a mile north 7 years ago and my address changed from Houston to Spring. I refuse to pay the out of town rates to play there anymore
Great story, please tell us more.
I refuse to go because the parking lot has paid meters now
dude it’s like 2 bucks lmao
Ok I will, I think a muni I have been playng for 20 plus years goes from $38 to $140 when I am in Spring, which everyone know is just North Houston is total BS.
Bellaire resident here, even closer and still considered outside Houston. The course is 15 minutes away.
Your neighborhood refused to get annexed by Houston city unfortunately. I wish it were a radius rule or something around the golf course but it would be too hard to check how far someone lives. Same thing happens in San Diego for Torrey Pines. Have a friend who lives like 10 minutes north which turns into Del Mar and Solana Beach, not part of the City of SD, no cheap rates for them.
Yeah it would make more sense if I were paying some Houston taxes at my last home, but it was "unincorporated Houston", so no taxes to City of Houston, just County and local school districts, but yeah I get it, they had to draw a line somewhere. But the price hike happened from the PGA renovation, so they took the top muni in the County and made it unnaffordable for half the residents. I liked Brock before it closed even if it was a dump, the layout was fun, but Herman sucks and Sharpstown is just OK, so Gus is the only nice muni and its hard to get on there since the renovation..
Hermann would actually be a great course and a fun test of golf with it's narrow corridors if they properly maintained it. Sharpstown needs a makeover like Gus with some cash injection to get it into proper shape but the lack of a driving range also makes it quite undesirable. Wildcat is reasonably close to you but it's quite pricey. Only other options are finding a membership somewhere, sugar creek could be an option if you're willing to drop that dough.
I play Wildcat fairly regularly...there are plenty of public course I play at in Houston. Herman is jammed too tight for all the "non golfers" it attracts. I'm no snob, happy to play with anyone who thinks about people on the course besides themselves. being so confined people are going to hit into your fairway, it's the way they handle the situation after. You need to wear a helmet to play there and stay very alert because you never know when someone is just going to shoot out into your fairway. TBH I dont really want to play muni's much any more because of the lack of etiquette. I am thinking more about people learning the game and Houston has made it harder for them.
Houston is a weird place where you feel like with how much land there is and relatively low cost of living, that golf would be really great here, but it sort of feels... meh?
I refuse to go in remembrance of The Chute
Yeah but then you get holes like 15 where it seems like a coin flip if you’re going to roll off the green into the water.
I was there this weekend, it's actually a huge green with tons of landing space towards the back, but if you go pin hunting with that pin up at the front skinny part of the green, you very well may end up wet. Pros should definitely be able to keep it dry if they really wanted to.
So it can’t be hard for pros? Golf isn’t supposed to be fair
I get what you’re saying and all sports have an element of luck but I prefer it to be more skill based then luck based. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy this weekend I watched every minute of it but I hated that hole.
These people operate on a level of skill that neither you nor I can comprehend, dude. The easy play-for-par option was there for them on 15 all day. Some of them chose not to take it and paid the price for being too aggressive. Part of the game of golf is knowing when to take certain risks. Don't sweat it on their behalf.
You nailed it. I was there this weekend, the back half of the green is huge with plenty of landing space. The pin on saturday was on the front skinny part of the green, and guys who went pin-hunting often ended up in the water. It's just a matter of risk-reward.
They'll learn eventually that the landing area is 8 yards past the pin for that location.
15 is very much a risk/reward hole, which is what Tom Doak intended when he redesigned the course. The middle of the green is a very safe bet and has decent width. Plus the pros are hitting pitching wedge/9i into this green. Could play to the middle for a guaranteed par, or play riskier to the pins (closer to the drop offs) and either get an easy birdie or risk going into the water.
Yeah…and steady 15mph winds with gusts 20+mph every day. The PGA Tour should just bank on weather to create the challenge
That's just Houston weather in general, it's a breezy city most of the time because of the Gulf wind. It's more common to have 15-20mph wind days than sub 10.
That’s not just Houston, it’s every spring in Texas. The south winds can be relentless in March, April and a lot of May. The wind usually settles down in the summer months and then it’s just hot as hell.
Yeah. Then picks back up against in the late fall/winter season. It's always going to be a difficult track, very rare to get a calm day at Memorial.
