Had a fantastic day at the Monday Practice Round (yesterday). Even though only a little over half the field played practice rounds I got a chance to see some of the better players struggle with the newly lengthened first hole. I sat right behind the first tee and listened to most of the players plan out a driver-4 iron approach. The bunker on the right was barely in play for most. However, two players really stood out. Tiger and Vijay both blasted perfect tee shots up the hill leaving short
irons to the green. The lengthening may backfire as this was a terrific advantage for the longer hitters. Mickelson didn't play on Monday.
Later in the nine hole round Vijay was struggling and Tiger was consistently 20-25 yards longer than everyone (smiling the whole time). We saw no one play better than Tiger. However, we noticed that one shorter hitter, Jose Maria Olazabol, was really playing well. He really placed his shots into the green well. He's a master with his short game that could put him near the top again this week. Luke Donald may be a dark horse in the tournament. He was really practicing hard.
Just a few notes from a weekend hacker.
I tried to attach a picture of Tiger's followthrough after blasting his first tee shot. Maybe it worked.