With a chance to get his first win on the PGA Tour in seven years, John Daly had a disappointing third round at the Farmers Insurance Open, site of his last tour win. Daly posted 76 to play himself out of the event, but still in line to make a good check – maybe even get into Phoenix based upon a top eight finish.
Instead, Daly had a rough close to his tournament at Torrey Pines. Daly started strongly enough, going out in 1-under 35. The back nine was a complete collapse for the 1995 Open Champion, though.
With just three pars on the card for his back nine, Daly posted 44. Daly broke 80 by a shot.
He plummeted down the leaderboard 41 places into a tie for 65th place.
By comparison, Nick Watney played the back nine first on Sunday and shot 28 with just one par and eight birdies.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Why did Mickelson layup on the 72nd hole?
The most talked about shot from Phil Mickelson’s round will undoubtedly be the one he didn’t hit — before Bubba Watson even attempted what would ultimately become his winning birdie putt, Mickelson chose to lay up from the rough rather than go for it on the par-5 18th hole.
The lie for Mickelson wasn’t exactly good and ultimately he trusted his wedge more than whatever his ball would have done coming out of the rough from the 227 yards he had to carry to clear the water.
“If I hit a hybrid, the ball would have come out dead,” said Mickelson, who shot a final-round 69. “I couldn’t have made it over the water. But the way my 3‑wood is, the ball would have come out hot and it would have went screaming over. So I didn’t really have a shot to get it on the green. I felt like I had a better chance to make a three from the fairway trying to use that bank and bringing the ball back or flying it in.”
And Mickelson did nearly that, hitting a 64-degree wedge to just a few feet behind the hole from 72 yards out.
Knowing he needed to make the shot, Mickelson even took the extra precaution of scouting the green and having his caddie tend the flag.
“About 10, 12, 14 times a year I ended up hitting the pin with a wedge, and it ricochets all over the place and I didn’t want that to happen,” Mickelson said. “I wanted to fly it in, possibly, or I wanted it to skip past it and maybe bring it back and give it a second chance to go in and the pin would only get in the way of that.”
Mickelson didn’t make the shot, but he was more than pleased with his performance in his PGA TOUR season debut. The runner-up was his best result since finishing second at the Wells Fargo Championship a year ago. Mickelson had three more top-10s the rest of 2010, but he never threatened to win — until Sunday.
“I’ve really missed being in contention,” said Mickelson, who had four birdies on the back nine in the final round. “I’m excited because I can tell that my game’s coming around.
“I think it’s important to try to get a W sometime here in the next few weeks, because I need a little bit of momentum heading into Augusta.”
Without any major changes to his game and with Mickelson and his wife both healthy, Mickelson expects to have the kind of year this year that he expected last season — a big one.
”I’m kind of done making changes in my game and I’m trying to hit shots now,” Mickelson said. “I’m trying to hit draws, hit hooks, hit slices, hit fades, maneuver the ball and see if I can get it close. I’m excited because of that.”
The lie for Mickelson wasn’t exactly good and ultimately he trusted his wedge more than whatever his ball would have done coming out of the rough from the 227 yards he had to carry to clear the water.
“If I hit a hybrid, the ball would have come out dead,” said Mickelson, who shot a final-round 69. “I couldn’t have made it over the water. But the way my 3‑wood is, the ball would have come out hot and it would have went screaming over. So I didn’t really have a shot to get it on the green. I felt like I had a better chance to make a three from the fairway trying to use that bank and bringing the ball back or flying it in.”
And Mickelson did nearly that, hitting a 64-degree wedge to just a few feet behind the hole from 72 yards out.
Knowing he needed to make the shot, Mickelson even took the extra precaution of scouting the green and having his caddie tend the flag.
“About 10, 12, 14 times a year I ended up hitting the pin with a wedge, and it ricochets all over the place and I didn’t want that to happen,” Mickelson said. “I wanted to fly it in, possibly, or I wanted it to skip past it and maybe bring it back and give it a second chance to go in and the pin would only get in the way of that.”
Mickelson didn’t make the shot, but he was more than pleased with his performance in his PGA TOUR season debut. The runner-up was his best result since finishing second at the Wells Fargo Championship a year ago. Mickelson had three more top-10s the rest of 2010, but he never threatened to win — until Sunday.
“I’ve really missed being in contention,” said Mickelson, who had four birdies on the back nine in the final round. “I’m excited because I can tell that my game’s coming around.
“I think it’s important to try to get a W sometime here in the next few weeks, because I need a little bit of momentum heading into Augusta.”
Without any major changes to his game and with Mickelson and his wife both healthy, Mickelson expects to have the kind of year this year that he expected last season — a big one.
