Brennans Caddy Report-The Memorial Tournament

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:13:33

I was very happy in the way that Mike finished last week at Colonial. He played well on the weekend and more importantly putted very well. It was the first time in a long time where he got off to a great start on Saturday with birdies on five of the first six holes and went on to shoot -4 which was one of the better scores of the day. You can see the confidence building which is great to see and I hope we can keep it going this week into the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

This event is known as Jack's Tournament because of his hands-on involvement in this event. The golf course is always one of the best on tour and is always in fantastic shape. Jack got everyone's attention a few years ago when he went to these new rakes that left very large grooves in the bunkers. He feels that the sand in the traps nowadays is not penal enough and that players shouldn't be happy to miss shots into traps. After a lot of complaining in 2006 he revised his plan and went back to the older style rakes that didn't leave any grooves. This year he is meeting in the middle with rakes that do leave grooves but smaller than they use to. I am one who doesn't mind this at all. Tour players are so good from the sand that this does force them to think a little more on both approach shots and sand saves. With the rough as deep as it is this year you will have some decisions to make if you are going to try to advance the ball to the green.

The condition of the golf course is perfect! This course is always one of the best conditioned courses all year but this year it is as good as I have ever seen it. I remember the first time I stepped foot on this property when I played in the US Junior Championship in 1987. I couldn't imagine a course being in better shape than this one. I am still not sure there is, even after all the courses that I have seen. Most courses we see on tour are in great shape but this course is as good as it gets. The greens are smooth, the fairways are immaculate and the rough is treacherous. There is really not much else I can say except that it can't get any better. It seems that we always get lots of rain during this event but the weather looks good this week as the temperatures are going to be a little cooler and dryer. Because of this, I don't think we are going to see the very low scores that we have seen here in the past.

It should be a great week as we are paired with the winners from the past few events. Sergio won the Players Championship and Phil won last week at Colonial so it should make for some exciting and competitive golf. Sergio is always fun to play with as he has lots of energy and keeps things exciting. Phil, who just so happened to be the one who eliminated me in the 1987 US Junior is playing some of his best golf in while. It really isn't that important who we are paired with but when you get a grouping like this it adds a bit of excitement to the first two days.

I got to spend a few days back in Canada early this week which was great. With the event being so close to home (in Columbus, Ohio) this week it was nice to be able to get home and see some family and friends for a few days. It isn't that often that I come back to St. Thomas with my family in Dallas, but it was nice to be able to spend a few days there and see everyone. I am sure if Mike is playing well this week there will be a lot of people from Southern Ontario down here to root him on.

The last thing I will say is that I have been very disappointed with the hockey playoffs over the past week. I was disappointed when Dallas was eliminated but after what I have seen so far I think the Stars were a better team then we gave them credit for. Detroit has completely dominated Pittsburgh so far which tells you just how good Detroit really is. I am hoping that Pittsburgh can make a series of it this week but I just don't think it is realistic. Having hockey finish for the year is sad for me as I love to watch games when I am on the road! Hopefully Pittsburgh can turn it around and deliver some good hockey to tide me over until the fall.

Thanks for reading,

Brennan