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No Comments [ Add Comment ]For once, pros might be in over their heads at majors
By Jimmy BurchFORT WORTH, Texas -- The exodus has begun, with most of the PGA Tour's elite players bypassing this week's John Deere Classic to shift their focus -- mentally and physically -- to next week's British Open.
In Scotland, they'll be greeted by one of the few venues on the planet capable of making competitors wish for the kinder, gentler scoring conditions they faced at last month's U.S. Open, where the winning score was 5 over par.
Everything depends on the wind, which always seems to be blowing into players' faces at Carnoustie Golf Links, the most difficult course on the British Open rotation. But this much is certain: Golfers already are wondering if a trip to Carnoustie, which has played to a scoring average of 76.09 in the last three British Opens contested there (1999, 1975, 1968), will be enough to make this year's set of major venues the most maniacal ever faced in a single season.
"This could be the hardest four majors, as a whole, in the history of golf," said J.J. Henry, who already has posted career-best finishes at the Masters (tie for 37th) and U.S. Open (T-26). If Henry secures a weekend tee time at the British Open, where he missed the cut in his 2006 debut, he'll be 3-for-3 in posting career-best efforts at majors in 2007.
And he'd be in a distinct minority.
Thus far, the 2007 major venues have produced over-par winners at the Masters (Zach Johnson, 1 over, Augusta National Golf Club) and U.S. Open (Angel Cabrera, 5 over, Oakmont Country Club).
Never before has that happened in the stroke-play era, which began when the PGA Championship abandoned its match-play format in 1958 and joined the other majors in awarding titles to golfers based on 72-hole scoring totals.
This marks the 50th consecutive season that all four majors -- Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, PGA -- will crown champions based on stroke-play totals. It also looms as the first season capable of producing over-par winners at all four majors.
At the very least, there's an excellent chance that the aggregate scores of the four major champions -- in relation to par -- will be over par when the final putt drops Aug. 12 at the PGA. That has never happened in any season.
The closest call came in 1963, when the totals of the four major champions added up to 1 under. The 2007 tally, with two majors remaining, is 6 over. And birdies figure to be in short supply at Carnoustie, where the winning score at the 1999 British Open was 6 over.
By the time golfers reach Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., for the PGA, the scales could be tipped so severely in the over-par direction that a winning score in red numbers at the final major would do little to change the four-event total. Southern Hills, a demanding par-70 layout, lacks Carnoustie's pot bunkers, thick rough and 40-mph seaside breezes. But it is far from a birdie sanctuary.
Chances are good that, as golfers depart Tulsa, Henry and his peers will have documented proof that they've tackled the toughest collection of majors of any season in the stroke-play era. The key will be Carnoustie, where the meandering course frequently routes holes in fresh directions, creating havoc with club selection as the wind shifts. In 1999, scores posted by elite players who became cut casualties included Phil Mickelson (79-76), Vijay Singh (77-84) and Sergio Garcia (89-83). If the sea breezes howl, and they usually do, scores will soar accordingly.
Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient Club that oversees the British Open, said officials are "not seeking carnage" with next week's setup. But he warned that Carnoustie "deserves its reputation as the toughest course we use" and will be prepared to back it up.
Jim Furyk, the No. 2 player in the world rankings, welcomes the challenge. And he embraces the idea that the 2007 major venues are as tough a group as golfers can face in a single season.
"Obviously, Augusta is a wonderful course. That's not going to change," Furyk said of the Masters venue. "But, yeah, Oakmont, Carnoustie and Southern Hills . . . it doesn't get much better than that, really. They are all shot-makers' courses. And I really enjoy setups where even-par could win."
Thus far, an even-par total qualifies as wishful thinking for a 2007 major champion. Don't expect that to change next week at Carnoustie.
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By the numbers
7 -- Top-10 finishes this season by four different golfers (Robert Allenby, Jim Furyk, David Toms, Tiger Woods), tops among PGA Tour competitors.
3 -- Victories among those 28 top-10 finishes by the tour co-leaders, all by Woods.
11 -- Major championships won on the PGA Tour by former Nationwide Tour competitors.
69.2 -- Percent of greens hit in regulation this season by Saginaw, Texas, resident Angela Stanford, ranking eighth among 2007 LPGA Tour players.
947 -- Dollars won by Fred Funk, 51, in his PGA Tour debut at the 1982 Kemper Open. Funk is now 11th on the career earnings list with more than $20.57 million.
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