Monster fails to intimidate players

Golf:Without the nature-powered wind machine to accentuate its piercing blue waters and thick rough, the Blue Monster at Doral Resort is a model not ready for her cover shot. That the course is in dire need of a face-lift was made plain yesterday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship when the number one player in the world, Rory McIlroy, produced the best round of the day, a 7-under-par 65, and was dissatisfied.

"I never thought I would stand up here and say I'm disappointed with 7-under, but today is definitely one of those days," said McIlroy, who had a sub-60 round in his sights after playing the first 12 holes in 9-under."You're thinking birdie four of the last six and here we go," he said. "But obviously, it didn't happen like that."

That horizon line disappeared at number 14, when McIlroy's tee shot found a fairway bunker, his second shot landed short of the green and he failed to get up and down for par. On the green, he glanced at a nearby leader board and saw that Bubba Watson, the 36-hole frontrunner, was 3-under after two holes.

All that work to claw back into contention and McIlroy was still five strokes back, at 10 under, after missing the 14-foot par putt by inches. He bogeyed 16, another par 4, to stand at 9-under 207 through 54 holes. Given the lack of a breeze and the cloudbursts throughout the week that softened the greens, McIlroy did not expect the leaders to come back to him and he was right; he was tied with five others for eighth, eight strokes behind Watson, who followed his second-round 62 with a 67 and has a three-stroke lead at 199.

Tiger Woods also made an early charge, playing the first six holes in 4-under, but he bogeyed two of the par 5s - numbers eight and 12 - on his way to a 68, which left him in the group at 9-under.

The beauty of holding the 54-hole lead, Watson said, is you have a cushion. The burden is that everybody is taking aim at you. "If anybody says they are not nervous going into Sunday that's around the lead or close to the lead or has a chance to win, they are just lying to you," Watson said. "Their psychologist is telling them to lie to themselves." He laughed and added, "I'm trying to man up and post a good score and if I can shoot another good score in the 60s and somebody beats me, they beat me."

McIlroy posted his 6-under 30 on the front nine before the final pairing of Watson and Justin Rose teed off. Watson's resting state is hyper, but he said it calmed him to see McIlroy moving up the leader board. "It's definitely helpful," Watson said, adding, "It shows me that you can do it and you've got to do it or you're going to be back of the pack."

Rose said he looked at McIlroy's score on the front nine and remarked to his caddie, "It's amazing how the cream always rises to the top." After a 69, Rose is tied for second with Keegan Bradley, who posted a bogey-free 66. In conditions as benign as Saturday's, Rose's score was about par for this course, he said. "I would say average is like 69, 70, if there's not too much wind out there," he said.

The course's length used to send shivers down the spines of the professionals, but no more. Watson is averaging a field-leading 319 yards off the tee, and his driver has essentially busted the Blue Monster's teeth. "In its day it was long," Rose said, "but long isn't really a test for us anymore." He added, "I think it would probably benefit from a bit of a tuneup."

After signing his scorecard, McIlroy shook hands and exchanged a few pleasantries with Gil Hanse, the architect hired to renovate the course by Donald Trump, who is buying the property. Then he made his way to the interview area and said of

the course: "It was a tough test 15 years ago, but now it's just got outdated. They definitely need to do something with it."

On Friday, Watson said the course was not one of his favorites. Asked if he has changed his mind, he smiled and said, "I'll tell you in 24 hours." – New York Times