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At the conclusion of last year's Bay Hill Invitational, Tiger Woods was questioned about comments tournament host, Arnold Palmer, made to NBC Sports on air. Palmer, who also owns the course and makes Bay Hill Club & Lodge his hibernal abode, told the television broadcasters that he was contemplating converting a pair of par 5s into par 4s for the championship and, thus, transforming the course into a par-70 layout.
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"I think it would be very good," replied Woods, winner of four consecutive Bay Hill titles from 2000-03.
"This golf course really isn't a par 72 for most of the guys anyway. 16, normal drive, you're hitting 5 iron, 6 iron in there; that's not really a par 5. So, yeah, I can understand him doing that."
Let's just say that Tiger's reference to 'most of the guys' would be more accurate if he had said 'some of the guys,' considering Fred Funk and Corey Pavin, to name a few, are not hitting 5- or -6-iron into the 16th green. But leave that aside. His general point is intriguing.
Coming from a fella who has banked close to $3 million dollars at the event, such a ringing endorsement for change might strike one as slightly peculiar. At Bay Hill's par 5s, Woods is a combined 90-under par in 10 career tournaments. It's not a stretch to say that Tiger's dominion was built on the long holes. Eliminating two of them would be like sawing off two of the four legs on his throne.
Whatever the hypothesis, Tiger and 126 other players will be put to the test this week as Arnold Palmer's previous musings have become tangible reality. The standard traversal of his renowned course now stands at 70 strokes.
Arnie summons devotion from all segments of the golf world and PGA Tour pros have a keen appreciation for playing in his annual event.
In fact, the gathering this week at Bay Hill could be considered the most impressive to date on the 2007 PGA Tour. Eight of the top 10 players, and 15 of the top 20, in the Official World Golf Rankings are ready to tee it up in Orlando.
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| Tiger Woods is a four-time champion at Bay Hill. (Getty Images) |
Mickelson returns to action after a two-week break, making his first start in the Florida Swing. It also marks Lefty's first appearance at Bay Hill since 2002. Given Phil's track record at Arnie's course, his decision to skip the tournament over the past years always came as a surprise. Mickelson won the title there in 1997 and then went on to collect three top-five finishes. Perhaps his most memorable moment at Bay Hill was his final-round charge in 2001 when he gave Woods a run for his money in a hair-raising, back-nine shootout.
Singh, meanwhile, rolls into Orlando hot from battle. He put in a lukewarm performance at Tampa's PODS Championship, but the Vijay's game is nicely glued together. This week, Singh will make his 15th straight start at Bay Hill.
Apart from the usual suspects, the biggest threat might be Charles Howell III, who remains the hottest player on the PGA Tour these days. Howell picked up his fifth top-10 finish last week in Tampa and carries a huge lead in the FedEx Cup standings. His length off the tee also works as an advantage at Bay Hill.
The only missing piece of the puzzle is Jim Furyk. The No. 2-ranked player in the world aggravated a wrist injury and decided to give it a rest. He described the injury as not being serious in nature and asserted his confidence that he will be in fine shape for the Masters in three weeks.
