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Low scores receive low blows
NEW ALBANY, Ohio -- On Sunday, Wendy Ward shot 21-under par to capture the Wendy's Championship for Children at the New Albany Country Club. The total not only set a 54-hole LPGA scoring record, it caused a buzz in the press room. "This course is just too easy," said a veteran golf writer with The Columbus Dispatch. Three hundred miles away, in Grand Blanc, Mich., a couple of PGA Tour also-rans -- Kenny Perry and Billy Mayfair -- were making Warwick Hills Country Club look like the Sea Cove Putt-Putt, minus the clown mouths and windmills. Perry won the Buick Open at 25 under and Mayfair set a PGA Tour record Sunday with a 27 on the closing nine.
Did anyone tell him the course was too easy? No, everyone patted him on the back and said that was an unbelievable round. So why is it that when Ward entered the press room after such an impressive performance, the questioning went along the lines of: Would you like to see the course setup changed? Would you like to see it lengthened? What does the tour think about the low scoring? Thankfully, Ward gave a terrific answer. "It's great for our tour," said Ward, who hit 18 greens on Saturday en route to a 10-under 62. "This just shows you the quality of players we have out here. It gives us a marketing tool. I'd love to see more and more of it. I hope the public eye gives us credit for the good golf and doesn't consider this an easy course. This was a good test of golf this week." The media weren't the only ones chirping for changes in the course. Earlier in the week, Karrie Webb complained that she was hitting too many short irons and Annika Sorenstam, who finished three shots behind Ward, said she would like to see some teeth added to the Jack Nicklaus layout. "There are a lot of tees behind us; there are several holes where we walk past tee boxes to get to our tee," Sorenstam said. "I know you can definitely lengthen a lot of holes, especially some of the par-5s; some of the par-4s also. I wouldn't mind seeing some more rough." Well, Karrie and Annika, stop your whining. If the course was so darn easy, then why didn't you win? The reason Webb and Sorenstam are the top two players on the LPGA Tour is that they're the best long-iron hitters. Of course they want to see longer courses -- that's how they can continue to line their own pockets. Over the last couple of years there has been ongoing, spirited debate on the LPGA about upholding the integrity of the game. Golf purists think that winning scores should be somewhere around even par. These modern-day Bobby Joneses also are against lift, clean and place (preferred lies because of wet conditions) and feel no one should be able to reach a par-5 in two. Well, no one seems to question the integrity of the game when Tiger Woods is hitting wedges to the par-5s at Augusta National -- even though Jones is probably rolling over in his grave. In today's TV-controlled, luxury-box world, golf has become just another form of entertainment like the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. The big top rolls into town every year and people are amazed by the high-wire acts and gigantic elephants -- because it's something they don't see every day. No one wants to come to a golf tournament to see bogeys and pars -- they can see those and probably more in their weekly Saturday game. Fans want to see someone like Michelle McGann make two eagles on the front nine or Mhairi McKay post an early 63 to go from worrying about making the cut to contention. So while it might not have been positively amazing to see someone shoot 21 under in three days, it was fun to watch and definitely worth the price of admission. Tom Hanson, a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus section, is a longtime caddie on the LPGA Tour. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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