Capelle On Golf

After dealing with the winds and hazards of Royal Birkdale, Glen Abbey Golf Club must have seemed like an executive course to Anthony Kim and Mike Weir as both shot 65s in the first round of the (corporate sponsor’s name deleted) Canadian Open.

Just four days ago the duo was across the Atlantic Ocean playing links golf in temperatures in the 50s with 30mph winds and torrential rains. These global travelers then teed it up in light breezes, the low 70s, and at a parkland style golf course just south of Toronto, Ontario.

I was really trying to keep the momentum going from my last round at Royal Birkdale, which wasn’t that good a scoring round, but one where I felt I hit the ball solid. So rather then get technical on the range and spend a lot of time thinking about my swing and such, I just played golf and I think that helped me a great deal Thursday.

That they were able to adjust so quickly is a testament to their skills, both physical and mental. Both returned to playing full shots at normal trajectories and to putting on greens with Stimpmeter readings in the double digits, which is no small feat. And, of course, there is the five hour time change to deal with.
Another challenge involved their perennial battle with Old Man Par. At the British Open, it became apparent from the beginning that a score over par would win. So, like in a tug of war, the idea was to give ground as sparingly and grudgingly as possible, knowing that par was a great score on nearly every hole. When his slide was over, Kim was +12 (7t) while Mike Weir was at +16 (39t).

At the considerably more player friendly Glen Abbey, par regularly takes a beating, but never more so than in 2000 when Tiger Woods shaved 22 shots of the then par 72 layout.

Canadian Opens at Glen Abbey G.C. (1998-2008)
1998—275 (-13)—Billy Andrade
1999—275 (-13)—Hal Sutton
2000—266 (-22)—Tiger Woods
2004—275 (-9)—Vijay Sing (par was lowered to 71)
2008–???—???

Since the winner is always well under par, the players know that they must dive deep into red numbers to have a shot at winning. Birdies are expected and bogeys are a catastrophe.

Kim and Weir deserve credit for making the adjustment so quickly and successfully. But then again, this is “only” the first round of the Canadian Open. It is no biggie if they were to flounder this week because the next event that really matters is the PGA, which starts in 13 days.

The schedule maker wasn’t so friendly to major title aspirants in early days of the Nicklaus Era. Back then, players who competed in the Open and PGA had just a few days to adjust for the PGA because the events were played on consecutive weeks. In 1963 Jack Nicklaus finished in solo third at the Open, one shot out of a playoff. A few days later he managed to shake off his deep disappointment and win the PGA in 100 degree temperatures in Dallas, Texas. The following year he finished second in both events, demonstrating once again that his ability to adjust was another facet of his greatness.

Note: Other Players from the Top 50 at the British Open
Other players in the top 50 at the British Open who are entered in the Canadian Open and their scores include: Jim Furyk (70), Ben Curtis (70), Stephen Ames (72), Retief Goosen (73), Jay Williamson (WD), and Camilo Villegas (71).