AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > September > 15 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USPoor, proud old East Lake yields a 60
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
My God, have they no respect for posterity? The image of Bobby Jones? The self-respect of the grand old course where he chiseled out his fate with golf?
All week long East Lake had been victimized, saturated with rain, greens about the consistency of fudge, lying there unprotected against the surge of the 30 highest-rated golfers off the PGA Tour. Saturday, the assault peaked under the guise of the Tour Championship (presented by Coca-Cola) en route to the FedEx Cup, otherwise known as Finchem’s Folly.
General Oglethorpe discovered Georgia in 17-something. Zach Johnson, already the Masters and AT&T Classic champion, lay claim to another third of it. The bright and starry-eyed son of Iowa blew the hinges off the course with a solid round of 60, and that broke the record that Geoff Ogilvy, U.S. Open champion a year removed, had just tied. Not that Johnson has any chance of the big prize, even if he shoots another 60 today, for Tiger Woods is still the man in the lead, safely en route to the first FedEx Cup, and the accompanying $10 million pot he now leaves in the hands of the PGA investment pros.
Johnson isn’t eligible. Only five are, and four, Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini and K.J. Choi, all are left in Woods’ fumes. Today, though, Zach Johnson was the story, for all the birdies that Woods could slap on the scoreboard. The man from Des Moines was taking most of the bows, flirting, as he did on this magic soil, with the elusive score of 59.
“When you start thinking about a number, it’s not a good thing,” he said. “Shooting a 59 or winning at Augusta are two totally different things. I have no idea what I shot at 18 in Augusta, but I had a pretty good idea what I shot today.” It hit him, he said, about the time he eagled the 15th hole, a par-5.
Johnson has won three tournaments in his PGA Tour career, all in Georgia, peculiarly: The AT&T when it was BellSouth in 2004; of course, the jewel in his crown, the Masters last April, followed by the AT&T in May. “I don’t know what it is about Georgia,” he said, “maybe the land, the grass, the people.”
He fell into a sort of a summer slumber thereafter. “I guess it was just the whirlwind life. I was just getting used to the clutter and chaos that goes with winning a major. All good stuff, I mean.”
Setting a record at East Lake is by no means a ticket to the winner’s circle here. Birdies and eagles started popping up on the leaderboard like popcorn in a popper. Out of nowhere came Mark Calcavecchia, 47, a sleeping giant whose game came awake. Right behind came Sergio Garcia, all in a line of pursuit. But Woods, taking note of all the pursuers in his wake, turned on the juice himself on the back nine. You talk about a “chase,” this was what this was supposed to be all about, I’d suppose.
Spectators have rarely, if ever, had a more roaring afternoon at a Tour Championship. Johnson was already in with his 60 when Woods birdied 11, 14, 15 and 16, and missed another on 18 with one of his infamous lipouts.
Thus, the field charges into today with Calcavecchia three strokes off Woods’ 191, Garcia two behind Calcavecchia, and finally, at 197 comes Johnson. Ogilvy’s 61 left him tied at even 200 with Padraig Harrington.
Poor, proud old East Lake was left in tatters. All the skills of designers Donald Ross, George Cobb, Rees Jones and intermittent tweakers had no defense for these lustful attackers. The course record of another day once was a 63, set by Bobby Jones himself, now left in the cobwebs of time.
And for all the fears and wringing of hands about the state of the greens, suffering from summer drought and broiling sun, there has yet a complaint to be filed.
East Lake lies there a helpless victim, and in parting, let me leave you with the nomination for surprise gamer of the week, the portly Calcavecchia, who, comparing his fitness to Woods the other day, said, “He could run from here to downtown. I couldn’t run out of a burning house.”
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Comments
By Joe
September 15, 2007 9:13 PM | Link to this
Hats off to ELGC for a great venue given the early weather problems. Shout out to the guys on #6 today you did a great job.
By Bryan Lewis
September 16, 2007 10:37 AM | Link to this
Sergio Garcia is going to tank it tonight. He was out on the town until the wee hours of the morning.
By Well
September 16, 2007 8:32 PM | Link to this
Calcavecchia is a little whiner. He had nothing but complaints this week about the course, facilities, city, lodging, food, service, etc…… Hey Calc, go away and never come back. Atlanta doesn’t need old timers like you to come in here complaining while walking away with $700K. Here’s an idea, try to APPEAR like you’re having fun to make the paying customers feel like they are getting their money’s worth. Calc is the epitome of what’s wrong with professional sports today.