Singh - at home on the Plantation course.
INSIDE TRACK - MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIP
By Harry Emanuel
The 2008 PGA Tour season gets underway for the 10th consecutive year, with The Mercedes-Benz Championship at the Plantation Course in Maui, Hawaii.
Only the players who won a PGA tournament in 2007 are invited with the notable exceptions being Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott.
The Plantation course plays to par 73 as it has only three par three holes and extends to 7,411 yards off the back tees. It is a long course but the slopes and contours usually result in the ball running out long distances and in the past there have been drives in excess of 450 yards on the par five 18th.
However, this year heavy rain in the build up to the tournament means the ball is not rolling out as much and the course will be playing at its longest. Brandt Snedeker acknowledged that on the long par fours: "Length could be an issue."
The players enjoy soft golf courses because it makes the fairways wider as the ball will not run out into trouble. The fairways at Kapalua are already generous in nature but they need to be with the strong trade winds that blow. Steve Flesch believes that "the wind will be the major factor this week."
The wind has been blowing steadily at 20-30mph in practice and should continue to blow quite strongly during the tournament.
Ball striking is at premium on this course as players must be able to control their ball in the wind and manufacture many different types of shots to hit the right spots on the greens or face some impossible putts.
Since the course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw there has only been one major change and that was to the greens in 2005 when they were re-laid with Ultradwarf Tif Eagle.
This new Bermuda grass has less grain and rolls faster and truer.
After nearly three years the greens have fully bedded in and this year they will roll true and incredibly smooth. All the players are very positive about them and Rory Sabbatini commented that "the greens are in the best shape I've ever seen them."
Despite the wet weather they remain fast. Mark Calcavecchia pointed out that "the down hill, down grain, down wind putts, you've just got to breathe on them and they'll get there."
It is the slope on the large greens that present a major challenge to the players. Calc added: "If you hit it on the wrong side of the hole you can start racking up some three putts pretty quickly."
Vijay Singh acknowledged he is very comfortable on this golf course because experience has taught him where to hit the ball. Whilst playing a practice round with Daniel Chopra he noticed Chopra analysing every green and having to really think out every shot. Chopra said: "On this course you have to read the greens from 200 yards out."
Experience is vital this week with debutants often struggling on the greens and Sergio Garcia is the only player to win on his debut.
Players who are match fit also have a huge advantage this week as this is not a place to find your swing in the strong winds.
Below are the hole averages from 2003-2007:
| |
Hole |
Yards |
Par |
Sc Av |
Rank |
| |
1 |
520 |
4 |
4.16 |
1 |
| |
2 |
218 |
3 |
3.15 |
2 |
| |
3 |
380 |
4 |
3.94 |
9 |
| |
4 |
382 |
4 |
4.01 |
8 |
| |
5 |
532 |
5 |
4.53 |
18 |
| |
6 |
398 |
4 |
3.82 |
14 |
| |
7 |
516 |
4 |
4.07 |
4 |
| |
8 |
203 |
3 |
3.04 |
5 |
| |
9 |
521 |
5 |
4.60 |
17 |
| |
|
3,670 |
36 |
35.34 |
|
| |
10 |
354 |
4 |
3.93 |
10 |
| |
11 |
164 |
3 |
3.03 |
7 |
| |
12 |
420 |
4 |
3.90 |
11 |
| |
13 |
407 |
4 |
4.04 |
5 |
| |
14 |
305 |
4 |
3.86 |
13 |
| |
15 |
555 |
5 |
4.69 |
15 |
| |
16 |
365 |
4 |
3.89 |
12 |
| |
17 |
508 |
4 |
4.08 |
3 |
| |
18 |
663 |
5 |
4.64 |
16 |
| |
|
3,741 |
37 |
36.06 |
|
| |
|
73 |
7,411 |
71.40 |
|
Tiger Woods once commented: "The first hole you play in any tournament is a difficult hole."
A fact that is even more evident this week as the first hole plays as the most difficult on the course. The start is very tough at the Plantation as players adjust to the wind and speed of the greens.
Scores are made on the par fives and towards the end of the round so don't be surprised if players start badly and finish strongly.
Remember there is not cut this week so players are never totally out of it after the first two days. Stuart Appleby came from nearly last on day one in 2005 to win.
