Sahalee cuts big hitters down to size

The trend of lengthening golf courses to deal with the greater distances today's players hit the ball hasn't worked. But the solution to the problem can be seen this weekend if you watch the U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash.

It was fun watching the not-so-flat bellies struggle to tame the narrow, tree-lined beast during yesterday's first round. Some did manage to do so. Bruce Vaughan, who won a senior major with his 2008 Senior Open at Troon, shot a 66 even with a bogey on his final hole and has a two-shot lead over Loren Roberts and amateur Tim Jackson. Five players -- Bernhard Langer, Mark Calcavecchia, Joe Ozaki, Michael Allen and Tom Lehman -- are three shots off the lead. Tournament favorites Fred Couples and Tom Watson shot 70 along with Jay Haas and Scott Simpson.

But whether any of them are still in contention come Sunday is difficult to say. Because putting together four rounds of low scores at Sahalee is no small feat. One has to negotiate their way past thousands of trees framing famously narrow fairways that give even the straightest hitters a bad case of claustrophobia. And they have to do it four days in a row.

Most in the field came into the U.S. Senior Open having played in the Senior British Open last week at Carnoustie, one of the world's most difficult golf courses. Those who played last week in Scotland will feel like they are facing another monster, only this time the small shrubs and fescue grass have been replaced by 4-inch deep rough and a seemingly never-ending collection of cedar and fir trees.

If more golf course designers followed the lead of Ted Robinson, who designed Sahalee into a truly confounding course, talk of placing limits on golf club and ball technology wouldn't be necessary. But then most golf course designers don't have a mountain range forest to work with like Robinson had with his Seattle-area masterpiece.

Even so, it's worth thinking about for future golf course design. Instead of trying to Tiger-proof courses as Augusta National Golf Club tried to do by lengthening many of its holes after Woods brought the course to its knees with his 12-shot victory there in 1999, perhaps designers should make accuracy off the tee and from the fairway more crucial to success on the PGA Tour. Sahalee does so naturally because its built on a great piece of property. But new courses can do the same thing using different techniques -- more traps, water hazards or doglegs -- to reach the same desired effect.

A course shouldn't have to have 14 par 4s that are at least 440 yards long in order to stifle scoring. There are other ways of keeping the long bombers at bay. And this week's U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee is proof.

Information from Cybergolf and GolfObserver.com contributed to this post.

Greenbrier Classic starts in difficult position

The deck is stacked against this week's Greenbrier Classic becoming a favorite stop for big names on the PGA Tour even though the first-year tournament will draw a colorful field that could produce some exciting golf.

The reason is the FedEx Cup schedule. No top player will skip next week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, with its no-cut, big-money format. The following week is the year's fourth major, the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis. Just two weeks after that is the first of four FedEx Cup playoff events in five weeks.

A player who participates in all of those tournaments is looking at six tournaments in eight weeks -- and seven in nine weeks if he is participating in the Ryder Cup. That makes this week's event in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., an easy one to pass up. It isn't a reflection on the sponsor or organizers. It's just the reality of the PGA Tour schedule at this time. Regardless, the event will showcase a historic golf resort that was rescued from demise and will make it as well known as Pebble Beach was during the U.S. Open.

Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar are the only top-30 players in the world entered for the Greenbrier. Even so, fans should be treated to some low scoring on a historic golf course by a field that will include Kenny Perry, Sergio Garcia, Davis Love III, John Daly, Justin Leonard and Ricky Barnes.

With seven of the 12 par 4s on the Old White Course, which is acting as host for the event, being 440 yards or shorter, scores could go real low and it wouldn't be all that surprising with par being 70 that a round in the 50s is possible. The greens, with lots of undulations and bumps, will be the biggest hurdle for the players because the fairways are generous and well-suited for resort golf.

Information from GolfObserver.com and ESPN.com contributed to this post.

Hot stretch puts Pettersson in winner's circle

It wasn't too surprising to see Carl Pettersson rally from six shots behind with 11 holes to play to beat Dean Wilson yesterday in the Canadian Open at St. George's.