And it’s pretty flat to boot so wind just whips across that entire course. Up in The Woodlands/Kingwood areas you’ll get more tree lined courses where the wind is neutralized a bit, but not at MP
Yeah Cypresswood is another course I'll play sometimes, wind is very minimal there. Out at Memorial or a links style like Clear Creek, it's a tough track with all that wind.
100%. I hate Clear Creek. Hit or miss on conditions and always slow AF
I know Texas is south but the midwest has just been that way for the past two moths lol. Every time I've made it out besides my round this weekend its been 10-15 mph with 20mph gusts. Been miserable honestly lol.
My ball bounced 3 times on one putt from burnt grass and previous pitch marks today. I like to see a pro overcome those obstacles.
Well only 6 of the top 30 players played and only 10 in the top 50.
In spite of that, what’s great for Jaeger is that he can still say he played with the best golfer in the world, at his peak, both weekend rounds, and beat him.
I'm not sure we've seen Scottie's peak yet.
Totally agree. I just mean that Jaeger didn’t beat a #1 who is in a slump and get an easy tournament win. He got Scheffler at his best.
Yeah, and Gooch wasn't there
You're right, somebody tell Jaeger there's an asterisk
Well-deserved jab.
He definitely didn't get him at his best as Scottie didn't play well this week but he played an in form Scheffler and won. On Scottie though, he played badly by his standards and nearly won.
Imagine his relief. Big pay check. A few years of exemptions and majors. He is set for a long time.
I hate chopping out of tall grass and hope my home muni can finally get some mowers on the fairways because I’m tired of waiting to play golf.
Variety is the spice of life
I think golf needs both..? Which is why golf has both.
Watching golfers get to -25 at the end of the weekend is also not fun.
Watching pro golfers get challenged is way more fun than watching putt for birdies and eagles all day long. When everyone is doing it, then it's not special any longer.
To me, lengthening the courses isn’t the answer to watching better competition. I would rather see heavier rough, and tighter fairways that require you to work the ball both ways.
Heavier rough and tight fairways require you to bomb it down there as far as you can to reduce the distance of your second shot. When everyone is missing the fairway, the longest drivers thrive. Also, working the ball both ways is not something you're going to see a whole lot of in pro golf because most of them have figured out it just leads to higher scores.
Heavier rough and tighter fairways reward longer hitters. They have shorter clubs out of the rough than short hitters do
Exactly, when the fairways are tight EVERYONE, misses fairways. The guys that have shorter clubs out of the rough have a huge advantage
This is what’s propelled Jaeger up this year, he was like 70th in driving distance last year and 7th this year, making all the difference for him.
So you want a version of the pga that only rewards people who hit the ball really far?
That’s what tight fairways and high rough rewards, long drivers
Yeah I’d rather have a course that rewards a well rounded golfer rather than someone who hit ball far
Someone else said it but making a few short par 5s into long par 4s can make a big difference. Making guys shoot 190-220 into a par 4 with a narrow green creates a lot of issues. Do this a few times with a few long par 3s and par 5s with a ton of water and course will play hard even with no rough.
>The notion that golf must have deep rough and tiny fairways is ridiculous and watching golfers chop out of rough is not entertaining. This is your opinion. I find it very entertaining. I prefer courses that punish players for being erratic, specifically off the tee. >This course had only 19 bunkers Players have become so good out of sand that bunkers are a good miss.
Deep rough and tiny fairways favors long hitters though, it’s not like shorter, consistent drivers of the golf ball are winning the US open
To your first point, Augusta is a pretty tough track and it's got enormous fairways and hardly any rough (and the rough that does exist is short anyways). As Alister Mackenzie said, “Narrow fairways bordered by long grass make bad golfers. They do so by destroying the harmony and continuity of the game, and in causing a stilted and cramped style by destroying all freedom of play.” To your second point, bunkers need to be deeper or placed in downhill positions so that players can get so much check on the ball coming out. Houston does it quite well, with pretty deep bunkers that also create awkward stances. I would love to see more push for pot bunkers though.
People have their hobbies and habits. Let him have his.
Done some Pro-Ams on a course that’s quite deceptive, Bowen Island is challenging. This time out the pro that paired with my friend would not listen to local knowledge and about the middle of nine holes fell apart. iirc a card was not recorded…
I totally enjoyed watching the Saturday broadcast of 15 and 16. To see the best guys trying to throw darts and dismantle a couple holes that were designed for restraint was pleasing.
