Mike Weir's brazen backhanded recovery shot broke one of golf's cardinal rules,
and it cost him the Honda Classic
By Bill Madonna
One of GOLF MAGAZINE's Top 100 Teachers
Courtesy of NBC
THE RULE when playing recovery shots is simple: Don't be
cute, just get the ball back into play. When lefty Mike Weir reached the 10th
hole at the TPC at Heron Bay on Sunday, he was 16 under par and one stroke
behind the leader, Joey Sindelar. Weir hooked his tee shot at the 408-yard
par-!4, and the ball came to rest hard against a cluster of thick rye grass in a
grove of trees. He had two options: take an unplayable lie or punch out sideways
by turning a club around and hitting right-handed. He chose neither. Yes, Weir
addressed the ball from the right side with a turned-around short iron, but he
made the mistake of taking a full swing in an attempt to advance
the ball toward the green. He nearly whiffed, and the ball squirted a few feet
to the right into a worse position. Weir then did what he should have done in
the first place: simply punch out. He hit his next shot on the green and
two-putted for a double bogey. Weir never recovered, limping home with a
75 -- the second-worst score of the day -- and finished
11th.
GREENS MACHINE Everybody knows the value of a great short game, but Matt Kuchar
won his first Tour title by taking the axiom to an extreme. On Sunday he hit
only 11 greens in regulation -- one fewer than Weir -- but was magical
around the greens. During a back nine 31, Kuchar made sand saves on three
consecutive holes and needed only 11 putts. His closing 66 gave him a stout
two-shot victory. As good as Kuchar's short game was, though, he had some help.
Heron Bay's flat greens and shallow, lipless bunkers are among the easiest on
Tour.
WEIRD SCIENCE Perhaps Weir took a full swing on his first recovery attempt at
number 10 because he's comfortable doing things from his opposite side. He
writes right-handed and says he can shoot in the 80s as a righty. Nevertheless,
he's a control player, and he should know how foolish it is to turn a club
around and go for broke with a title on the line, especially given how well he
was playing. (He had tied a three-round tournament scoring record with a
16-under 200.) Weir's flawed decision making makes me wonder if he will ever
learn how to hold a lead down the stretch. He's now winless in the five events
in which he has led after 54
holes.
Bill Madonna is the director of instruction for the National Association of
Golf Coaches and Educators and one of Golf Magazine's Top 100
Teachers.
Courtesy of NBC
