Capelle On Golf

Phil Mickelson – Defending Champion
The pretourney favorite shot a credible round of 70 built on the strength of 14 greens in regulation. A bogey on the easy par 5 12th kept him from a really good round. We’ll see how his game really stacks up after he finishes his round on what is supposed to be a windy Friday afternoon.

The Painful 17th Hole
Ernie Els was cruising along at -2 thru 16 holes when he hit a wedge fat and it entered the drink 10 feet short of the 17th green. He walked off the green a few minutes later with a double par (6). Els, to his credit, bounced back with a birdie on 18 to finish with an afternoon round of 72. It took every ounce of restraint for Els to curb his comments about 17, although he did say he would like to “blow it up.”

Former Champions on Day One
Eight former champions are in the field. Seven drew the favorable morning times, but only Mickelson (70), Steve Elkington (69), and Fred Couples (70) managed to break par. Adam Scott shot a 75 in the afternoon, so he has a chance for a Friday morning comeback. Making the cut is going to be a major chore for Friday afternoon starters Davis Love III (73), Fred Funk (74), Stephen Ames (74), and Justin Leonard (75).

Kelly Tilghman and Nick Faldo Shine
I’m glad the Golf Channel kept Kelly and Nick together long enough for them to click. They now appear to be on top of their respective games. Kelly scored a birdie with her attempts to name the finishing three holes at the TPC at Sawgrass. While perhaps not as catchy as Amen Corner at the Masters, Buzzsaw and Sawmill are still viable choices.

She also scored a couple of bogeys. She referred to Ernie Els as the third ranked player when he’s fourth in the WGR. And she telegraphed D.J. Trahan’s second shot showed on tape to number nine that set up an eagle putt. As for Faldo, he let loose with one witty gem after another. Best of all, these two are a warm up act for Johnny Miller over the weekend.

Anthony Kim Still on a Roll
Kim, the winner last week at Wachovia, opened his round on the back side with bogeys on 11 and 12, two of the easiest holes on the course. Over the last 15 holes he recorded five birdies and one bogey for a 70. And he hit 15 greens. On Friday he gets a morning tee time when the course plays much easier, so he could well emerge as the 36-hole leader. At any rate, his first round is an eight shot improvement over last year’s opening 78.

J.B. Holmes is Still a Pain
During the Accenture Match Play I wrote a column blasting J.B. Holmes for slow play. As he prepared to hit his second shot to the par 5 16th, Nick Faldo began counting his practice swings. All six of them. So much for PGA Tour taking a stand on slow play. And he still uses his caddie to line him up for his putts. While it’s not against the rules, it will surely will be some day once the USGA wakes up and bans this ethically reprehensible practice.

The Golf Channel Has Fallen for Boo Weekley
On Wednesday the Golf Channel aired the first part of a golfumentary of Weekley’s life in his home town of Milton, Florida. I like the down home version of Boo more than the golf version that I wrote about a few weeks ago. Why the producer decided to jiggle the camera when they were driving around I’ll never know – it ruined the views of his hometown. On Thursday we got lots of Boo, so they’ve obviously chosen him as their media darling, passing over numerous higher ranking players who, unlike Boo, are in golf to win championships more than to win money.