Brennans Caddy Report-EDS Byron Nelson Championship

It is the time of year when we get into one of my favourite stretches of events on the PGA TOUR, The Byron Nelson, Wachovia, and Players Championship. Three of the biggest money events of the year and three of the best run events we play all year. With these events coming up it is really a good time to get hot and start building up some good Fed Ex points and get into a better position on the money list.  It is a great time to get on a hot streak and put ourselves in position to get a win somewhat early in the season!

I'm always excited to have the Byron Nelson here in Dallas.  It's not to far from my house so it's a big bonus, especially getting to sleep in your own bed! This is going to be the first year that Mr. Nelson will not be around for his own tournament and it will be a little different for all the players not to have him there off the 18 green greeting them as they come off the course. He would always be situated in his chair next to the scoring tent and thank the players for coming and greet them once their round was finished. It was great to see not only him but just how much respect the players had for him and what he has done for this game.  I must say that I never really spent anytime with him but from all the guys who have I have never heard one negative thing ever mentioned in the same breath with his name.

This is the last year that the Byron Nelson event is going to be played on two golf courses.  The two courses that we play now are the TPC Four Seasons and the Cottonwood course which are located right next to each other. Once the event is over this year the TPC course is going under a 6 or 7 million dollar renovation that will be well needed as the course is getting a little outdated as far as PGA TOUR courses go.  The course will be ready for next years event and the entire field will play only that course.  This year we will still play one round on Cottonwood on either Thursday or Friday. One of the benefits of having two courses is the fact that they can get the field a little bit larger and keep the field a little more spread out. This event is also known for raising more money than any other event on tour therefore the Pro-am plays a big part of that and having the two courses to play on helps out.

Mike arrived into town on Monday and got to practice a bit in the afternoon with his instructors Mike and Andy.  It was a pretty relaxed day but some good work was done and that has carried over as the week has gone on. Tuesday we played 14 holes on the Cottonwood course before being pulled off the course as some severe weather was on its way in Texas style. When the storms come here they really come and we were hit with 5 inches of rain in certain areas yesterday which is a lot of rain! It was amazing that we were able to play the Pro-am today after that kind of rain but the courses were still playable much to my surprise. I think that we were the winners in the Pro-am today which would be a first in the nine years that I have been caddying for Mike!

TPC is a course that is a pretty good layout but really needs some work on the conditioning. I realize that they have been reluctant to put too much money into the course as they know they are going to demolish it, but still the greens are some of the worst I have seen in my time on tour. The fairways are pretty good and the rough is pretty penal but the greens have had a lot of trouble and they are very bumpy and very sandy.  There will be a lot of balls flying right to the pin as there really isn't much roll at all due to the sand. This will generally lead to some low scores, guys that are as good as these guys can fly the ball to the hole and not have to worry about the ball rolling very far. Aside from the greens the course is a good challenge especially with the Texas wind which is usually blowing. 
 
The best part of the TPC course is the finishing stretch.  16 is an uphill par 5 that is reachable and a place where you may see some eagles and a lot of birdies. 17 is a downhill par 3 that has water guarding the right side of the green and a big bunker on the front left which requires a very good mid iron shot to get the ball close!  There is really no bail out area on the this hole therefore missing the green is going to leave a tough chip and putt to make your par.  18 is a challenging par 4 with water down the left off the tee and trees guarding the right side of the fairway. With a good drive it is very possible to make birdie. The one thing I really like with this event is the fact that they want guys to make birdies coming home to win the event and know where par is a good score!

Cottonwood on the other hand is in much better condition and also a good test. They have a good blend of short par 4's and long par 4's and some reachable par 5's.  It always seems a little more difficult to play as you only see the course once all year therefore you are not quite familiar with all the nuances of the course. Personally I really like Cottonwood as much if not more than the TPC course.

What makes this event really special is the amount of money the salesmanship club raises for their own charity.  I personally know that the money raised goes to some great causes and to raise 6 million plus on one event is amazing. I  do my best to promote the event here in the area as I do live here and really hope that we have another good event this year. It would be very fitting to see Mike pull off a victory here in Dallas. The winner this year gets a custom EDS Championship bike that was made by the guys from Orange County Choppers! I don't think Mike would be able to get that bike out of Dallas!
 
Thanks for reading and enjoy the week!
Brennan Little