July 5, 2009, at 12:10 am
Anthony Kim answered the bell on Saturday afternoon. After an even par round on Friday, I wondered yesterday if Kim would be able to hang at the top. Would he be able to put a few faulter holes behind him and play like he did on Friday, when he set a course record at a future U.S Open site? At first, It didn’t look like it.
Kim boggeyed his first hole of day. The fall was on. But to his credit, Kim did not let a poor start bother him. He boggeyed only one other hole on Saturday (the par 5, ninth) and now sits atop the leaderboard. Kim made big putt after big putt to save par and make the occational birdie. He ended the day tied for first at ten under par. The round was more about saving par and staying afloat then moving up on the board. And that was all right. Kim didn’t have to win the tournement on Saturday, or make much of a move up the leader list. His round on Thursday took care of that. I have more confidence in Kim’s ability to stay on top and have a real chance to win the tournement after the third round.
Joining Kim on top is the host of this weeks event, Tiger Woods’. Woods’ round was a lot more frustrating then Kim’s. After an eagle at the ninth, Tiger looked to have the tourney well in hand. At one point, he had a three shot lead and was pulling anyway. As anyone in golf will tell you, their are few things more dangerous than Tiger Woods with a multiple shot lead. Then, Tiger did a very un-Tiger thing. He let multiple players back into the tournement. Much to the chigrin of Woods, he was became a good host after double boggeying the eleventh. He recovered nicely after the hiccup, birdieing the sixteenth and making par on the rest. However, it still was odd. Tiger botched a pottential chance to end the tornement on Saturday. You don’t see that very often.
The feel good story of the tournement is obviously that of Michael Allen. The 50 year old Allen has played in 336 events in his PGA career and won none of them. He’s the kind of guy who hangs on until he’s fifty and then goes to the senior tour, hoping to rake in what never came on the regular tour. Looked like a good plan, too. Allen won the Senior PGA championship. A great story. Never wins a PGA event and then captures a Senior tour Major. But don’t speak too soon on Allens’ PGA record quite yet. After a fantastic 65 on Saturday, Allen sits one shot off the lead at -9. However, I wouldn’t expect this to continue. Generally, you go 0-336 for a reason. Look for Allen to fade early on Sunday and end up fifth or sixth. Still a solid finish for this unlikly factor.
I would look for Sunday to be a two and a half man race. I like Anthony Kim to play well and stay in it until the end with Tiger….Maybe a playoff?? (I hope). Don’t sleep of Jim Furyk either. Furyk is two back at -8. He shot a 69 on Saturday, his worst round of the tornement. I like Furyk to be one shot off the lead at one point, but fade in the back nine. It will be hard to jump over four players and win. Jumping over Allen and Cameron Beckman is more then do-able. I don’t know about Kim and Tiger.
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The Host is a Greedy One
All week during pre-tournament preparation, Tiger Woods talked about his desire to be a “greedy host”. Yes, he is the man who’s name is on the tournament. Yes, he has had a much busier week then other players. And yes, after all that- Tiger leads his own tourney headed into the weekend.
Coming into yesterday tied for second place, Tiger shot up the leaderboard after a four under, 66 yesterday. Ironically, the round was two shots worse then Thursdays’, but I think Tiger will take the dividends. He sits a shot up on Rod Pampling and two shots up on defending champion Anthony Kim.
Kim, who set the course on fire on Thursday, shot a mediocre even par 70. Thanks to his record smashing day on Thursday, Kim still sits in good position to win the tournament. I would say great, but I never think looking up at the best player on the planet ever puts someone in great position for anything.
If your looking for a good non-Tiger story line for Saturday, I think Kim is where you go. Here’s a guy who hasn’t won in exactly a year and is looking to get back on the right track. Their is no doubt that Kim has all the potential in the world. One TV commentator on Thursday came short of guaranteeing that he would win “multiple majors” before he hits the Champions tour. This may be true, but whether Kim realizes that potential is yet to be seen. One thing going for him is youth. At 24 years old, he is well aware the the typical golfer does not hit his prime until his early thirties. Since one of Kim’s main weaknesses is his apparent love for nightlife and parties, the theory that his slump is purely a case of being young and immature does carry a lot of weight.
Today’s round will be a huge one for Kim. Does he forget his definitively average round from yesterday and play Congressional like he’s shown he can play Congressional? Or does the demons of the slump rise up and bite Kim, sending him back on the leader board? I think he can stay in this tournament. He was a shot off on almost every hole yesterday. The holes he bogeyed, he pared yesterday. The holes he pared, he birdied yesterday. Their wasn’t that big double bogey blow up hole for Kim that might suggest a meltdown. A few more birdies and one less bogey and we’re looking at Kim in serious contention on Sunday morning.
Other notables- Jim Furyk shot a -3, 67 on Friday to sit in fourth at seven under. U.S Open champ Lucas Glover is tied for eighth at 5 under. This is the third consecutive tournament for Glover. It’s a bit odd for a major champion not to take a week off, but Glover seams to be handling it well.
Trunk Slammers (missed the cut): Robert Allenby, who was in contention at the St. Jude, missed his fourth cut of the year after two straight rounds of 72. WCWP fav John Merrick is going home despite playing at even par on Friday. His six over 76 on Thursday sunk him. K. J Choi was one of similar fate. His 69 was good for a respectable -1 on Friday, but it could not erase a disastrous +7 Thursday….
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