Date Written: March 10, 2008
To say that golf's a "head game" is an obvious understatement. The mental part of the game is about as painful as running the last six miles of a marathon. When I step on the first tee, I can almost be guaranteed that I'll metaphorically puke over two bad decisions that I'll make during the round. Golf to me is, at the very least, a love/hate relationship. Sometimes it feels like working for a stupid boss. And then, of course, I realize that the stupid boss is ME! Now I got to figure out how to fire ME! On the other hand, it's comforting to know that I have good company. The pro's were puking all over themselves at The Pods this past weekend. Wily vet, Jeff Maggert, goes 8-under in his first 27 holes and then 10-over in his next 27 holes. Rookie of the Year, Brandt Snedeker has a four shot lead early in round three, 3-whacks from twelve feet and "unwinds." Calc breaks 3 hearts (Art, Lutzie & Corned Beef Taco) by finishing 3 over on his last 6 holes. And most suck-CINK-ly, Stewart does a nifty swan dive down the toilet on the last nine holes to hand the whole she-bang to steady, green-hitting Sean O'Hair. Sink has failed to win eight of the nine times he has been leading going into a final round. It's apparent that in order to succeed as a player at this level, one can NEVER get too high or too discouraged because the ultimate pain of the game can happen at any time. I'm reminded of the "Migraine Headache Art" feature in the New York Times about a week ago. If you have the time, click on the link below and try and visually relate to your own story of how you felt when last you hit some stupid, ill-thought-out, ego-driven shot.http://migraine.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/migraine-art-slideshow/?
The tough Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort in Tampa didn't make it any easier. As a matter of fact, all the courses in the Florida rotation are tough. 4-under gets the job done yesterday and 6-under was good enough at The Honda last week. Last year, 8-under won for Veej at Bay Hill (Arnold's gig) which is coming up this week and Doral's renovated Blue Monster course is no piece of cake in two weeks. I'll add it up after Doral, but my guess is that if you go "even par" in FLA you make a pile of dough. And that's not counting the dreaded TPC at Sawgrass which will be played in May.
Bob Bruce gets off the deck and Scott Winegar leaps a spot near the lead with their fortunate pick of John Senden at The Pods. Senden was one of six players who tied for 2nd, two shots from tying for the win. Nice going boys. Sometimes (especially in my case), it's fun to root against the field. Five Garcia's and five Donald's this week at Arnie's. Garcia's putting like a dog and Luke's already won over a million smackers this season. Only one NS...Stenson...sorry Dougie.
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