AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2006 > August > 19 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMedinah 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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By It'sAllAboutMoneyandSkin
August 19, 2006 11:18 PM | Link to this
Terrence’s article is on the mark regardless of how racist it may sound, and the article actually isn’t racist – he presented facts. It is a perception of the reader and their overall opinion of the order of things in this country. We know the truth doesn’t always make us feel good about ourselves. Baseball is a reserved sport and the higher minorities progress – the fewer in number play the game: little league, high school, college, and pros. Compare it to corporate America and the glass ceiling. It has nothing to do with education, but it has lots to do with exposure and money. East Cobb is a baseball player-producing machine for large Division I and II conference schools. The fees to play on an East Cobb team normally run thousands of dollars, but there are parents who can afford this expense and even may come from other states just to get the exposure for their kids. It is expensive to travel from state to state, tournament to tournament – plus equipment, hotels, etc. Good for them, not a problem if they can comfortably afford it. No you aren’t going to get a lot of black kids – reality is – no matter how good the kid may be – very few can afford this they are from a single parent household or not. Opportunities denied to a family in other ways also prevent opportunities to do things as frivolous as this may appear to some. (By the way, being a kid from a single parent home doesn’t keep a child from being successful in this country). Big Conference schools have big boosters – these boosters aren’t going to support a baseball program filled with a lot of black faces on the field. It isn’t racist; it is just the way it is. It may be okay for little league or high school – but not for large DI & II colleges or the pros. Many black kids who are great baseball athletes in high school and are academically sound are more likely to go to colleges where students are offered top notch educational opportunities and the opportunity to play the sport, i.e., Morehouse College, Bethune-Cookman, Coppin State and Florida A & M just to name a small number. However, scouts seldom go to such schools looking for pro players, unless it’s football. Why? Other than Bethune (on the coast in Florida where several of the pro teams workout) which is a historically black college with mostly Hispanic coaches and players, how many of these colleges even get a visit or contact for potential baseball prospects? Visits to these schools would be a start. And you say it isn’t about money? Many of the historically black colleges gave up the sport of baseball when women sports grew. This also helped to lead to the decline in the sport from a college level because these schools really are the best chance for many kids to continue to play the sport beyond high school, and potentially make the pros after obtaining an education. Maybe Terrence can write an interesting article on this topic that won’t be so controversial and still represent the truth as he did in his current article.
By Craig A.
August 20, 2006 08:05 AM | Link to this
Maybe Sergio should win a major before he can state disapproval of the way a course is playing. Oberholser? Who’s he? Why’s he still there? Shouldn’t he be on his way to the next event?
The course is soft and the greens are soft. The best players in the world are able to throw shots on top of flags and know that they will hold. Besides, aren’t they all playing the same course? If the course is so easy then why aren’t the Sergio’s and Oberholser’s leading the tournament? Oh yeah, there’s this guy named Tiger who is on top of the board. Sergio has proven before that he wants no part of Tiger head-up.
Go Tiger. Go USA Ryder Cup!
By Bob M.
August 20, 2006 03:39 PM | Link to this
Oberholser complains about everything (especially when he quits/gets defeated): his back, his elbow, his back, his hip, his back, Annika (and devine intervention), his back, Wie and crying “that’s foul” about Wie’s dad, his back, jet lag, his back, his friend’s tv, his back and more. In ‘05, Brett Q. and Joey S. told him he has the worst attitude. For a man who claims “I found peace” of course after winning…I digress!