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McIlroy on opening 70: 'Not great...it was OK'

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 23:21:00 GMT

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - Rory McIlroy took four ingloriously indifferent shots from 105 yards on the 18th hole at PGA National Thursday afternoon and surrendered a chance to not only shoot under par but also conjure some decent vibes amid the slow start to his season.

The No. 1 player in the world and the defending champion, McIlroy opened the Honda Classic with an even-par 70 on the Champion Course he sliced up a year ago and trailed 2010 winner Camilo Villegas by six strokes. The effort, though marred by a sloppy bogey on the par-5 home hole, had him disappointed but not disillusioned with the direction of his game.

"[It] wasn't the nicest way to finish, [but] I saw enough pretty good golf out there to be positive going into the next few days," said McIlroy, who missed the cut at Abu Dhabi and then was bounced from the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in the first round. "Felt OK out there. Not great, but, I mean, it was OK."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. And on a calm day in South Florida when nearly half the field broke par, the 23-year-old Ulsterman, who recently decided to make this area his home base, knew he'd missed an opportunity.

"I think if I've been playing well, or playing the way I know I can, there's something in the mid 60s out there," said McIlroy, who shot four rounds in the 60s last year and shot 12-under-par 268 for the first of his four PGA Tour wins. "Hopefully, the weather is OK tomorrow and I can go out and try to shoot a good score and put myself in position for the weekend."

McIlroy finds himself in good company heading into the second round. His new neighbor and best friend, world No. 2 Tiger Woods, also failed to take advantage of the rain-softened and relatively benign conditions.

It says something about the day Woods endured that the highlight of his round was escaping with a par after pulling a drive into the water on the par-4 sixth. Woods, who rebounded from a pair of early bogeys to shoot 70, had to remove his shoes and socks and his beige sweater, put on rainpants, and splash a 9-iron recovery back into the fairway from where he got up and down.

"I was one over at the time," Woods said, "and if that ball is not playable from where it's at ... looking at a [double-bogey] six, three over, [but] all of a sudden I flip it, make par there and birdie the next."

The remainder of his day wasn't much to talk about as Woods hit nine fairways and 14 greens but needed 32 whacks with the putter. "It was pretty much a boring day on the greens, and I hit a lot of good shots," he said.

Winner in his first PGA Tour start of the year at the Farmer's Insurance Open, Woods is making his second appearance in the Honda Classic, having finished runner-up to McIlroy last year despite a closing 62.

Follow @DaveShedloski

(Photo by Getty Images)

Golf World Preview: Beware the Bear Trap

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:20:00 GMT

By Ron Sirak

From the February 28 issue of Golf World Preview:

Okay, so about the time of the third snowstorm at the Accenture Match Play Championship your bracket in the office pool resembled exit polls from the 2004 Presidential election -- not much was correct. Time to recoup your losses this week by making a wager on how many times holes 15 through 17 on the Champions course at PGA National will be referred to as the Bear Trap during the Golf Channel/NBC broadcast of the Honda Classic. If the over/under is "too many," take the over.

Let's face it, we love to give names to things. I have a tree in my backyard I call Ed. Ever since those dudes were found bugging the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel the word "Gate" has been tacked on the end of any scandal. Football had the Steel Curtain, baseball the Big Red Machine and college basketball the Fab Five. The sad thing about such shorthand is that sometimes it short-changes the subject matter by making the hype newsier than the happening.

That's the dilemma of the Bear Trap. While some may argue about the quality of holes 15-17 from a design standpoint, the difficulty of that stretch is beyond dispute, especially when the wind is up. Since the Honda Classic moved to PGA National in 2007, the Bear Trap has accounted for 24 percent of all bogeys in the tournament, 56 of the double bogeys and an astonishing 74 percent of the triple bogeys. Remarkably, 97 percent of annoyed TV viewers are watching the Bear Trap.

What makes that stretch so difficult? Wind. Water. Sand. Contour. Hole location. You know; golf. No. 15 is a 179-yard par-3 that usually plays into the wind with sand left and water right. No. 16 is a 434-yard par-4 that doglegs to the right and slopes toward the water on the right. Bail out left and you have a 220-yard shot over water. No. 17 is another par-3, this one 190 yards. With a bunker long and left and water right, the green is the only place to put the ball, and when the pin is middle-left there is only a 30-foot landing area.

In tournament golf, good things seem to come in threes. Augusta National has Amen Corner, Nos. 11-13 in the Masters. The Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow concludes with the Green Mile. And the Horrible Horseshoe at Colonial in the Crowne Plaza Invitational comes early -- Nos. 3-5. None are more difficult than the Bear Trap, which gets its name from the course's architect, Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear. Get it?

Grab a snack and a beverage and settle in to watch the Honda Classic on TV. And brace yourself for this inevitability: Slow pan of the bear statue (above) at No. 15. Zoom in on the plaque proclaiming the next three holes will kick the stuffing out of you. The announcer's voice takes on a tone both ominous and excited. Then sit back and enjoy as the Bear Trap mauls the field. Cutesy name, annoyingly overused, but great entertainment.