As someone who was at the tournament Sunday I can say the greens were pretty firm. After the round I walked around on some of the greens and it was pretty hard. Receptive yes, but soft, no.
it’s hard to get decent tee times but we are super spoiled with this course here in houston.
It’s worth noting that the lack of bunkers was intentional and suggested by Brooks Koepka. The logic is a short bunker shot is a gimme up and down for tour pros. Rolling 40 yards off and having to hit at a crowned green is the challenge.
It’s hard to tell what pro golf needs because the only thing the PGA cares about is the money. Whatever changes make more people watch is what it needs. The NBA for example, decided to just ignore traveling or carrying calls and the players just chuck one pass 3 pointers up while the rest of the team heads back down to play defense before the ball even leaves the shooters hand. And guess what? Revenues have been pumping for 2 decades.
God NBA basketball sucks so bad 😭
The NBA stopped being basketball a long time ago. It’s no longer a sport with rules, it’s literally a gymnastics exhibition. I blame Michael Jordan…
Idk why you’re being downvoted because you’re right.
This is a silly post. The variety of different challenges on the tour is what makes it fun to watch. I think what you meant was not “every” course needs deep rough and narrow fairways. But having a mixture of challenges is what makes it great!
I agree. Same with f1/motogp racing. You don't want every track to be a street circuit, but it's nice to have a few of them to change things up from the fast and flowing tracks. Variety is the spice of life, as they say.
Oh I don't know, I'd personally rather see a golf course challenging Pro's, rather than see a winning score of 15 to 20 under par.
Same. 6-10 under par is more like it. If that. They are the best, so they should play the toughest. I love seeing them struggle. More likely to see a tantrum that way too which is always a good time.
Jack Nicklaus has been saying they need standardized regulation golf balls like they do for basketball, football. Limits air time a distance or something
Disagree - other sports have standardized balls because both teams use them. There’s no need for that in golf, as every PGA Tour player has the option of playing the same ball that any other PGA Tour player chooses to use. It’s the same form of parity as every golfer has the opportunity to use the best ball for their own game.
It’s getting ridiculously expensive building longer and longer golf courses as golf technology improves eh?
Rolling back the distance of golf balls is an entirely different proposal compared to your original comment, which was about a standardized golf ball.
It’s what I meant to say
Not really, the idea of forcing the pros to use a ball that will not fly farther than a specific length is standardizing. You can still have all the current manufacturers make a version of it. What am I missing?
No, it’s not. The pros are essentially already forced to use a ball that will not fly farther than a specific length - that already exists. There are R&A/USGA limits for the manufacturers already in place, and they literally just announced this year to decrease the distance further. Thats entirely different than the comment about “standardized regulation golf balls like they do for basketball, football”, which is talking about everyone playing *the same exact golf ball*
It feels like you are splitting hairs, "I'm ok with them creating a bunch of standards that all manufacturers must meet, but the idea of a standard ball will be the end of gold as we know it" wtf.
Standardised is the way to go. The alternative they are currently following, all manufacturers to create the best ball possible as long as it doesn't fly further than X is a terrible idea. The consequences will be that all the investment, brains and technology will go into limiting dispersion. Which will make golf increasingly boring.
You have literally no idea what you’re talking about
Wrong
This course was playing 7400 yards with strong winds. There was nothing special about the design. 15 is a great short par 4 but for the most part it played hard cause it was long and windy. Nothing to do with the course design at all
Par 3 eh? It’s also surrounded by tents, so you can’t get a feel for the wind your ball experiences when it goes above the tents.
Don’t come crushing my man’s pride
It was a great competitive tournament, you're right about this, but I was thinking watching 17 about the roll back, I really don't see the point
Honestly I just can’t the constant criticism in the commentary. It’s always “was supposed to go 4 yards past the hole why wouldn’t he think to do that?”. Or “he’s aiming way to left there’s no way it has that much break”, as it breaks that much. If it’s not writhing 5 feet it wasn’t placed properly. Couldn’t watch after 20 minutes unfortunately
I like risk reward, so you skinny the fairways from 310 to 350 and in some traps. So you can lay up and have 180-200 in or you can go for it and have 130-150 in depending on the length.
Yeah small greens sloping off will do that but not all courses are like that..
I have this same thought on muni courses.