”I’m kind of done making changes in my game and I’m trying to hit shots now,” Mickelson said. “I’m trying to hit draws, hit hooks, hit slices, hit fades, maneuver the ball and see if I can get it close. I’m excited because of that.”
Tiger admits "I got some work to do" after firing 74, 75 on weekend
Tiger Woods says he and instructor Sean Foley have been on the phone every night this week.
Unfortunately for the world No. 3 and his coach, Woods hasn’t made the kind of progress he had hoped in his 2011 debut at a course where he’d already won seven times.
Sunday was a microcosm of his week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He struck the ball well early but his scores got progressively worse (69, 69, 74 and 75). Sunday’s round included five bogeys.
Woods said he was "absolutely, absolutely" surprised that he didn’t play more consistently at Torrey Pines, where he had won the last five tournaments he played, including the 2008 U.S. Open.
"I can do it on the range, but it’s a little different when I’ve got to bring it out here and I’ve got to shape shots," Woods said. "I’ve got to hit the ball with the right trajectory. These greens are not soft. So you can’t just hit any trajectory. You have to hit the proper trajectory. Then the wind’s blowing and it’s a lot.
"I’ve got some work to do, which is good."
Woods, whose next tournament is two weeks from now in Dubai, says he is committed to the work he is doing with Foley. He knows from past experience there will be ups and downs, and you have to stay the course.
"But how else are you going to get better?" Woods said. "You’ve got to do it. It takes reps and it takes reps under competition. You can’t be afraid to go ahead and try it."
Woods, who knows Torrey Pines as well as anyone, said he felt the South Course was there for the taking on Sunday.
"Granted, I shot a high number today, but it played that easy today," Woods said. "We didn’t have the normal, typical pins. We had three or four that were much easier than normal. Tees were moved up on a few holes. 18 moved up two tee boxes.
“It’s a bit of a shocker. But it provides more atmosphere for guys to make some birdies and then get after it. This is not a U.S. Open where you’re getting par every hole. Here it’s different. They’re trying to make a few birdies, make it a little more exciting." – Helen Ross
Unfortunately for the world No. 3 and his coach, Woods hasn’t made the kind of progress he had hoped in his 2011 debut at a course where he’d already won seven times.
Sunday was a microcosm of his week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He struck the ball well early but his scores got progressively worse (69, 69, 74 and 75). Sunday’s round included five bogeys.
Woods said he was "absolutely, absolutely" surprised that he didn’t play more consistently at Torrey Pines, where he had won the last five tournaments he played, including the 2008 U.S. Open.
"I can do it on the range, but it’s a little different when I’ve got to bring it out here and I’ve got to shape shots," Woods said. "I’ve got to hit the ball with the right trajectory. These greens are not soft. So you can’t just hit any trajectory. You have to hit the proper trajectory. Then the wind’s blowing and it’s a lot.
"I’ve got some work to do, which is good."
Woods, whose next tournament is two weeks from now in Dubai, says he is committed to the work he is doing with Foley. He knows from past experience there will be ups and downs, and you have to stay the course.
"But how else are you going to get better?" Woods said. "You’ve got to do it. It takes reps and it takes reps under competition. You can’t be afraid to go ahead and try it."
Woods, who knows Torrey Pines as well as anyone, said he felt the South Course was there for the taking on Sunday.
"Granted, I shot a high number today, but it played that easy today," Woods said. "We didn’t have the normal, typical pins. We had three or four that were much easier than normal. Tees were moved up on a few holes. 18 moved up two tee boxes.
“It’s a bit of a shocker. But it provides more atmosphere for guys to make some birdies and then get after it. This is not a U.S. Open where you’re getting par every hole. Here it’s different. They’re trying to make a few birdies, make it a little more exciting." – Helen Ross
Friday, January 28, 2011
Garcia near the lead after first round in Europe
Johan Edfors of Sweden shot an 8-under 64 Thursday in the first round of the Volvo Golf Champions, giving him a two-stroke lead in the European Tour's debut in Bahrain.
Four players were at 66 -- Peter Hanson, Pablo Larrazabal, Francesco Molinari and Graeme Storm. Sergio Garcia was tied with seven others at 67.
Padraig Harrington, who was disqualified last week when his ball moved after picking up his mark, and European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal both shot 70. Colin Montgomerie, who designed the course, was two strokes further back along with Ian Poulter.
Edfors had nine birdies at Royal Golf Club.
"Hit a lot of fairways, which are a bit wider than last week in Abu Dhabi, so it suits my game a bit better. And my distance control with irons was really good," Edfors said. "I gave myself a lot of good chances within 15 feet and holed a few of those and made a couple of birdies on the par 5s."