Follow @ronsirak

(Photo by Getty Images)

The Grid: Your Cup Runneth Over

GolfDigest.com — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

What visiting golfers can expect at eight former Ryder Cup venues.

Trending: Things, besides Rory McIlroy, that were No. 1 on March 4, 2012

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:51:00 GMT

March 4, 2012 will go down in history as the day Rory McIlroy became the second-youngest man ever to attain the title of world's No. 1 ranked golfer. While many believe McIlroy will go on to become one of the game's greats, only time (and a few more major championships) can impact the historical significance of this date. But golf aside, how will March 4 be remembered?

From a sports perspective, the NBA's Chicago Bulls (31-8) and the NHL's New York Rangers (42-15-7) are the current kings of their respective leagues. March is still too young to declare college basketball champions, though Kentucky (28-1) currently resides atop the NCAA Men's Basketball AP Poll, and Baylor (29-0) firmly atop the Women's. In the world of entertainment, it was a dominant, Rory-like performance by the film adaptation of Dr. Suess' The Lorax that took home the top box-office draw for March 4, 2012. Here's a quick look at the rest of the day's No. 1's.

Video: An epic Sunday at PGA National

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:14:00 GMT

If your head is still spinning from Sunday's action, you're not alone. The final round of the Honda Classic managed to produce both the return of arguably the greatest golfer ever and yet another reminder of who will be the sport's next superstar.

Tiger Woods, looking good in red for the first time in years, tore up PGA National for a 62, including an unlikely birdie-eagle finish, that put drama into a tournament that appeared headed to an obvious conclusion. But 54-hole leader Rory McIlroy with a series of clutch up-and-downs to maintain his edge, pick up his third PGA Tour victory and become the youngest player not named Tiger Woods to ascend to the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Here's a look at the highlights:

The best part? Both these guys, along with Phil Mickelson, will tee it up at this week's WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral. Already off to an incredible start, the 2012 PGA Tour season promises to only get better.

-- Alex Myers
Follow @AlexMyers3

Woods makes cut, but misses chance to go low

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:11:00 GMT

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Any reasonable assessment of the two-under-par 68 Tiger Woods submitted Friday at PGA National cannot be encapsulated in the birdie-birdie flourish that rescued an otherwise pedestrian round.

Thursday's opening-round 71 was enticingly tidier tee to green, but his putting performance resembled that of golfer whose innate talents are still hibernating. Reaching 15 greens in regulation usually produces a score several fathoms lower, but the zigging and sagging on the Champion Course putting surfaces resulted in 34 whacks. That won't do.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

On Friday morning Woods was a different player, which had its tradeoffs. He hit five fewer greens, but he needed five fewer putts. He birdied three of his last five holes with a double-bogey sandwiched in between. He scowled walking off 18 yesterday. When he left the ninth green Friday -- his last of the day -- he slapped hands with caddie Joe LaCava wearing a smile.

"Well, I got it going, lost it, got it going, lost it and then got it going," Woods said, summarizing his day, not his last 19 months recalibrating his golf swing with instructor Sean Foley. "It was a little bit of a fight today, probably the worst I've hit the ball in months."

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: Honda Classic

Alex Myers — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:00:00 GMT

We discuss Rory and Lee's grudge match, a first for Tiger, the NBA's second half, and of course, this week's PGA Tour stop.

Price makes cut, speaks mind on The Heritage

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:36:00 GMT

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. -- Nick Price is in the World Golf Hall of Fame for the exquisite shot-making that earned him three major championships, but the guy is also world-class when it comes speaking his mind. And usually he knows what he is talking about. On Friday at the Honda Classic, the 54-year-old Champions Tour refugee who made the cut at windblown PGA National, weighed in on the possible demise of The Heritage and with it, the loss of one of the best courses on the PGA Tour.

"It's a tragedy, tragedy," Price said about the 42-year-old event played at Harbour Town GL on Hilton Head Island, S.C. "I blame the top players, and you know who I mean," Price said, letting listeners draw their own conclusions. The tournament is being played this year without a sponsor and all indications are that it will not be able to survive for 2012 unless a new corporation is brought in to pick up the costs, which exceed $8 million a year.

Tiger Woods has played the Heritage once, finishing T-18 in 1999. Phil Mickelson has played there once since 1999, finishing third in 2003. Of all the courses on tour, Harbour Town is one of the most traditional, requiring accuracy off the tee and precise iron play. It is not a layout where the bomb-and-gouge approach has much success.

"It's sad, really sad." Price said. "That's one of our great tournaments. And it's one of the great courses of all time we play on our tour." Indeed, since Arnold Palmer won the inaugural Heritage in 1969, the tartan jacket has been put on by Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Greg Norman and Price in 1997.

Recalling The 1971 PGA

Bill Fields — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

A look back at the PGA Championship's rare appearance in February

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