Jordan Spieth, Kevin Na, Jason Kokrak, Tommy Fleetwood and defending champion Stewart Cink will be among the celebrities to be discussed in Tuesday’s Draws and Fades.
DL3 spread its Ws across 17 issues in Harbor Town (1987-2003) and into his 20s and 30s, but both Irwin (24) and Cink (22) spanned longer from the first to the last. Also, Irwin was 48 years old for the third time; Cink was 47. That’s part of the magic of this place. Age is not discriminated.
Or relative lack of muscle from the tee.
Or put.
At just 7,191 yards and featuring 18 of the average smallest greens on the PGA TOUR (at 3,700 square feet), the par 71 rewards the hitting ball forward. It’s not so much about finding fairways as it pays to find the most strategic angles for approach. But with Bermuda rough littered and stretching just three-quarters of an inch high, accuracy off the tee is secondary to green pile-up in regulation. Because targets require precision, hitting them in order to achieve them is the default.
Cink ranked T57 in fairways hits last year, but he led the field averaging 14 GIR per round. He also finished close to 11th, so it’s no wonder he sped up the tournament in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.
Cink was also T4 in scrambling en route to his four-stroke win. While the combination of decent work in and around the green should be well rewarded, the latter is Harbor Town’s softest underbelly. Small greens usually give up high rates of pars after missing them in regulation. With the overstaffed Bermuda greens poised to run up to 12 feet on the stimp meter, which is essentially the TOUR norm, talent who don’t make their mark as superior putters can circle this week as an opportunity to make a dent .
The 2021 field averaged 70,332 on the scorecard. That is the second-lowest in recorded tournament history (since 1983) up to the special June date of 2020 (when the course does not require reseeding) and reflects how a gathering is worthy of an official strength of the field World Golf Ranking of 481 can make a difference (The SOF in 2020 was 712.) However, a slightly higher score should be expected this week as the two easiest holes on the course are longer.
New tees on the second and fifth par 5 holes have expanded the pair. #2 is 48 yards longer at 550 yards; No. 5 now tips after a 20-yard surge to 569 yards. Also for the record, after the new extended tee box on the par-3 17 introduced an additional 22 yards last year, even more recent modifications have increased it again, this time by two yards to 198.
The most challenging weather conditions will be the churning winds that will blow a bit for at least the first two laps and as the energy threatens rain and storms that will continue into the weekend. Otherwise, the week is comfortably cool as daily highs stretch into the mid-70s.
ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE
PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton summarizes and previews each tournament from multiple perspectives. As planned, look for his following posts.
MONDAY: Power Rankings
TUESDAY*: Sleepers, draws and fades
WEDNESDAY: Select them preview
SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, qualifiers, reshuffle, Rookie Ranking
* – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Selection for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, also released Tuesday.