Saturday
Sep112010
10:56 a.m. Sunday: Woods, Mickelson and a cast of thousands
Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 12:04PM
Writing from Lemont, Illinois
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Zero Hour on Sunday in Lemont is 10:56 a.m.
That’s when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson meet on Dubsdread’s first tee, their first pairing together since a tournament in Singapore last year.
Woods and Mickelson stand at even par 213 through 54 holes, and the timing of their finishes in Saturday’s third round at Cog Hill brings them together on Sunday morning.
The public is invited.
The public will likely be on hand. The top two players in the world ranking, winners of 22 major championships between them – including four U.S. Amateurs – one of them bathed in scandal and the other seen sympathetically because of the illness of his wife and mother, plus a recently disclosed arthritic ailment, they’re walking soap operas. “As the World No. 1 and 2 Turns,” or something like that.
Mickelson has bested Woods five of the last seven times they’re played head-to-head, with one win by Woods and a deadlock, according to CBS Sportsline’s Steve Elling. In their pro careers, Woods leads 11-10-4 in PGA Tour tournaments in head-to-head showdowns.
And, oh by the way, they’re both trying to secure a spot in the Tour Championship, to be conducted in Atlanta a fortnight hence. Woods is projected at 44th entering Sunday, and only the top 30 advance. Mickelson is projected 14th, so should be safe, but isn’t guaranteed if he goes haywire in the final round on a course he doesn’t prefer.
“I’d like to just get a good round,” Mickelson said before the pairing was set. “I’ve hit a lot of good shot this week and I just haven’t gotten a good score out of it. I’d like to just get a good round to give me some momentum.”
Woods scored 3-under 68 on Saturday, three strokes better than Mickelson. He’ll probably need something much lower on Sunday. One estimate has Woods six strokes away from qualifying.
“As of now, it looks like probably 61 or 62 might have to be the number,” Woods said.
Woods set the Dubsdread record of 62 on Saturday last year. This year, the best round is a 64, posted by Matt Kuchar on Thursday.
“Hopefully I can give myself 18 looks at it (birdie), and see what happens,” Woods said.
Plenty of other people will also be looking.
The numbers game
One. That’s what Sean O’Hair scored on the par-3 second hole, acing it with a 4-iron from 211 yards out. That led to another number: 100,000, as in the number of dollars BMW donated to the Evans Scholars Foundation over and above the commitment it’s had since joining as the title sponsor in 2007. It was the 40th ace in Western Open history, and third on Dubs’ second hole.
Another interesting number Saturday was 7,364, the number of yards the par-71 course was set for. That brought forth a third-round scoring average of 71.214, and an aggregate average of 71.700 through 54 holes. The par-4 18th hole (4.329) was the toughest on Saturday, and par-5 15th (4.543), as usual, the easiest, though Charley Hoffman, who made a 7, would argue the point.
Then there’s 347. That’s the number of yards Rory McIlroy hammered his drive on the 13th hole on Saturday, the longest drive of the day. He parred the hole.
John “J.B.” Holmes’ 361-yard poke on the 13th on Friday is the week’s longest. He made a triple-bogey 7.
Around Dubsdread
The early start, rainy forecast, actual rain, and Woods and Mickelson both off the pace and playing separately made for the smallest weekend crowd for the Western in years. It might not have been more than 15,000, even when people in corporate suites are considered. That would be the smallest Saturday crowd since an estimated 22,000 turned out on July 4, 1992. ... Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. with D.J. Trahan and Angel Cabrera. ... NBC presents “Fairway to the Future,” a 30-minute special focusing on the Evans Scholars Foundation, Sunday at 12:30 p.m. It’s produced by BMW, and features three caddies from the north and west suburbs. BMW bought network air time in 13 cities, including Chicago (WMAQ-Ch. 5), New York and Los Angeles. ... Cog Hill’s version of a merchandise fire sale arrives on Sunday, and only on Sunday: Buy one shirt or pullover, and get the second at half price. It’s the first such deal in memory by the Jemsek-owned course.
