Golf: Blue Monster Not So Scary Without Wind
By Les Bailey
Even a golf course as scary as The Blue Monster at Doral turns into a kitty when there is no wind to fear. The WGC-Cadillac Championship got underway on Thursday afternoon with 45 of the top touring pro’s in the world teeing it up in a tournament that rewards Race To Dubai points, as well as FedEx Cup points in addition to a pretty heavy purse.
The marquee grouping of the top three players in OWGR Rankings, have completed their first round, and the best round in the bunch was Tiger Woods, who carded a -6 under par 66. Woods must have done something since last weeks frustration at The Honda, because he looked in total control of his game. Luke Donald finished at -2 under 70, and the third member, Rory McIlroy struggled again with his swing, and with the help of an eagle three at the par five first hole, finished his day at 1 over par.
Tiger got it going early with birdies at 11 and 12, before hitting the meat of Doral. He dropped two at 13 and 14, and made the turn at 34. He had a pretty quiet front nine that saw him roll five birdies in the hole. He lost a stroke at the third hole when he pulled his drive to the left off of the tee. He got lucky when ricocheted back into the first cut. He would pull his second shot to the left of the green, and couldn’t get up and down.
Luke Donald put up some pretty good numbers on the day, but a total wipe out on the 18th hole with double bogey would leave him playing catch up. Luke played well on the front nine, carding four birdies and no bogeys en-route to his -2 under par day. Donald, playing with the big hitters, consistently was the short guy, hitting first. He played in Luke Donald fashion however with pinpoint iron play, a great short game, and spot on putting.
Rory McIlroy continues to struggle with his swing. Somewhere along the way, he has lost most of his confidence. He continues to get the club on the wrong swing plane, which keeps him playing from un-scorable places on the golf course. I personally don’t think his new clubs are creating his problem at this time, but rather rust on his game. He just hasn’t played enough to groove his stuff.
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