WGC-NEC Invitational

To recap last week at the PGA Championship, I guess the golf course, Baltusrol, was the winner as everyone just kept backing up as the final day went on.   I thought the PGA of America set up the course very fair and kept the greens playable, and overall it was a great test on a great golf course.  I have a feeling we will be back there again sometime soon for another championship. 

Mike and I got stuck in New Jersey on Sunday night due to bad weather, and then ended up flying to Montreal on Monday for Mike to announce the 2007 Presidents Cup to be played in Montreal.  I know the people that attended the announcement were very excited about the event and I think that the entire country will see just how big this is once we get closer to the date.  It is not that often that you can have an event with all the big players in attendance, especially in our own country.  I think this is a big announcement for golf and Canada.  After the announcement and a little reception with some influential business people in Montreal we made our way down to Akron, Ohio for this weeks event, the WGC- NEC Invitational. 

As the four majors are now over this has to be one of the best atmospheres of any PGA event.  The tension is down and everyone has realized that it is a privilege to be invited to this event.  It also doesn't hurt that there are 72 players and a 7.5 million dollar payroll, with no cut!   

Also, as a caddy, this is one of the top three tournaments of the year in terms of how we are treated.  We get to park in the clubhouse lot, the hospitality is great and the tournament organizers are fantastic. 

Firestone, the host golf course this week is a great course, and somewhat similar to last week in that it is long and right in front of you.  What I mean by that is there are no tricks or blind shots.  The fairways are very defined by the rough and you can see the entire hole from the tee.  

The conditions this week are the best that I have ever seen Firestone in.  The fairways are very short and tight, and the greens are absolutely perfect!  The rough is pretty thick in spots but playable in others.  There are going to be some times where you get good lies and will be able to hit the ball to the green, other times you will have to hack the ball back out to the fairway. 

What I really like about the course is that the first two holes are not that difficult.  The first is a short par 4 at 399 yards and Mike will use a three wood off the tee.  A wedge or nine iron in for the second shot will leave a good birdie opportunity out of the gate.  The second hole is a very reachable par 5 at 526 yards, where you really feel like you should make birdie.  If you don't you feel like you let one get away.  It is key to get off to a good start on this course and get under par early as the course gets more difficult from here. 

The 7^th is a long par 3 at 219 yards where we normally hit a 3 or 4 iron to a pretty thin green.  Par is a good score on this hole.  On the back nine, the 16th is the hole that most talk about and the signature hole of Firestone.  It is a 667-yard par 5 that has water guarding the front of the green.  A few years ago they added a bunch of yardage to it so now its a three shot hole for most of the guys.  I think it was great when it play 600 or so and guys would attempt to get there with long irons and woods which made it much more exciting for the spectators and viewers.  Courses just don't like to see par 5s hit in two all the time so they keep adding yardage and it changes the hole completely from the way it was designed! 

The key this week in my mind is to drive the ball well.  The course plays quite long so you need to be able to get the ball in the fairway in order to make birdies.  As with any event you have to be able to putt but you need to make some birdies here and it will be hard to do that from the rough. 

My prediction for the winning score is 14 under par. 

Thanks for reading,