Wilson, a 40-year-old journeyman playing on a sponsor's exemption, appeared to be running out of steam as the final round progressed even though he entered it with a four-shot lead. You had the sneaking suspicion that things might unravel before he could earn what would have been only his second PGA Tour victory. It was just a matter of time.

Pettersson, a 32-year-old Swede coming off a stellar 60 on Saturday, admitted being worried by the common belief among pro golfers that it's hard to follow a low score with another solid round. But that wasn't the case the last three times a player shot a 60 on the PGA Tour before Pettersson. In fact, two out of the three times it led to a victory. Steve Stricker followed a 60 with a 66 in winning the John Deere Classic this year. Zach Johnson followed a 60 with a 70 on his way to winning the Valero Texas Open in 2009 and he also followed a 60 with a 68 on his way to finishing second in the 2007 Tour Championship.

"I still can't believe I won the tournament," Pettersson said two days after making the cut by a stroke after opening rounds of 71 and 68. "I know it's difficult to shoot another low one after a round like that, so I was just trying to downplay it. I just tried to stay calm and (said), `Whatever happens today, happens.'"

What happened is Pettersson played a stretch of eight holes starting on the eighth in 6 under to take the lead as Wilson played them in 2 over. On that same stretch of eight holes on Saturday, Pettersson was 8 under on his way to a 60 that catapulted him into contention.

Pettersson, a former North Carolina State player, earned $918,000 for his first victory since the 2008 Wyndham Championship. He also won the 2005 Chrysler Championship and 2006 Memorial.

Wilson, who closed with a 72 after three consecutive 65s, turned in his second career runner-up PGA Tour performance. His first came in 2006, at the Valero Texas Open, the same year he won his lone PGA Tour title, The International, outside Denver.

"If you would have told me before the week that I could be second alone, I would have been tickled," Wilson said. "Being in the position that I was, I'm a little disappointed. But still, lots of positives."

* * * * *

Didn't watch much of the Evian Masters but it would have been fun to see Morgan Pressel (70) or 15-year-old Alexis Thompson (67) win. The way it worked out they had to share second place with Na Yeon Choi (66).

The winner by a shot was Jiyai Shin, who after finishing third four times and fifth three times this year scored her first victory by birdieing the par-5 18th hole and closing with a 67.

Pressel, the third-round leader, eagled the par-4 fifth hole, but let her advantage slip away by going 1 over on the back nine. Even so, it is good to see another American making strides on a big stage, following the recent examples of Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr.

Pressel's improved play would seem to a by-product of her increased length off the tee. While still among the LPGA's top 10 most accurate drivers, she has jumped from 154th in driving distance in 2008 to 96th this season by adding about 13 yards to her drives.

Pressel credits most of the improvement to her swing coach, Adam Schriber. It just so happens that Schriber is also the swing coach of Anthony Kim.

In just her third professional start, Thompson was looking to become the youngest player to win an LPGA event. The teenager from Coral Springs, Fla., missed the cut in her professional debut at the ShopRite LPGA Classic and finished tied for 10th at the U.S. Women's Open two weeks ago. Thompson will next see action on the LPGA as a sponsor's invite at the CN Canadian Women's Open.

Thompson’s chances seemed to end when she bogeyed the 16th hole to drop to 11 under, but she made back-to-back birdies and was the clubhouse leader at 13 under before Shin sank her birdie on the final hole to move to 14 under.

Information from PGATOUR.com, GolfObserver.com, GolfChannel.com and the Associated Press contributed to this post.

It's a great time to be an avid golfer

Bagging a bargain greens fee has never been easier in central Ohio thanks to Golfnow.com. If you are eager to chase the pea this week now that the recent heat wave has subsided slightly, you owe it to yourself to check out Golfnow.com.

As of noon today, here are some of the bargains that were available:

Monday (July 26)
1 player only -- Cumberland Trail at 11:50: $13.35 (66% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Eaglesticks at 12:19: $18.24 (60% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Apple Valley at 2:16: $14.46 (60% savings)

Tuesday (July 27)
2 to 4 players -- Glenross at 12:20: $16.88 (57% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Westchester at 12:30: $13.40 (65% savings)
1 to 4 players -- New Albany Links at 2:20: $14.00 (64% savings)

Wednesday (July 28)
1 to 4 players -- Westchester at 12:30: $15.55 (59% savings)
1 to 4 players -- New Albany Links at 2:20: $14.00 (64% savings)

Thursday (July 29)
1 to 4 players -- New Albany Links at 2:10: $14.00 (64% savings)

Friday (July 30)
1 to 4 players -- Cumberland Trail at 11:50: $17.19 (56% savings)

Oldgolfdawg doesn't know if these bargains are a reflection of the overall economy or just the golf industry in particular. But either way, I doubt if the pricing ever gets much better than this. Hit 'em straight!

Weir nursing injury entering Canadian Open

Mike Weir will attempt to become the first Canadian to win his country's national championship since 1954 today when the Canadian Open returns to Royal George's Golf and Country Club for the first time in 42 years.

Weir, who will be making his 20th bid to end the dry spell, came close to winning the event in 2004 before losing in a playoff to Vijay Singh. Weir has been struggling of late, however, with tendonitis in his forearm and might have a tough time being the best of 13 Canadians in the field. Last year Australian Nathan Green beat South Africa's Retief Goosen on the second hole of a playoff.

The last Canadian winner of the Canadian Open was Pat Fletcher, who won at age 38 to break a 40-year dry spell for his country. Green became the sixth international player to win the event since 1980 when he won last year at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Royal George's Golf and Country Club, which affords some great views of the Toronto skyline, is considered one of the great old courses in Canada. It is an old-fashioned layout featuring mature trees lining sloping fairways and is made more difficult by the strategic placement of 103 bunkers. Its contoured greens are undulating and demand precise iron shots.

Top names in the field include Tim Clark, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, Camilo Villegas, Goosen, Bill Haas, Sean O'Hair and Ricky Barnes. Because the course will be a new test for everyone in the field, it wouldn't be surprising to see a relatively unknown player emerge from the pack and win. Such a scenario would fit into the recurring theme of first-time winners this summer on the PGA Tour started by Justin Rose at the Memorial and followed by Graeme McDowell in the U.S. Open and Bubba Watson at the Travelers.

Bob Charles defeated Jack Nicklaus by two shots the last time the Canadian Open was played at Royal George's in 1968. That should offer Weir more hope in as much as he and Charles are left-handers. Interestingly, Nicklaus' loss to Charles was the first of a record seven runner-up finishes in one of the only tournaments the Golden Bear never won.

The tournament can be seen on ESPN2 (today: 12-2 p.m.; Friday: 12-2 p.m.; Saturday: 2-3:30 p.m.; Sunday: 1-3 p.m.), Golf Channel (today: 12:30-2:30 p.m., 3-6 p.m., 8:30-11:30 p.m.; Friday: 2-4 a.m., 12:30-2:30 p.m., 3-6 p.m., 8:30-11:30 p.m.; Saturday: 2-4 a.m., 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Sunday: 2-4 a.m., 7-9:30 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday: 3-6 p.m.; Sunday: 3-6 p.m.)



* * * * *

For those who didn't get enough of true links golf watching Louis Oosthuizen's stunning seven-shot victory in the British Open last week at St. Andrews, there's this week's Senior Open Championship in Carnoustie, Scotland, on one of the toughest courses in the world.

Five-time British Open champion Tom Watson will be a sentimental favorite to win at Carnoustie, where he won on the Championship Course in 1975 to claim the Claret Jug for the first time.

Watson, 60, has already won the Senior Open title three times, with two of those victories coming at the Turnberry and Muirfield courses where he also won the more famous version of the event. He is still more than capable of playing magical golf, as he showed by finishing second at the 2009 Open.

Joining Watson in an all-star field are former European Ryder Cup players Bernhard Langer, Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam. American Corey Pavin will become the first presiding Ryder Cup captain to play in the tournament, while former U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman is also competing along with defending champion Loren Roberts.

Lehman, who captured the Claret Jug in 1996, is one of five former Open Champions playing at Carnoustie, along with Watson, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, and Mark Calcavecchia.

The tournament can be seen on ESPN (today: 12-2 p.m.; Friday: 12-2 p.m.; Saturday: 2-3:30 p.m.; Sunday: 1-3 p.m.

* * * * *

The LPGA and the Ladies European Tour returns this week to picturesque Evian-Les-Bains, France, and the shores of Lake Geneva as 111 tee it up for one of the richest purses of the season at the Evian Masters.

No. 1-ranked Ai Miyazato headlines a strong field as she attempts to defend a title she won last year in a one-hole playoff against Sophie Gustafson. Also in the field are No. 2-ranked Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer.

Creamer, playing through admitted pain from a lingering thumb injury, gave the LPGA a big boost with her four-shot victory in the U.S. Women's Open two weeks ago at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. Her first major championship was her ninth LPGA Tour victory. The Evian Masters is the site of Creamer's second LPGA victory in 2005, when she cleared the field by eight shots. Last year she shot a final-round 70 to finish in a tie for fifth.

The tournament can be seen on the Golf Channel (today: 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Friday: 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Saturday: 1-4 p.m.; Sunday: 1-4 p.m.).

Information from GolfObserver.com, ESPN.com, PGATOUR.com and LPGA.com contributed to this post.

Oosthuizen victory doesn't change everything

Other than Louis Oosthuizen's rise from 54th to 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking, golf's landscape hasn't change much in the wake of his impressive seven-shot victory in the 139th British Open.

Early indications pointing toward a big European victory when the Ryder Cup matches are held in October at Celtic Manor in Wales were fortified by how well the Europeans performed at St. Andrews. With the exception of Padraig Harrington, who missed the cut, it seemed as if every European Ryder regular was in contention, in addition to a few promising newcomers.

Lee Westwood took second, seven strokes back. Rory McIlroy, 21, who has never played in a Ryder Cup, shot 68 Sunday to finish tied for third at 8 under along with Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson. Martin Kaymer, who will likely make the Euro team as a rookie, bogeyed his last three holes to tie for seventh place at 6 under.

Meanwhile, the best American performances were turned in by Sean O'Hair and Nick Watney at 6 under, followed by Jeff Overton at 5 under. Rickie Fowler, J.B. Holmes, Dustin Johnson and 51-year-old Tom Lehman finished at 4 under. At this point in time, it doesn't look like the Americans, led by captain Corey Pavin, stand much of a chance of keeping the Ryder Cup they earned at Valhalla in 2008. They appear to be outclassed and outnumbered.

Another constant on the landscape after Oosthuizen's victory is the ongoing search for Tiger Woods. Despite maintaining his hold on golf's No. 1 ranking, Woods is still playing like a shadow of his former self. On his way to tieing for 23rd, Woods looked very average.

His decision to stray from his putter of 11 years didn't work out and he blamed his putting for his inability to build any momentum. You would think a guy who reportedly is going to pay around $750 million as a consequence of cheating on his wife of five years would know it doesn't pay to cheat on a putter that has served him so well.

If Woods is going to avoid getting blanked in the majors for the second consecutive season (his last major win was the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines), he'll have to regain his magic touch in four weeks at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The last time Woods played the wild and windy links on the shore of Lake Michigan he tied for 24th when the PGA Championship was held there in 2004.

Woods maintains that he's not concerned about the state of his game, that it's just a matter of time before everything clicks. But Oldgolfdawg has his doubts. It almost seems as if the golf gods are going to punish Woods for his off-course indiscretions and it's beginning to look like 2010 will be a lost season for the game's once-most-dominant player.

Finally, another constant to resurface at St. Andrews is the fruitless attempts of Phil Mickelson to prove he can win a British Open. Despite determined efforts to prove otherwise, the floppy-wedge-shot artist doesn't appear the have the right kind of game to ever win a British Open, as his 43rd-place finish confirmed once again. He has one top-10 finish in the event in 17 tries.

Information from ESPN.com, PGATOUR.com and Golf.com contributed to this post.

Oosthuizen makes a major statement

Thanks to the steady play of Louis Oosthuizen yesterday, the 139th British Open at St. Andrews had a finishing act as exciting as a week-old Senate hearing on C-SPAN.

ESPN analyst Paul Azinger did his best to put lipstick on a pig by marveling at its clinical nature, but Oosthuizen's seven-stroke victory at the birthplace of golf was like watching someone enjoy warm milk and cookies over the closing holes. When Oosthuizen bogeyed the eighth hole and saw his lead shrink to three shots, it opened the door just slightly for playing partner and closest pursuer Paul Casey to mount a charge.

But then Oosthuizen showed a champion's heart by driving the par-4 ninth green and rolling in a 40-foot eagle putt just when it looked like Casey had a chance to make a move. Three holes later all questions about the outcome were answered when Casey hit his drive into a gorse bush on his way to a triple bogey and Oosthuizen increased his lead to eight shots with a birdie. It was game, set, match.

The last six holes were basically a victory march for a relatively unknown son of a South African dairy farmer who enjoyed a four-shot lead after 54 holes. Though he was ranked 54th in the world entering the tournament, Oosthuizen also was a 200-to-1 long shot in most Auld Grey Toon betting parlors.

What the closing holes lacked in competitive drama was made up for in the feel-good story of a major underdog prevailing while most were expecting a collapse. Bettors afraid to bet on Oosthuizen had good reason. He had just won his first European Tour event earlier this year and had only made the cut in one of the eight previous majors he’d played. Considering his best previous finish in a major was a distant 73rd and that he had only broken 70 once in any of those venerable championships, it should be no surprise that few expected him to turn in a Tiger Woods-like runaway performance with a stress-free closing 71.

His winning margin of seven shots over Lee Westwood was second only to Woods' 2005 victory at St. Andrews and two strokes shy of the largest at the British Open in 140 years. Casey finished the back nine in 40 for a 75 and slipped into a share of third-place with Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson.

“He’s been unbelievable the whole week,” Zach Rasego, Oosthuizen’s caddy for the last seven years, said. “The media didn’t give him a chance at all. But he’s done it before. He won a tournament at home by 14 shots. So it’s not like the boy can not play. I understand that this is a big tournament, but people didn’t give him a chance at all.”

Oosthuizen, 27, is a product of the Ernie Els Foundation and he gave tribute to his mentor, who won the 2002 British Open, in his victory speech. Els, who missed the cut this year, was impressed by his protégé’s demeanor.

“I played a practice round with him last Sunday and, typically for him, he didn’t give himself a chance,” Els said. “He is a quiet and unassuming guy, but he has shown everyone what a great champion he is.”

With a 16-under-par total of 272, three more than Woods in 2000, Oosthuizen followed in the footsteps of countrymen Bobby Locke, Gary Player -- four and three-time British Open winners respectively -- and Els.

Oosthuizen, who rose to 15th in the Official World Golf Rankings with his victory, didn't point to himself in his victory speech, however. He instead immediately wished former South African president Nelson Mandela a happy 92nd birthday.

"It's unbelievable -- just amazing," Oosthuizen said. "It's probably going to hit me tomorrow or the week after. I felt like I played well all week and the biggest goal for me was to stay cool."

He accomplished that and more. Oldgolfdawg was struck by the effusive praise piled on Oosthuizen by the ESPN broadcast team during its telecast. Tom Watson, in particular, kept repeating how much he like Shrek's (Oosthuizen's nickname because of the gap in his teeth) swing. Azinger, Curtis Strange and Tom Weiskopf were all struck by how well Oosthuizen managed the pressure and by how well he drove the ball. For a little guy weighing all of 165 pounds, Oosterhuizen displayed amazing power and accuracy.

This British Open could turn out to be the coming out party for a new force in golf. Retief Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open winner from South Africa, is in the camp of those who believe just that, saying, "I think he'll be around for many years to come."

Information from EuropeanTour.com, ESPN.com, and PGATOUR.com contributed to this post.