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BG,
I am not sure exactly what to make of your post. If I consider some of our past "discussions" about Mick I think I have a pretty good idea but I don't want to read too much into it if it's not there.
The suggestion was that in some respects he was lucky ... trees didn't get in the way, etc.
I actually heard them saying similar things today like on 16. I wonder if they think some people get lucky more than others? Faldo virtually came right out and said it. I am of the opinion that luck is COMPLETELY random...and YES it does take some luck (sometimes) to win a golf tournament. Or bad luck to lose one.
I would add that when playing TW 2007 and 2008 at SawGrass I thought that it would be GREAT to be a lefty with an easy fade on MANY holes ... so the course may setup for Leftys.
He had a good round one yesterday, but that was played in the morning when the winds were CALM. It was a whole different world for those with afternoon tee times. I think both Sergio and Phil will find it tougher today in the afternoon winds. Lucky for them, today's morning players do NOT have calm conditions (winds - according to the weather channel - are in the 17 mph range already).
It seems as though the luck of the draw was morning/afternoon as opposed to afternoon/morning...so in that manner Phil was lucky.
BTW ... the commentators pointed out that greens and fairways are MUCH dryer and faster this year, and the type of game that Phil played last year will be MUCH tougher to execute. Fir instince, shots from fairway bunkers and rough will NOT hold the green as well.
If there is one part of the game that I have never been able to figure out...it's playing from fairway bunkers. Greenside bunkers I can manage. One thing is for sure...if you play that course as an ameteur you are going to be in your fair share of fairway bunkers. They seem to line at least half the length of many of the fairways. Maybe that is another reason I didn't play well. I am horrible at playing out of them.
That said, Phil's short game is as good as anyone's ... and they'll all be playing the same conditions, so I think Phil will likely be in the hunt come sunday.
Interesting synopsis. I take it you either think he will be lucky again as the analysts suggested or you think like I do...that there was a little luck involved but mostly skill.
Did you see his shot on 16 or the drive on 18? I think those were the ones that had Faldo making the comments about luck. Although I do think there was SOME luck on those two shots I still think luck is random and does not favor anyone. There were also some comments of his skill and ability to make them happen...at least the shot at 16. There was only one place for that ball to land that would have kicked it straight right into the water but that was the focus of the analysts. The other scenarios were greenside bunker, landing where it did, or landing a bit further up in the swail which would have killed the momentum of the ball. In my opinion it would have been extremely unlucky for that ball to have hit in such a spot that it would have kicked directly to the right and in the water. Yet the comments were more about the luck that it took to miss that spot. Just my observation...but I am not suggestiing there wasn't a little luck too.
It's shaping up to be a good one!
Could be...even though I have played there I never really considered some of these things. I am sure you would have been a little more attentive than I...but now that you mention it I wish I had paid more attention to it. As if I didn't have plenty of other problems to consider at the time:) I am around a 7 handicap on average over the years and I shot a 92 from the up tees. That was about 1 month prior to the tourney if I recall. It was tough but I played horribly too. I think I could have managed low 80's (from the up tees) if I was on my game. The other two times I was in a best ball format with optional mulligans available for purchase.
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