Garcia, back on the tour after some time off, was pleased with his round.
"A lot of good putts, a lot of good strokes," Garcia said. "Some really nice shots, and a couple of shots in there that I kind of would like to hit again. But I think it was definitely the right way to start the year."
The course in Bahrain has been criticized for its severe slopes on the greens on the practice round Tuesday. Edfors agreed it was difficult to attack them.
"But they have done a great job in keeping the flags in the right positions," Edfors said. "The greens look really, really big in the yardage book."
Four players were at 66 -- Peter Hanson, Pablo Larrazabal, Francesco Molinari and Graeme Storm. Sergio Garcia was tied with seven others at 67.
Padraig Harrington, who was disqualified last week when his ball moved after picking up his mark, and European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal both shot 70. Colin Montgomerie, who designed the course, was two strokes further back along with Ian Poulter.
Edfors had nine birdies at Royal Golf Club.
"Hit a lot of fairways, which are a bit wider than last week in Abu Dhabi, so it suits my game a bit better. And my distance control with irons was really good," Edfors said. "I gave myself a lot of good chances within 15 feet and holed a few of those and made a couple of birdies on the par 5s."
Garcia, back on the tour after some time off, was pleased with his round.
"A lot of good putts, a lot of good strokes," Garcia said. "Some really nice shots, and a couple of shots in there that I kind of would like to hit again. But I think it was definitely the right way to start the year."
The course in Bahrain has been criticized for its severe slopes on the greens on the practice round Tuesday. Edfors agreed it was difficult to attack them.
"But they have done a great job in keeping the flags in the right positions," Edfors said. "The greens look really, really big in the yardage book."
Daly shoots 67 @ Torrey Pines; blasts two tourney's for not giving him exemptions
Always controversial golfer John Daly last won a PGA Tour event in 2004 at Torrey Pines. Last year at the same course, he shot a 79-71 in the first two rounds before announcing his retirement from the game of golf.After shooting 5-under par on the south course on Thursday, Daly said, “I mean, you get frustrated. You know, this place means a lot to me. You think about winning here and stuff like I did in ’04, and you see Tiger plays here every year, that says something. It’s a special place.”
The often-troubled golfer managed to hit 12 greens in regulation and made seven birdies with only two bogeys. “Got off to a decent start,” Daly said. “Hit some really good shots.”
There are still three rounds left to play in the Farmers Insurance Open, but the question not yet answered is, can John Daly play consistent enough in all four rounds to contend for a victory?
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John Daly criticized two tournaments Thursday for not giving him sponsor exemptions, saying he would never play the Bob Hope Classic and Phoenix Open again.
Daly, a two-time major champion, has not won in seven years and has not had full PGA Tour status since 2006. He has been relying on sponsor exemptions or his status as a past champion. He already received two exemptions this year, to the Sony Open and to the Farmers Insurance Open, where he opened with a 67 on Thursday at Torrey Pines.
Daly was talking about his schedule for the year and that he hopes to get into the minimum 15 events. Without prompting, he went after two tournaments that didn't invite him.
"I'll tell you this — I'll never go back to the Hope, and I'll never go back to Phoenix, no matter what happens," Daly said. "I won't even send letters anymore."
Daly said he was bothered because the tournaments owed him for his past support.
"I'm just saying that if you look at my past, everything the Thunderbirds (at the Phoenix Open) have ever wanted me to do for 17, 16 years, I'm sure I did it for them," he said. "I helped celebrities go to the Hope. I went to their parties and did everything for them.
"That's the kind of stuff that we all want our young players to do out there to help tournaments, and I felt like I did my part.
"It hurt me for those two tournaments not to give me spots," he said. "So I'll go to Europe on those weeks."
Most tournaments are allowed four exemptions they can give to any player, and there is competition for those spots each week. Daly was awarded an exemption to the Sony Open over Tom Lehman, Brad Faxon and Tadd Fujikawa, a crowd favourite in Honolulu.
Most players who get exemptions are expected to attend an additional pro-am or a cocktail party to support the sponsors.
When he first lost his card, Daly had so many offers to play that he had to turn down some invitations. That was in 2007. He has not finished higher than 188th on the PGA Tour money list since then.
Unlike some other players who have lost their cards and returned to Q-school to try to earn back full privileges — such as Billy Mayfair and David Duval — Daly has not tried the six-round tournament.
"I don't think right now I need to," Daly said. "I feel my majors will still hopefully get me in 15 events each year. If not, I'll think about it. But for me to go to Q-school is just tough. I feel I don't really need to go that route yet because of the European Tour."
Daly has European Tour privileges through his 1995 British Open win. He plans to go to the Qatar Masters next week, and somehow get in enough European events for full membership.
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