Hazeltine to stretch players
in PGA, last major of ‘09
CHASKA, Minn. – Phil Mickelson has this theory about tournament golf, and translated into pro football, it works out to, “Nobody wants to see a bunch of field goals.”It was in this frame of mind that Mickelson evaluated Hazeltine National, site of the PGA Championship, which begins Thursday.
But first, understand something about Hazeltine, which has been nipped, tucked, twisted and turned more than Britney Spears. Bethpage Black, site of the U.S. Open in June, measured 7,438 yards, but even though it didn’t play that long on any given day, it still drew the ooohs for sheer distance. And now here’s Hazeltine, for the fourth and final major of the season, at 7,674. That’s 400 yards longer that when Rich Beem faced down Tiger Woods by a shot in the 2002 PGA. Hazeltine has also held two U.S. Opens, 1970 and 1991.
This is Mickelson’s second appearance since his long break after his wife Amy underwent surgery for breast cancer. His first was last week, at the Bridgestone, which he used as a warmup for the PGA. He tied for 58th in the no-cut tournament, then headed for Hazeltine.
“The reason I like it,” Mickelson said, “is that it falls into my belief that the PGA Tour should make the hard holes harder and the easy holes easier, because people want to see birdies and they want to see bogeys. And when you take a hard hole like [the par-3] 13th and you move the tee back to 250 or 260 yards, you’re going to see a lot of bogeys and doubles.”
It’s the kind of thought that would warm the heart of the late Robert Trent Jones, designer of the course. The bogeys and doubles, that is. And son Rees, revamper of many a course for major championships – Augusta National, among them – is not disappointed in his own work here.
“There are a lot of parallels between Hazeltine and Augusta National,” Jones said. “Each has continued to grow the golf course, make changes and not be satisfied with the status quo.”
The 10 par-4s will be grinders. Just one is under 400 yards, No. 14, at 352. The others range from 402 to 518. But it’s the par-5s that have them talking.
Jones has remade the par-5s into some off-putting experiences. Of the four of them only one is under 600 yards, No. 7, at 572. Then there are Nos. 3, 11, and 15 at, respectively, 633, 606 and 642. The third and the 15th, for the huge majority of the field, will probably be three-shot holes. Which is what par-5s were supposed to be in the first place.
“I think you’re still going to be thinking birdie off the tee on the par-fives,” Mickelson said. “But really, only one hole is a hole that you’re going to get to, and that’s No. 7. When I played here in ’02 and ’91, that was my favorite hole. I thought it required some great strategy. They’ve made it longer, so I think it’s probably not going to have as many people go for it.”
Which means, he added, that for most players, all four of the par-5s will be unreachable. Maybe not even Tiger Woods, going into his last chance not to get shut out in the majors this year, and to add to his total of 14 as he chases Jack Nicklaus’ record 18. To say nothing of the chance to add to his 2009 post-operation record, which is five victories in 12 events.
“It’s a heck of a lot longer than what we played in 2002,” said Woods. “It’s going to be a great test all week. I don’t know how much it’s going to dry out, but it’s playing very long right now. You’re going to have to hit the ball pretty good out there, especially if they play it all the way back.”
Chances of that are just about zero. The PGA falls considerably short of the other three majors – the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open – in making a course a torture test. Still, 7,674 yards are still 7,674 yards.
Around the horn with observations on Hazeltine:
-- Steve Stricker, noted scrambler: “I’ve got to do a lot of other things well to make up for the lengths. I played with Davis Love yesterday, and he’s hitting it 30 yards past me and coming in with probably two or three clubs less than I am. That’s a huge advantage.”
-- Sergio Garcia: “It’s pretty much straightaway, a lot of drives. If you can hit a good amount of fairways and your iron play has to be in good shape because you’re going to be hitting some long irons into some of these greens.”
-- Tom Lehman: “The fairways are generous enough. The rough just off the edge is very punishing. So if you’re going to miss it, you’re probably better off missing big.
-- Lee Westwood: “Obviously, with a course that has four par-5s, you still expect scoring to be pretty good. If you hit it good, tee-to-green, you’re going to have a few birdie chances, I would imagine.”
-- Colin Mongtomerie (on whether the length automatically penalizes about half the field): “It makes it more difficult. Depends on where they put pins. If they put the pins tight to the bunkers and tight to the sides of the greens, which is usual here, then it does penalize the shorter players. But that’s all part of the game.
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