– Tim Cronin
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Zero Hour on Sunday in Lemont is 10:56 a.m.
That’s when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson meet on Dubsdread’s first tee, their first pairing together since a tournament in Singapore last year.
Woods and Mickelson stand at even par 213 through 54 holes, and the timing of their finishes in Saturday’s third round at Cog Hill brings them together on Sunday morning.
The public is invited.
The public will likely be on hand. The top two players in the world ranking, winners of 22 major championships between them – including four U.S. Amateurs – one of them bathed in scandal and the other seen sympathetically because of the illness of his wife and mother, plus a recently disclosed arthritic ailment, they’re walking soap operas. “As the World No. 1 and 2 Turns,” or something like that.
Mickelson has bested Woods five of the last seven times they’re played head-to-head, with one win by Woods and a deadlock, according to CBS Sportsline’s Steve Elling. In their pro careers, Woods leads 11-10-4 in PGA Tour tournaments in head-to-head showdowns.
And, oh by the way, they’re both trying to secure a spot in the Tour Championship, to be conducted in Atlanta a fortnight hence. Woods is projected at 44th entering Sunday, and only the top 30 advance. Mickelson is projected 14th, so should be safe, but isn’t guaranteed if he goes haywire in the final round on a course he doesn’t prefer.
“I’d like to just get a good round,” Mickelson said before the pairing was set. “I’ve hit a lot of good shot this week and I just haven’t gotten a good score out of it. I’d like to just get a good round to give me some momentum.”
Woods scored 3-under 68 on Saturday, three strokes better than Mickelson. He’ll probably need something much lower on Sunday. One estimate has Woods six strokes away from qualifying.
“As of now, it looks like probably 61 or 62 might have to be the number,” Woods said.
Woods set the Dubsdread record of 62 on Saturday last year. This year, the best round is a 64, posted by Matt Kuchar on Thursday.
“Hopefully I can give myself 18 looks at it (birdie), and see what happens,” Woods said.
Plenty of other people will also be looking.
The numbers game
One. That’s what Sean O’Hair scored on the par-3 second hole, acing it with a 4-iron from 211 yards out. That led to another number: 100,000, as in the number of dollars BMW donated to the Evans Scholars Foundation over and above the commitment it’s had since joining as the title sponsor in 2007. It was the 40th ace in Western Open history, and third on Dubs’ second hole.
Another interesting number Saturday was 7,364, the number of yards the par-71 course was set for. That brought forth a third-round scoring average of 71.214, and an aggregate average of 71.700 through 54 holes. The par-4 18th hole (4.329) was the toughest on Saturday, and par-5 15th (4.543), as usual, the easiest, though Charley Hoffman, who made a 7, would argue the point.
Then there’s 347. That’s the number of yards Rory McIlroy hammered his drive on the 13th hole on Saturday, the longest drive of the day. He parred the hole.
John “J.B.” Holmes’ 361-yard poke on the 13th on Friday is the week’s longest. He made a triple-bogey 7.
Around Dubsdread
The early start, rainy forecast, actual rain, and Woods and Mickelson both off the pace and playing separately made for the smallest weekend crowd for the Western in years. It might not have been more than 15,000, even when people in corporate suites are considered. That would be the smallest Saturday crowd since an estimated 22,000 turned out on July 4, 1992. ... Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. with D.J. Trahan and Angel Cabrera. ... NBC presents “Fairway to the Future,” a 30-minute special focusing on the Evans Scholars Foundation, Sunday at 12:30 p.m. It’s produced by BMW, and features three caddies from the north and west suburbs. BMW bought network air time in 13 cities, including Chicago (WMAQ-Ch. 5), New York and Los Angeles. ... Cog Hill’s version of a merchandise fire sale arrives on Sunday, and only on Sunday: Buy one shirt or pullover, and get the second at half price. It’s the first such deal in memory by the Jemsek-owned course.
– Tim Cronin
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