After just listening to Phil's interview Jim's paralysis by analysis comment rings even more true. I think Phil's extraordinary preparation actually put more pressure on him down the stretch. I HAVE TO DO IT! If I don't, all this hard work is for naught. I wouldn't be surprised if other cultures feel this way, we must be rewarded for our efforts, but I know it is pervasive in the American culture. I know I certainly practice it, and you would think golf could teach me to drop it!
Let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees. Golf is played by one person, one shot at a time.
Tour Players are a special breed of Golfer. Extraordinary talent and monumental efforts are part of their make-up but their profound drive to win is their Master Attribute. The talent, course scouting, coaching and physical conditioning are subordinate.
Phil M. demonstrated the will to win on every shot he made whether good or bad. He demonstrated Sportsmanship through till the end. You can’t ask anymore of anyone. His performance was the very definition of Competitor. I’m glad to have witnessed that exhibition and have gain something myself because of it.
Looking back on this experience, maybe his Course Scouting did more harm than good. Maybe, through too much preparation, something inside you gets tempered? Maybe his situational analysis and his normal response; grinding it out, being creative, stay in play, have been fuddled by a playbook and forethought out scenarios outlining “what you’ll shoot today” on each and every hole. Without the Playbook, he may have walked up the eighteenth fairway at ten under. Only ONE person gets handed a trophy. Maybe he’ll think that it’s not such a team sport after all. (Well, unless Yoda is on the team)
Phils preparations may have given him the second place, but it did not give him the win.
In the end the ability to hit fairways and greens counted, and Phil had it going terribly wrong by hitting only 2 fairways - although he hit irons on two holes.
On the final hole Phil hit his bread-and-butter major go-to baby cut. Did not hit the fairway. Did not hit the green. Did not even hit the green after 4 shots.
And Monty. All the work was done. In the middle of the fairway. On the last hole. Hit the green and putt twice for THE WIN. Or take a bogey for a playoff.
It went horribly wrong.
Quote:
- What kind of shot is that?
I have never seen golf being as cruel as yesterday.
Phil and Monty could have lived with bogeys on the last hole. But the fact that both double-bogeyed is just horrible.
Two guys desperate for the win. Two guys already with multiple runner-ups in the US Open. Not about the money. All about finally hoping to see some hard work pay off. Or at least seeing someone elses hard work paying off.
__________________
When James Durham recorded 94 at the Old Course at St Andrews in 1767, he set a course record that lasted 86 years. Golf: A curious sport whose object is to put a very small ball in a very small hole with implements ill desiged for the purpose - Sir Winston Churchill
Phils preparations may have given him the second place, but it did not give him the win.
In the end the ability to hit fairways and greens counted, and Phil had it going terribly wrong by hitting only 2 fairways - although he hit irons on two holes.
On the final hole Phil hit his bread-and-butter major go-to baby cut. Did not hit the fairway. Did not hit the green. Did not even hit the green after 4 shots.
And Monty. All the work was done. In the middle of the fairway. On the last hole. Hit the green and putt twice for THE WIN. Or take a bogey for a playoff.
It went horribly wrong.
I think that's what prompted Johnny Miller's comments. Don't lose sight of some basic fundamentals: Hit the Fairways, G.I.R., never be short on a Birdie Putt, Go for birdie but protect par, go for par but protect bogey, no double bogeys.
Quote:
I have never seen golf being as cruel as yesterday.
You haven't seen me play. And I don't get a half-million.
Maybe the final round is an indication of Phil's preparation. He had a chance to win on the 18th tee even though he clearly was not in control of his golf swing. That's what practice can provide: knowledge to bail out improper execution. Where can I miss it and still save par?
In the end I feel this one boiled down to the gut-check. Phil and Monte both had far more to lose by finishing second than Ogilvie.
PGA should limit access to sites by mega stars, they get enough perks with their stardom. All event participants should get the same opportunity.
Bones should be fired for not forcing Phil to chip out on 18, or insisting that he hit something other than the driver off the tee!
