The PGA Tour moved from the Signature event at Pebble Beach to the Greatest Show on Earth at the Waste Management Open in Phoenix.  The modest, staid attendance at Pebble gave way to the circus like atmosphere at the TPC Stadium Course in Scottsdale.  Attendance for the event was in the area of 200,000 fans for the event compared to less than 50,000 for the Pebble event.  The Coliseum at the infamous par 3, 16th hole houses 20,000 fans alone per day, which is more than an  entire day at Pebble Beach.

Speith punches out with the putter on 11

Thomas Detry broke through with his first PGA Tour Victory with a wire to wire win over a pretty good field.  Detry played the Road Runner in this event with a bunch of Wile Coyotes trying to chase him down but no one came close enough to threaten Detry’s dominance in this event.  Detry played with a steely countenance that persisted through the event that communicated that he was no first round “flash in  the pan.  Detry was first in greens in regulation and second in putting for the entire field and some of his iron play reflected his “take no prisoners” type of attitude.  His swing demonstrated full commitment to every shot especially as he dumped a number of drives into the right rough or the desert but in almost every case, his recovery shot would find the putting surface.  In other venues, Detry may have run into some real trouble with these drives, but not here.  In the final round on the most difficult hole on the course–the par 4, 11th–it seemed that Detry, with a sizable lead, would approach the green with a safe shot to the right of the pin.  The 11th is probably the most difficult hole for the professional at TPC with a narrow driving area and water on the left side of the hole, which runs through the left side of the hole all the way up to the green.  The Sunday pin is always a few paces from the water so going after this pin is ill advised.  After a 350 yard drive, Detry had 150 yards to the hole and chose a 9 iron, and it seemed he would approach the green to the right of the hole.  Instead he launched the ball towards the pin on a dangerous line but the ball landed a few feet past the hole on the left landing dangerously close  to the water but checked up.  He then proceeded to hole the putt for an improbable birdie, which was another stroke advantage on the field.  The tournament marked a nice return for Jordan Speith, who is still recovering from last year’s wrist surgery, played very well and started to putt like the Speith of major championship caliber.  He hit a number of wayward drives into the desert but his putting and chipping saved him from a number of disastrous results.  On the 11th hole on Sunday, Speith hit his drive in the desert into a plant.  He had no shot to advance the ball and after considerable consternation took a putter and hit the ball back barely to the edge of the desert.  He then took a hybrid club and knocked it on the green from almost 200 yards out-the fans gasped at this shot and then rejoiced further as he holed a 15 footer, which could be labeled as an impossible par.  Detry put a fork in the field leaving no doubt to his impressive first win on the PGA Tour with three consecutive birdies on the closing holes.

The 16th Coliseum

The TPC Stadium Course is a wonderful course to play, in my view, with considerable variability and different looks in the design of the course.  For the PGA Tour professional, it  doesn’t present much of a challenge as there is no rough on the course and the fairways run fast and true.  It seems to me that every hole for the professional is a realistic opportunity for birdie except perhaps the 11th and the 14th holes.  For the pros, I would reduce par to 68 or 69 or bring the fairways in with some higher rough, where the opportunities to toughen the course would be on the front side.  It was rather surprising to see the professionals have a little difficulty on the par 5, 13th hole with a patch of desert designed into the middle of the fairway with green grass on either side.  Many of the professionals ended up in the desert patch including Scottie Scheffler with unplayable lies in bushes or rocks.  The most difficult holes are the 11th and the 14th, long par 4’s with sufficient trouble demanding accurate drives.  Then there is the par 3, 16th hole carved out as the Roman Coliseum hole.  Pin placements for the event move from easy to very hard for the final round.  The hole boosts as many as 20,000 fans in the stands, which could double as an apartment complex in Scottsdale.  The fans boo shots that are too far from the pin and cheer anything else that is closer.  It is intimidating to hit a golf shot in front of 20,000 people who are on your case from setup, shot and result.  In the final round, the 16th played as one of the toughest holes on the course as players that are amped up by the crowd can knock the shot over the green, where chipping back to the hole demands almost perfection.

I’ve had the opportunity to play TPC Scottsdale many times over the years as it is a “must play” for me everytime I’m in the Phoenix area.  The variety of the course from hole to hole creates a different look and challenge.  For the daily fee player, the number of tees available enable the playability of the course.  Golf in Arizona can be a bit boring with green fairway grass surrounded by desert with its host of menacing plants, cacti and mysterious creatures including snakes and varieties of varmits.  The different looks that you get at TPC offsets the boredom as it causes you to think about the required positioning of your efforts.  Still in all, I would like to see the professionals have to struggle a bit more by reducing par to at least 70 with narrower fairways and faster greens to deal with.  The course can’t be lengthened any more and doing so doesn’t stop the professional from going low in the current setup.

Congrats to Thomas Detry…he defied the experts and pounded out an impressive victory.

Oh by the way….I was not one of the 127.7M that watched Super Bowl 59.

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