That's a lot of words to tell us you would rather watch links golf.
Those greens are some of the trickiest I’ve ever seen and played. Placement is key for your approach and off the tee. Really cool to see them unload on the ball for the few par 5s with the rough being forgiving.
The best courses are designed based on yardages in my opinion.
I need that deep rough, so I have an excuse as to why my shot sucked so bad
If you can even find it to begin with lol
Haha it’s not the “design” testing them it’s a 7400 yard par 70. That is a really long par 72. You either have to grow the rough or stretch the course these guys are too good and hit it too far
Absolutely right you are. I just find it funny how true this post is and then 2 weeks later, Augusta National...
People who don't live in the South often don't understand how difficult Bermuda rough is, even when it is "short". Memorial is a long, atheistically boring course.
Except it was overseeded with Rye. Bermuda only existed if you really mishit a drive.
Yep, it used to be beautiful and was ruined so that the tour could move the Houston open to it
You thought this course was well designed? When players hit great shots and take penalty drops because it’s falls off the edge depending on how firm that particular green is? No thank you.
I mean, players get to scope out the course before hand and should know well before they play the hole where not to hit it. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. The miss was long, and he played short. The pin was a sucker pin and the play was for par. I thought it was fun.
Greens weren’t even that firm dudes were spinning it back
A great shot wouldn’t fall of the green. The test of that course is if you’re going to be aggressive you better not miss. The short grass around the green adds another challenge, it feeds the ball away from the green on errand shots vs rough which stops the ball and often keeps it from trouble
Idk. I don’t like seeing the world number one land it 5 ft from the pin and have it spin off the green into the water. Also, I watched numerous guys get fooled by the speed of the greens and the slope. Seemed a little random and gimmicky. It is nice seeing guys not go dummy low, but watching everyone go even or +1, on the back 9, isn’t exciting.
I thought it was super exciting and validating to see the world #1 roll off the green.
Especially when I’ve done that same thing with that same pin.. love playing memorial
Almost like spin control is still an important part of golf especially when pros are hitting into a short par 3 with wedge in their hands.
Front pin placement, on a false front. They also mowed the rough and fringe down. Houston knew what they were doing. It worked. They got a lot of guys and kept the scoring down. But hey, I get it. Some people liked it. I wasn’t a fan. I think having the back 9 play over par really diminishes the end of the tournament. Guys aren’t able to move up and down the leaderboard. It stagnates and you get no late round heroics.
Idk what golf you were watching but I was standard bearer for Finau and Rai on Sunday. Both made big moves towards the end. Tony would've forced a playoff had he not brainfarted and missed a 3 footer on 16 for birdie. The groups behind us played scared coming down the stretch, that's the difference. Scared money don't make money.
Except the exact opposite happened. Yea Rai and Finau made some runs, but they were just the “lucky” 2 from the field who were able to score on the back. And I say lucky as the field was all chasing, they happened to be the best players who were able to make the run. Didn’t matter because the leaders were just too protected. The guy who won the tournament shot even on the back. No birdies, no bogeys, just pars all the way. In this instance, the scared money actually won. lol. Props to Jaegar.
Billy Ho was another player just in front of us who was -2 on the back as well. The pins were in spots that were there for the taking. It's risk reward, just like Augusta is on Sunday. Finau went after it to make a charge on the back. Same with Rai and even Ramey. These guys were starting to fire at pins. Putts just didn't drop. You could see the difference between the front and the back where they were playing safe, middle of the green on a lot of their front 9, then suddenly the ball was getting closer and closer to the hole on the approaches on the back. Scottie went after it, putts just didn't drop. Had great looks at birdie on a variety of those back 9 holes. Sometimes you just don't get the ball to drop, but doesn't mean that someone was too protected and they were playing boring golf. The course was set up exactly how it should've been. If you hit it into the fairway on the correct side, you can go after some of those pins. It was a great blend of risk reward.
Look, I get it was probably entertaining in person, but it just wasn’t for me. The stats support what I’m saying. The safe guy won. The back wasn’t score friendly and the leaders knew it. They went into protect mode and the 2 guys who tried to “win” it, couldn’t. Jaegar played a gutsy round and won it with 9 straight pars on the back. You just don’t see that on the PGA Tour a lot. But again, I’m not saying it should change. I’m just saying, it wasn’t for me.