Part of a caddies job, keeping their player for doing something DUMB - not once, or twice, but THREE times (Phil should have chipped out, even after hitting the tree on his second, to ensure a good CHANCE at a bogey for the playoff.
Monty - he had it, and his mental game let him down. He rushed, you could just see it. An "anyways" (Zen Golf). I wonder if he has considered using Clear Keys?
All that said - Ogilvy played well, consistent. A well deserved survival of the Champion at Winged Foot.
__________________
"Support the On Plane Swinging Force in Balance"
"we have no friends, we have no enemies, we have only teachers"
Simplicity buffs, see 5-0, 1-L, 2-0 A and B 10-2-B, 4-D, 6B-1D, 6-B-3-0-1, 6-C-1, 6-E-2
Bones should be fired for not forcing Phil to chip out on 18, or insisting that he hit something other than the driver off the tee!
From the interview I understood they considering the 4-wood, but it would have left a very long approach. So they opted for the off-the-shelf day-in-day-out cut baby driver.
And could not believe the result. The shot was not just off the fairway. It was far left of the crowds. It hit the roof of a spectator tent and bounced back into the crowd. It was a bad, bad shot. Probably the worst he hit all week - by far.
But deciding to go for the green from that place - on a day when the swing is clearly off - seems like a bad idea.
For some reason his swing must have been terrible on that Sunday. Hitting 2/14 stinks. Especially when using irons on two tees. Of which at least one did not find the fairway.
Field average for fairways hit was 46,1% on Sunday.
On the other hand he hit 11/18 greens. 61% is clearly better than the average of 54,6%.
30 putts was also better than the average.
So what was the problem?
The double-bogey on 18.
Field average was 4.44 on Sunday. Phil lost 1,6 shot to the field on that hole.
The teeshot did not cost him the title, but the second shot cost him his only double-bogey of the tournament.
(Monty had two double-bogeys. The second one on the last hole after needing 4 shots to get from the deep rough within 10 yards from the flag and into the hole.)
Such a cruel day.
__________________
When James Durham recorded 94 at the Old Course at St Andrews in 1767, he set a course record that lasted 86 years. Golf: A curious sport whose object is to put a very small ball in a very small hole with implements ill desiged for the purpose - Sir Winston Churchill
What a tourney! I absolutely loved the way they set up this course.
It's time for another maketing campaign, this one entitled -"What in the HELL did Phil do?" Did anyone see Frank Nobilo go down on the course to recreate the shot? Phil had no second shot. It's not like he just mis-hit it. Monty mis-hit his approach to 18, Furyk mis-hit a putt on 15. But Phil tried to do something ridiculously impossible. A 1/1000 attempt. AND he mis-hit it to boot. It's easy to bash Phil on Monday morning, I guees. But man he really blew it.
Props to Olgivy! Parred the last 4 holes with some stellar shots. He WON it.
The rules of golf do acknowledge advantage to be gotten-- by forbiding practice on a course for the duration of a stroke play competition (but practice is okay on the course during match play-- unless forbidden by local rule or condition of competition). The USGA has control of the course for a good while before an Open Championship. It's probable that even members are forbidden regular play for months before the event. There is an excellent account of all that goes into this in Feinstein's book Inside the Ropes: Beth Page Black. I think it would be wise for the course to be "Federalized" before an Open, make the player get permission from the USGA to practice, and not from a phone call to the "pro". The USGA is often curious about how a site is going to play, and if they accompanied an expert golfer on a practice round, they might get a feel for how the course is going to play. Pretty certain they do this already-- plus they are experts at course preparation.
As for Phil.... well, a fat lot of good it did him. You can take all the batting practice you want. You can play in Yankee Stadium all year...but in the bottom of the ninth of the 7th game of the world series can you hit a home run? Phil only needed an infield single...
Slightly off topic: On the 18th tee at Winged Foot, if I was Phil's Caddie and he asked me for the driver....I would have snapped the damn thing in two across my knee and then said "Here!"
And I don't get a half-million. 
Linear Mode
