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Saturday, August 19, 2006
Medinah shown scant reverence
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Medinah, Ill. — The third round began as a stampede. At one time there was a 10-way tie for the lead at 8 under par at the PGA Championship. The teeing-off continued, but when Luke Donald of Hempstead, England, educated at Northwestern University a few miles away in Evanston, took to the course the logjam began to break up. Donald is an artist, both on the course and at the easel, and almost as if ordained, back in the Great Midwest where he established himself as the best golfer on American campuses, he made his stand, but in the end, there was no doubt who was the lead hoss.
Tiger Woods had already re-established his game in the United Kingdom, and before this day at Medinah was over, he had taken charge of America again. The old No. 3 course became his puppy. He tried to take it apart and leave nothing but a skeleton. The Other Left-hander, Mike Weir, had tied the course record of 65 before Woods tied Weir. That is remindful of the last PGA Championship played here in 1999, when Woods and Weir went out tied for the lead after three rounds. On Sunday it was a rout. Woods only had to shoot even-par 72 to win. Weir, yet to reach his Masters championship form, disintegrated. He shot 80.
They won’t be paired Sunday, for Donald intervened. The 28-year-old Britisher held his ground and finished in a tie with Woods at 14 under par. That doesn’t ease Weir’s mission any at all, for he will be paired with a rising star who first established himself at the U.S. Open, Goeff Ogilvy, another one of that influx of Australians. Ogilvy, in fact, may be the most imposing new figure in tour golf, any continent.
There was a new issue that arose overnight that brought Medinah’s worthiness as a major’s course into debate. Arron Oberholser, 31, whom some expect to become a front-page player in time, made it ahead of date with his criticism of Medinah as a major championship course.
“It’s not playing like a championship course, in my opinion. It’s playing more like Wachovia,” he said. “It’s playing too easy, turning into a putting competition.”
Not easy enough for Oberholser, however. He missed the cut by a stroke. Nevertheless, his opinion found support among several players who did make it into the third round, Stewart Cink, for one. “The holes aren’t that long” — though the PGA of America trumpeted the fact that this is the longest course in majors history — “and the greens are soft and slow,” the Duluth resident said. “The soft greens are pretty much defenseless. It just doesn’t have that edgy feel that a major usually has.”
Jim Furyk said, “It’s a nice golf course, and it’s set up fair,” but then reverted to the U.S. Open. “I thought that Winged Foot was awesome, probably the best job I’ve ever seen of setting up an Open.”
Rarely ever is the cut in a major as low as even par, as at Medinah this week. The Medinah course is in a recovery state from reconditioning, and players complained about the lack of root structure on the greens. Some like it, as do Chris DiMarco and Phil Mickelson, who was asked if low scoring took away from the stature of the championship.
“I would disagree with that,” he said.
On the other hand, there was Sergio Garcia, who finished runner-up to Woods in the championship here in 1999. “Would you like to see low scores like this in a major?” he was asked.
“No,” he said. “Even par. I definitely don’t enjoy these events.”
So a PGA Championship that got off hoisted on the prospect of some kind of confrontation between Woods and Mickelson, mainly the fabrication of an over-exercised press, veered off into another distraction. As for Tiger and Lefty, their two-day pairing couldn’t have come off with any less rancor. They shook hands, they smiled, they went about their game in businesslike style, and the third party to their pairing merely smiled and said, “If anything happens, I’ve got the best seat in the house.”
And just to keep him in focus, Ogilvy is a man to keep in mind with 18 holes to play.
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Holyfield’s victory not much of a test
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Dallas — Exactly what Evander Holyfield has left in his worn 43-year-old body couldn’t be certain Friday night. But as long as he continues to make comeback fights against obscurities, a lot of magic isn’t necessary.
Holyfield fought for the first time in nearly two years and won for the first time in four. It didn’t take long. Never known for being a knockout puncher, the former champion nonetheless had an easy night against Jeremy Bates, who took two months off from his insurance job to train for what amounted to less than six minutes of work.
Holyfield pounded Bates against the ropes, throwing close to two dozen straight unanswered punches before referee Rafael Ramos stepped in to stop the bout at 2:56 of the second round.
It was the quickest win for Holyfield since a second-round knockout of Adilson Rodrigues in 1989. The win follows a late-career slide for Holyfield, who had lost three straight fights and was 2-5-2 in the previous nine.
“Forty-three ain’t all that bad,” said Holyfield after the fight. “I’m happy to win the fight.”
Chants of “Holyfield, Holyfield” went up early in the first round, but Holyfield did not respond until connecting with a short right hand with less than a minute remaining. The shot seemed to stagger Bates, who soon found himself against the ropes. Holyfield moved in and cleaned up, but the round ended.
Holyfield went back on the attack in the second round and, though he never knocked down Bates, connected with shots to the head and body. Eventually, it was target practice.
What all of this proves isn’t certain. Bates doesn’t qualify as much of a test, especially for a fighter who used to pride himself on fighting only the best. But Holyfield is a four-time champion who insists he is destined to be a five-time champion.
“We’re looking to fight a top 10 contender now,” he said. “Eventually, I’ll be heavyweight champion of the world again. “Forty-four or 45 [years old], it doesn’t matter.”
It wasn’t a typical fight atmosphere Friday. American Airlines Center seemed more like a TV studio. The bout was part of a Fox Sports show, and the ringside announcer told the crowd to cheer when the broadcast started.
Pleas to retire from others in his sport, fans and media echoed for months. Or years, depending on your tolerance level.
This comeback, Holyfield says, will be different. But then, boxers seldom have excuses for bad performances. They just have massive rationalizations.
Holyfield’s reasoning: He’s finally healthy. Never mind that there was a similar claim before the Larry Donald fight. Never mind that he pronounced himself fit before entering the ring against James Toney. The lightly regarded Donald won such a lopsided decision that the New York Athletic Commission banned Holyfield from fighting in the state. Toney, a bloated former middleweight, pummeled Holyfield to the point that trainer Don Turner stopped the fight in the ninth round.
For his protective services, Turner was fired.
Now he is healthy again, he claims.
“I’m happy to be over the injuries. I want everybody to know the past 4-5 years I was injured. A lot of people don’t understand that the last three fights I was hurting, but I didn’t want to quit.”
Holyfield is 43, and a hard 43. His career was not built on one-punch knockouts. He has endured long battles. At his peak, he was a premier counter-puncher and could impose his will on opponents. But now against quality opponents he struggles to dodge punches or fire back on cue. The eyes see an opening, but the hands are slow to follow commands.
Holyfield is the last man wobbling from his era. The contenders he beat to get to the top, the champions he dumped once he got there — they’re all gone: Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, Riddick Bowe (though Bowe has toyed with an ill-advised comeback).
He wasn’t expected to make more than $500,000 for the Bates fight, and there’s little reason to believe he would make much more for the next one. Depending on how he looked against Bates, adviser Lester Bedford said Holyfield could fight again as soon as six weeks, probably in San Antonio. Then, maybe again in December. The idea is to stay busy and try to build some semblance of momentum. Good luck with that.
Everybody with a conscience on Holyfield’s team has been replaced. Bedford stepped in as promoter for this latest comeback attempt. He uttered the standard promoter’s response when asked about backing a seemingly worn-down boxer: “I don’t tell them to fight or not fight. If I started telling fighters I didn’t think they should fight, I’d be out of my business.”
I’m not sure, but I think promoters and defense attorneys eat at the same delis.
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