Singh a song of Vijay, but don't forget McIlroy and Woods

    Friday, September 7, 2012
    Writing from Carmel, Indiana

    Here’s a leader board the Western Golf Association needed at Cog Hill the last few years.
    Vijay Singh, the 49-year-old Fijian who came close to winning on Dubsdread on three occasions, is in the lead at Crooked Stick Golf Club by a stroke, at a stylish 13-under-par total of 131.
    Those nipping at his heels: world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, billionaire Tiger Woods, and Ryan Moore, who still calls the BMW Championship by its traditional name, the Western Open. All of them stand at 12-under 132. Indiana native Bo Van Pelt and Lee Westwood, whom should not be forgotten, are two behind at 11-under 133. Twenty-one players are within five strokes of Singh.
    That ought to pack them in over the weekend at Crooked Stick even more than they’ve been packed in the first two days. And with about 30,000 on hand again Friday, dodging thunderstorms projected for later in the day, golf fans in this part of the midwest have been treated to the lowest scoring Western / BMW in history when the relationship to par is considered. And there have been 109 of them going back to 1899.
    The soft conditions, little wind, and the PGA Tour’s decision to continue the “lift, clean and place” policy to eliminate mud on balls in the fairway, along with greens smoother than a newborn’s rump – and usually flatter – has created a perfect storm for scoring, and there’s no sign of a tourniquet being applied to the blood-red leader board. Jimmy Walker and Mark Wilson were the high scorers on Friday. Each fired 4-over-par 76.
    Bill Haas was the low man of the day, at 8-under 64 to tie the course record. Adding in Thursday’s 71 gives the defending FedEx Cup champion an aggregate of 9-under 135, four strokes in arrears of Singh.
    In other words, Haas is very much in the hunt, for the rainstorms that lashed Crooked Stick after the conclusion of play and into the evening drenched an already soggy course once again. And that will mean another round of low scoring on Saturday, when play is once again in threesomes.
    Which both wreaks havoc on the record book and is thrilling for the fans. There have been Augusta-like roars on the golf course. There was even noise early in the morning, when Steve Stricker aced the sixth hole, using a 6-iron from 198 yards. Alas, Stricker promptly doubled the par-4 seventh, giving it all back, but it earned a $100,000 scholarship for the Evans Scholars Foundation thanks to BMW.
    Singh’s 6-under-par 66 was marred by only one bogey, on the par-4 fourth. Otherwise, he was Mr. Smooth, especially in the middle of the round, when he made four straight birdies and five in eight holes.
    “That kind of got me going,” Singh said. “And when I did miss the green, I stuck my chip shot very close.”
    A two-putt birdie from 13 feet at the par-5 ninth finished Singh’s day, and early. With storms looming, even the world’s top practicer didn’t repair to the range or putting green for remedial work. Well, not much, anyway.
    It’s the presence of McIlroy and Woods among the leaders that is creating much of the buzz. They were in the same group for the first two days along with Nick Watney, who might be third in the world but probably felt like a non-competing marker at times. Even on Friday, Watney’s 69 was overshadowed by McIlroy’s 68 and Woods’ 67, as they continued to chase the leaders.
    “Look at those scores!” Woods said. “Guys were running off and away from us. I just wanted to get do double-figures (under par). It’s a lot of pressure when you see guys going low.
    “I don’t think Pete Dye is very happy about this.”
    Dye, the founder and architect of Crooked Stick, said before the tournament began that the soft conditions would bring forth low scores. After all, this is not the octogenarian’s first rodeo. He knows these guys are stupid good.
    Take McIlroy, for instance. You’ve got to be good when your 68 includes four bogeys.
    “I didn’t play as well as yesterday, but I was able to get it around,” McIlroy said.
    And that is the key to consistent brilliance. Scoring when you’re on, as McIlroy was on Thursday, is one thing. Doing so when you’re just a bit off the mark, as in hitting only five of nine greens on the back side, is the mark of a champion. But McIlroy’s putter has been on from the start.
    “You shoot a couple of decent rounds, you’re just going to get lapped,” McIlroy said. “You know you’ve got to go out there and make birdies, and I suppose that’s just your mindset from the start.
    “It seemed like every time I missed the green, I missed it in the wrong spot and left myself difficult chips. And I’m putting so well recently that anytime I get a look at birdie, I’m sort of making those, and that’s making up for some of it. When you keep seeing putts go in, you build up confidence, and I feel I’m pretty high on confidence right now.”
    – Tim Cronin