In what has become referred to as a “mini major” in a lot of inner circles on tour, Quail Hollow lost some of its’ major bite this weekend thanks to a red-hot Irishman who made the treacherous closing stretch of holes – infamously labeled the Green Mile – seem more like a leisurely stroll in the park. But aside from Rory McIlroy’s astonishing back-nine performance on Sunday that would steal the show and give him his first PGA Tour victory, some other notable stories played out in the backdrop.
No Green Jacket Hangover for Lefty
Mickelson didn’t really know what to expect from his game going into Quail Hollow, as he took two weeks off to rest and refocus after winning his third Masters tournament. Here are the stats from last week’s tournament.
Driving Accuracy – Phil is still erratic as ever off the tee. Through all four rounds, he only found the short grass 39% of the time on average. It’s worth noting that despite hitting the ball all over the map, he continues to recover and post sub-par rounds. On Thursday he hit only 4 fairways total in the opening round, but still managed a 2-under par 70. (My synopsis: What used to be an all-out “grip it and rip it” philosophy that played out maybe a couple of times per round has become more of the norm now than the exception. I don’t see the stats improving until he disciplines himself to play more within himself off the tee. He’s clearly swinging much too hard, when in reality he doesn’t even need to. Good luck with that, Butch.)
Driving Distance – The final round on Sunday aptly revealed Phil’s go-for-broke strategy, as Lefty averaged 336 yards off the tee on the final day. His average for the week – 314 yards, ranked 4th in the tournament.
Greens in Regulation – Despite his errant tee game, Phil is still finding a way to get the ball on the greens. His average for the week was 12 greens in regulation per round. He ranked 36th in GIR percentage for the tournament.
Putts Per Round – Noticeable improvement. On Thursday Phil struggled getting a feel with the putter and had 32 putts for the round. He would improve dramatically on the greens on Friday, needing only 27 attempts with the flatstick. On Sunday his putting was steady as well, again needing only 27 putts. He ranked T-15 in putting for the week, but most importantly – as he got deeper into the tournament his proficiency increased.
Final thoughts: All things considered, Phil had a great week on a very tough layout. Any questions that loomed about how he would bounce back after winning the Masters were quickly answered. Rory McIlroy’s epic Sunday performance was the only thing keeping Lefty from winning his second consecutive start, despite his struggles off the tee. As Phil manages more time to work on his game this season with Butch Harmon, I suspect that we’ll see marked improvement in his long game accuracy, especially as the US Open at Pebble Beach draws closer. While a “Lefty” slam is pretty remote at best, the odds of him unseating Tiger from his top world ranking perch are considerably better, and could happen sooner than most might think.
El Pato’s no apenas un Johnny viene últimamente
Angel Cabrera doesn’t exactly fit the mold of a tour superstar. He’s not a flat bellied 20-something who motors around a course with his entourage of swing coaches, mental coaches, or coaches in general that are employed to help him feel better about himself. But he has become the one sleeper on tour who continues to surface in the big events without the hype and hoopla, without the stardom, the guy who can walk into a shopping mall anywhere in the world without as much as a second glance after winning a major golf tournament.
He’s the owner of two of golf’s most prized possessions – the US Open title that he earned at Oakmont back in 2007, and a Green Jacket from Augusta back in 2009. And yet people continue to overlook the 40-year old Argentinian as this “benefactor de clases” when it comes to the world of golf.
Last week Cabrera would resurface yet again in a big event, and was in great position to pick up his 3rd PGA Tour win at Quail Hollow. And he most likely would’ve, had it not been for two things: Rory McIlroy, and his woeful putting on Sunday that would eventually lead to his demise.
In his final 27 holes of the tournament, only one guy played better than Cabrera – the eventual winner. El Pato took only two bogeys from the back nine on Saturday to the conclusion on Sunday, and missed only one green in the final round. But his putter would betray him on at least 7 occasions, as he missed makable birdie putts from well inside of 10 feet.
He’ll be in action again this week at the upcoming Players Championship, and he’ll once again fly under the radar and be in contention. When it comes to big tournaments, El Pato’s ninguÌn slouch.
Trying to Re-earn a Tour Card is Never Easy
It’s tough to see a likable guy go out that way. I’m talking about Billy Mayfair – the guy more known for his slice-putting technique than the distinguished honor of being the only player to have ever beaten Tiger Woods in a playoff.
Mayfair’s last win came at the Buick Open back in 1998, and while he was never considered the guy to beat at any particular event, he’s enjoyed a successful career overall with 5 tour wins and some solid finishes in the majors. But last year the bottom would fall out, as he lost his card and suddenly found himself on the outside looking in. He’s now in the precarious situation of relying on Monday qualifiers and some occasional tournament sponsor invites to play his way back to exempt status full-time, something that has proven to be a frustrating ordeal. Mayfair: “Obviously it’s not fun not being exempt. 21 years out here being fully exempt, and this is my first year I haven’t been, and it’s been a tough road of it so far. There are a lot of players out here who aren’t exempt too, and tournament directors have very tough decisions to make, and I’ve gotten some great invitations, and I haven’t. You know, it’s nothing harder – there’s nothing harder on these tournament directors I’m finding out than trying to make these decisions for these sponsor exemptions. Like I said, the ones that give it to me, I appreciate it a lot. The one’s who don’t, I understand, and we just go on with it.” But after shooting 65 in the Monday qualifier at Quail Hollow, Mayfair would have his chance again.
