US TOUR NEWS:TIMING, SO the saying goes, is everything. Yesterday morning, having moved on from Ohio to Minnesota, Tiger Woods was on the first tee at Hazeltine Golf Club in preparation for his final chance at a major this year.
The clock had barely reached 6.40am when he crashed his first shot away, and already his dramatic win in the Bridgestone Invitational had been stashed away and his mind had moved on to other things: specifically, the USPGA championship.
Yet, rather than wallow in his latest win, a remarkable seventh at Akron in that particular WGC event, Woods had a bone to pick with the timing handed out to himself and Pádraig Harrington on the 16th tee of that final round on Sunday.
In the opinion of Woods, the intervention of referee John Paramor, in what had been a rare auld battle, was untimely. “I don’t understand why we were put on the clock,” remarked Woods.
For sure, the issuing of the warning to speed up play affected Harrington who rushed his shots and ran-up a triple-bogey eight on the par-five hole – nicknamed The Monster years ago by Arnold Palmer – which Woods birdied, for a four-shot swing which ended the contest.
“I think being on the clock influenced him,” observed Woods, adding: “And I think by rushing like he had to, it forced him to make a couple of mistakes . . . I think the worst he would have made would have been bogey.”
Woods added: “I’m sorry that John got in the way of a great battle because it was such a great battle for 16 holes, and we’re going at it head-to-head, and unfortunately that happened. You know, Paddy and I will definitely do it again.”
Indeed, the pair – plus Rich Beem, who held off Woods when the PGA was last held at Hazeltine in 2002 – will be reacquainted for the opening two rounds on Thursday and Friday, although, as Woods observed: “You don’t win the championship on Thursday.”
Harrington, at least, could take more positives than negatives with him as he travelled on to Hazeltine for the defence of the Wanamaker Trophy: his tied runner-up finish in the Bridgestone moved him back into the world’s top-10 (from 17th to 10th) and, more critically in terms of the rest of the season, moved him from 142nd to 70th in the latest FedEx Cup standings, which gives him a place in the US Tour’s end-of-season play-offs next month.
He also moved to 20th in the Race to Dubai standings on the European Tour.
All positive.
And while Woods immediately hit the course – playing a practice round yesterday with Bubba Watson and Nick Watney – Harrington made the decision on arriving at Hazeltine to spend less time on the course than originally intended, ruling out three practice rounds.
“I’m working on the principle that if I’m to win, I’ve got to be fresh on Sunday,” said the Dubliner.
Of that calamitous 16th hole in Akron, Harrington claimed it wouldn’t linger.
“It’s pretty much out of my system (already). You know, I’ll probably be a better player because of it. You learn from these things . . . I’ve other things, the PGA, bigger things, ahead of me.”
Yet, being put on the clock at such a crucial stage of Sunday’s final round wouldn’t go away completely. And Harrington tried to make sense of it all. Could they have been cut some slack?
“I don’t know, it’s all rules,” responded Harrington.
“We set the rules. It’s up to us. But how much is out of position? If we were two holes out of position, surely we should be on the clock. It’s difficult in that situation. You know, you’re in the last group on a windy day, it’s going to be tough to be within the time frame.
“But it would be unfair – if you’re asking a player two or three groups ahead of the lead to play within a certain time frame, it’s unfair to give the leaders any leeway. That’s the way.
“As I said, the key is you’ve got to react right when it happens, and I got slightly out of position, and out of position is a difficult position to be on the clock. In position, (you’ve) bundles of time to hit it, so it’s not like it’s an issue.
“But definitely I just got caught by being out of position with my tee-shot, my second shot and my third shot.”
Slugger White, of the US Tour, defended Paramor’s intervention. “I don’t think John did get in the middle of it. John is doing his job. It’s just a regulation, that’s what it amounts to. We’re doing our job.”
Woods and Harrington have moved on to Hazeltine with bigger fish to fry, as they go in quest of the season’s last major. And, as far as Woods is concerned, there is nothing but respect for Harrington.
“I’m often asked, ‘who are the guys you think you should model yourself after’, and I always say Paddy and Jim Furyk and Vijay (Singh). Those guys work so hard on their games. A guy like Paddy and a guy like Jim, they don’t have the length that Vijay does, but how they manage themselves around the golf course, I think everyone can learn from that, especially kids.
“And the work ethic for Paddy, you know what he’s done with Bob (Torrance) over the years, countless hours, in the snow, it doesn’t matter, he’s going to get it done. I’ve seen him miss cuts and he’s out there all weekend long practising and getting ready for the next week. I admire guys like that because that’s how you become better. You have to go earn it.
“And I think that Paddy is a great example of a guy who goes out there and earns it each and every day.”
World Rankings
1 Tiger Woods (US) 12.93pts
2 Phil Mickelson (US) 8.27
3 Paul Casey (Eng) 6.65
4 Kenny Perry (US) 6.27
5 Steve Stricker (US) 6.07
6 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 5.90
7 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 5.81
8 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 5.64
9 Stewart Cink (US) 5.24
10 Pádraig Harrington (Ire) 4.90
29 Rory McIlroy (NIre) 3.43
49 Graeme McDowell (NIre) 2.33
103 Darren Clarke (NIre) 1.49
Women’s World Rankings
1 Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 11.81pts
2 Ya-Ni Tseng (Tai) 8.76
3 Cristie Kerr (US) 8.39
4 Ji-Yai Shin (Kor) 8.27
5 Paula Creamer (US) 8.22
6 Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 6.74
7 Karrie Webb (Aus) 6.47
8 Angela Stanford (US) 6.30
9 In-Kyung Kim (Kor) 6.29
10 Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 5.00
11 Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 4.74
12 Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 4.69
13 Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 4.64
European Tour Race to Dubai
1 Paul Casey (Eng) €1,965,150
2 Martin Kaymer (Ger) €1,819,364
3 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) €1,592,071
4 Ross Fisher (Eng) €1,443,209
5 Angel Cabrera (Arg) €1,375,345
6 Rory McIlroy (NIre) €1,374,653
7 Lee Westwood (Eng) €1,313,978
8 Oliver Wilson (Eng) €1,125,766
9 Gonzalo F-Castano (Spa) €1,095,350
10 Sergio Garcia (Spa) €1,093,286
11 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) €1055217
12 Alvaro Quiros (Spa) €891186
20 Pádraig Harrington (Ire) €735,134
USPGA Tour Money Leaders
1 Tiger Woods (US) $6,878,163
2 Steve Stricker (US) $4,200,086
3 Kenny Perry (US) $4,032,624
4 Phil Mickelson (US) $3,854,811
5 Zach Johnson (US) $3,829,204
6 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) $3,420,882
7 Sean O’Hair (US) $3,207,993
8 Lucas Glover (US) $3,103,481
9 Brian Gay (US) $2,838,645
10 Retief Goosen (Rsa) $2784,165
11 Nick Watney (USA) $2721352
12 David Toms (USA) $2627543
13 Paul Casey (Eng) $2582181
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