Short Par Fours – Risk versus Reward

In the age of 350-yard drives that has greatly reduced the number of “do I go for it?” decisions on par fives, a new, unexpected hero has emerged…the short par four. Short par fours are the most exciting holes to watch in professional golf now that knocking it onto a par five in two is common place. The short par four plants a seed of doubt in the minds of even the longest hitters thanks to clever designs. These holes offer great reward to the big boys but it is not just a case of stepping up and hitting it the required distance. Many drivable par fours carry a threat that is equal to or greater than the reward gained from hitting the perfect shot. We take a look at five of the best short par fours in the game. Read more

Gainey in lead at Phoenix Open

After day three of the weather-blighted Waste Manage Phoenix Honda, Tommy ‘Two Gloves’ Gainey is the halfway leader, holding a one-shot lead over recent Sony Open winner Mark Wilson.

Gainey, who plays with a glove on each hand, shot a second round 65 around TPC Scottsdale to close at halfway with a 14-under par total 128, one ahead of Wilson who shot a round of 64.

The full field had managed to complete their second rounds, and some had set out on their third before darkness suspended play, but Saturday saw a day of low scoring as weather conditions and temperatures became slightly more benign than they had been Thursday and Friday.

PGA Tour officials at TPC Scottsdale continued to send out groups from both the 1st and 10th tees, and at close of play Saturday, there were just nine groups remaining to head out onto the course – five from the front nine, and four from the back nine holes.

And in an attempt to keep play moving, there will be no reshuffling of player groups according to score after completion of the third round; groups will remain the same through to the conclusion of the event.

The second round did see some low scoring, and in addition to the 65 and 64 shot by Gainey and Wilson respectively, third placed Bill Haas shot a 65 to close on 12-under par; while Chris Couch also shot 65 to close a further shot behind.

Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson are also hard on the heels of the leaders; Fowler – once described by commentator Gary McCord as a ‘traffic cone with hair’ due to his bright orange final day attire – carding a stunning round of 62, while Mickelson went round in 65 strokes and the pair are tied together in a share of fifth place on 10-under par.

Mickelson is the only representative of the YGT tipster left in the field, after both Ryan Palmer and Anthony Kim failed to make the cut.

Wilson, Gainey share Phoenix Open lead

As the cold weather continued to disrupt the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona, Mark Wilson – winner of the recent Sony Open – and Tommy ‘Two Gloves’ Gainey were the two who moved to the head of the leaderboard.

With many still to complete their first rounds, those with afternoon tee-times for Friday’s second round would have the day off as first rounds were completed ahead of the same players setting out on their second rounds.

With darkness creeping in, few players managed to post second round totals, and many second rounds have still to be completed – or even started, including Phil Mickelson’s.

But of those who did start their second rounds, Mark Wilson had reached 5-under par through 14 holes and 11-under overall, and tied with Tommy Gainey, who was 3-under for his second round after a first round 63.

Geoff Ogilvy, back after a freak injury ahead of the PGA Tour curtain-raiser in Hawaii, was next best on 9-under par through 16 holes, one shot ahead of JB Holmes and Jason Dufner.

Four players share in sixth spot on 7-under; Charley Hoffman was 1-under par for his round through 15 holes, while Nick Watney was 6-under through 13. Cameron Beckman had also played 13 holes, but was just 1-under par for his round while Aaron Baddeley was 1-under par through ten holes.

After frost delayed the start of the second round by some 90 minutes, the tournament is now likely to be settled on Monday, with Slugger White, the PGA Tour vice-president of rules telling the official PGA Tour website:

“In a perfect world, probably finish Monday, maybe four or five holes, best-case scenario. So much depends on tomorrow morning and Sunday morning. … It’s unbelievable how frozen these greens get and they just don’t thaw out.”

Only six players in the field had managed to post second round scores, with Marc Leishman’s round of 69 moving him into a tie for 10th place on 6-under par.

4-way tie at top in delayed Phoenix Open first round

It might have resembled winter golf at the local club to many, but the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, Arizona finally got underway some four hours later than schedule.

Unseasonably – even freak weather – blighted the normally dry TPC Scottsdale course for a tournament that is usually played in T-shirts, delaying the start due to frosty conditions ; only early starters managed to complete their first rounds, leaving many to complete Friday, weather again permitting.

But with another sharp frost predicted overnight for Friday AM, it appears likely much of the play will roll into Saturday, setting up a potential 36-hole final day, or even a Monday finish.

On the leaderboard, four players shared the lead after the completion of their first rounds; Tom Gillis, Bill Haas, Jason Bohn and veteran Tom Lehman each starting with 6-under par rounds of 65 to lead by one stroke over Chris Couch, Ben Crane and Lucas Glover, who was sporting a new beard – prompting cheers of ‘Grizzly’ from the assembled crowds.

Facial insulation, perhaps, against the cold. “It was cold, and it’s getting colder,” he said after.

A six-way tie also ensued for eighth place on 4-under par; among them was tipster pick and last week’s runner up, Phil Mickelson, who defied the cold by playing his last nine holes in short-sleeves.

“I started to get a little bit warm,” Mickelson said. “It felt great.”

Mickelson, along with Chris Riley, Joe Ogilvie, Jeff Overton, Matt Bettencourt and Dustin Johnson – who reached 4-under par through just five holes before being forced off the course due to fading light.

Afterwards, Mickelson revealed the course played better than expected, despite the weather conditions.
“I expected the golf course to be frozen and balls to be bouncing on the greens quite a ways.” Mickelson said. “It played terrific. The greens were receptive.”

A further eight players tied on 3-under par and a share of 14th place, with Jimmy Walker the only player in that group still to complete.

Bubba Watson, winner of last week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines opened with a 1-under par 70, which included three bogeys in the closing four holes.

Anthony Kim and Ryan Palmer, the remaining pair in the tipster trio for this week were level par and 2-over par respectively, having played through five holes.

Frost delays start of Waste Management Phoenix Open

Frost and Arizona are perhaps two words you won’t often see in the same sentence, but the freak weather that has swept across parts of the United States has forced the PGA Tour to delay the start of the Waste Management Phoenix Open after frost set into the ground, making the course unplayable.

The cold snap has already claimed Wednesday’s Pro-Am event.

Normally, temperatures in the Scottsdale area – which is home to the event’s TPC Scottsale course – are around the 21c mark, but the cold snap has saw the mercury plummet to below freezing.

With play having already been delayed and due to start around 11.40am (EST), the temperature at 7.30am was -3c and has been slow to climb throughout the morning. Indeed, the forecast high for Thursday is only 10c, much like those temperatures that the UK has seen in recent days.

Latest reports from the PGA Tour suggest that the first day’s play will be delayed by at least 3 hours, and cancellation of the first round altogether has not been ruled out with the possibility of a Monday finish.

To add to the chill, the winds are reported to be ranging between 10-20 mph, and with another hard frost forecast overnight, the tournament is clearly facing an uphill battle to keep to schedule if they are to finish on Sunday.

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