In the opening round on Thursday, Billy’s game from Monday decided to tag along. He would shoot 34 on the front, and come in with another 34 on the back to open up with a solid round of 4-under 68. Things were looking up. Then on Friday, he would maintain his steady pace and shoot 68 again, well within the hunt after two rounds. He wasn’t just safely into the weekend, but getting some notable attention as well.
Saturday would prove to be a difficult day for everyone, but Mayfair kept plodding along and played well enough to post a 1-under round of 71, putting him in a position that he hadn’t seen in a while – the lead going into Sunday. Suddenly Mayfair had some control of his destiny again. But knowing what could be at stake certainly had every reason to be a distraction, and he acknowledged as much: “I’ve got to put it out of my mind. Now I’ve got to use my 21 years of experience out here, and I’ve got to say, you know what, I’ve been out here, I’m a TOUR veteran, I’ve got a lot of veterans that are chasing me. I’m playing with a veteran tomorrow in the last group. But I’ve got to say, hey, I’ve been doing this for a long time and I know what I need to do tomorrow and how to handle it and try and do the best I can.”
As is always the case, easier said than done.
Keeping in mind that I’m no Bob Rotella… Guys who don’t have to concern themselves with sponsor’s exemptions and Monday qualifiers to continue earning a living tend to struggle less with staying in the present and not forcing their will upon the golf course. Guys who do have those concerns, on the other hand, obviously know what’s at stake. They’re not playing to make a cut, or to win enough money to buy a new winter home in Arizona. They’re playing for their livelihoods. And sometimes those wires in the brain get crossed in the process, as they play not to lose instead of playing to win. They’re trying no less, mind you, but of which in the end presents one of the great conundrums in golf; it is a game of opposites. Swing easy, ball goes far. Swing hard, ball goes short. Aim left, ball goes right. Aim right, ball goes left. Try too hard, the game isn’t easy. Try too little, the game becomes hard. Finding that happy medium where everything just seems to fall perfectly into place is the ever-elusive goal. The holy grail in golf.
But unfortunately for Mayfair on Sunday, there would be no holy grail. Just a day of frustration, in due part, no doubt, of understanding the significance of where he had been, where he was on Sunday, and where he longed to be. Billy began the day with four straight pars, but would drop a shot on the par5 6th with an unforgivable bogey. He would recover with a birdie on the very next hole, but he then hit the wall on the par5 7th. After his tee shot on the 7th hole, Mayfair laid up with 7iron, but hit the shot into the rough. The lie wasn’t horrible, but given the situation he needed to exercise a little more judgement than he did on his approach. The result was a flier lie from a PW that bounded over the green into the hazard. The gaffe would lead to a double-bogey seven, and that was essentially the beginning of the end. Mayfair would go on to shoot a disappointing final round of 4-over 76, and finished tied for 14th.
But he hasn’t given up hope. He battled back from testicular cancer in 2006, and he’ll overcome his demons on the course in due time. “I don’t want to say it was all or nothing. If I couldn’t have won, I wish I could have finished a little bit higher so it was a little bit easier to keep my card. I have a lot more golf this year to try and keep my card and all that stuff. But it’s a learning experience, take one week at a time, and hopefully I’ll be in two weeks in Texas, and we’ll go from there.” Hopefully his good play overall last week caught the attention of some upcoming tournament sponsors.
Notables
Good week for Bo Van Pelt. Bo began the tournament blazing hot, shooting 65 in the opening round. Unfortunately Friday would be a different story – a 9 stroke swing going the wrong way. Despite a 76 in the second round, Van Pelt would recover nicely on the weekend and work his way to a 5th place finish.
Rickie Fowler would overcome his struggles on Thursday, shooting 8-under par through the final three rounds. The final round of 67 was good enough for a 6th place finish.
Padraig Harrington got better as the week went on. Paddy opened up with rounds of 72 on Thursday and Friday, but shot 70 on Saturday and 68 on Sunday. He finished tied for 7th.
Jim Furyk looked as though he was missing the cut after Thursday’s round of 75, but in typical Furyk fashion he would rebound on Friday with a solid round of 65 and safely make it into the weekend. He had a pair of 71′s for both Saturday and Sunday, getting him inside the top-10 and sharing a tied for 7th finish.
MIA’s
Although very few would know it, Lee Westwood was in the field at Quail Hollow last week. But he would struggle to get anything going, shooting even par for the tournament and tied for 38th.
Kenny Perry’s round of 66 on Thursday got him some early attention. But after the 79 on Friday, and then the 75 on Saturday, no one was asking him for interviews over the weekend. Disappointing tournament for Kenny.
After Friday’s round Camilo Villegas was in good position at 5-under par for the tournament. Come Sunday he was 4-over par for the tournament, thanks to an 80 in the final round. Not a good showing for Camilo.
Notable Cut Missers
Cutline – +1
Matt Kuchar – +2
Jason Bohn – +2
Brian Davis – +3
David Duval – +3
Stewart Cink – +3
Fred Couples – +3
Sean O’Hair – +5
Vijay Singh – +5
Tiger Woods – +9
For an official recap of the Quail Hollow Championship, click HERE.
(all player comments (in italics) were extracted from interviews via PGATOUR.COM)
Tags: Angel Cabrera, Billy Mayfair, Bo Van Pelt, Jim Furyk, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson, Quail Hollow Championship, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods
