Oak Hill, the latest betrayed by Mother Nature..

Three years ago at St Georges GC, Lorne Rubenstein, Doug Smith and I were asked to talk to the members luncheon the week before the RBC Canadian Open and I waxed eloquent about how the players would enjoy the old fashioned Stanley Thompson gem, tucked privately away in the ritzier part of Etobicoke, off Islington Ave.. In particular says I, if all else fails, your greens will save even these guys from taking her apart....

Of course, Dean Wilson then made me look stupid when he went out and led the cavalry charge with an opening 62, and Friday morning we all rushed up to the 18th green to watch eventual winner Cal Pettersson roll a 59 over the edge of the cup, settling for 60 and going on to win with -14 266....The course record low round by a pro of 64 set by George Knudson in 1967..

Same sort of story at Hamilton GC last year when Scott Piercy tied the Canadian Open record of -17 263 set back in 1952 by Johnny Palmer at St Charles in Winnipeg, he called the jewel of a course.. boring golf..

This year at the Abbey you'll remember me reporting about the guys taking the course apart, -20 was a popular winning number predicted, going into Sunday.. The the wind arrived and Snedeker could only muster -2 70, after posting -9 63 on Saturday, to win at -16

Now here we are at soggy Oak Hill, a course so tough that in the 5 previous major Championships only 9 players have finished in red numbers...Jason Dufner and his -9 63 leads 27 players who are under par going into this weekend..

Soggy is the key word.. That is the key to all of the above... St Georges, Hamilton, the Abbey and Oak Hill are amongst a long list of great parkland courses that are left defenceless when they receive a whack of rain in the week before, and sometimes during the event..

Further, these conditions make coming from behind to win ( see Tiger +1, Mickelson +2, Rory E, David Hearn +2 ) near impossible because their birdies and eagles are being matched by those ahead.

That is precisely why Ian Poulter's final round 67 at Muirfield that gave him the clubhouse lead, until Mickelson went out and won it over the last 3 holes, was so dramatic... because the conditions were so tough !!

The cut was at 143, the lowest at the PGA Championship since 2001 at Atlanta Athletic Club, and the weather for the weekend is sunny and warm, no more rain, but more importantly, very little wind


Good news for the leaders.... the guys further back were hoping for the wind...


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