David Barrett | |
Golf with David
June 16th, 2006
David Barrett is the editor-in-chief at Divot Communication. He also produces our GolfNotebook once a week plus the occasional column.
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GolfObserver editors
Smashmouth Golf Comes to Winged Foot
With one of its "theme" pairings in the opening rounds, the USGA seemed to be inviting us to see if Winged Foot could be overpowered. To say that J.B. Holmes, Camilo Villegas, and Scott Hend are long hitters is like saying the Empire State Building is tall. These guys are seriously LONG.
Rookies Villegas and Holmes have been touted as representing the new face of golf since their big bashing led to early-season success. The 32-year-old Hend led the PGA Tour in driving distance last year (and lost his card).
The answer to whether Winged Foot can be overpowered was, not surprisingly, no. Still, the trio represented themselves pretty well with rounds of 72 (Hend) and a pair of 74s (Villegas and Holmes), scores that will keep them comfortably within the cut line if repeated tomorrow under comparable conditions. In fact, on a day when only one player broke par, Hend was tied for 15th--pretty good for a player who ranks 141st on the Nationwide Tour money list.
Photo: © |
| Scott Hend was the longest driver during the first round of the U.S. Open with an average drive of 324.5 yards. |
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The truth is that, just like anyone else, the big hitting trio were picking their way carefully around Winged Foot, with its narrow fairways and thick rough. Maybe even more carefully, because they had to leave their drivers in the bag on some holes where others could hit it. There were only five holes where all three hit the big stick.
They did generate some excitement on the tee of the sixth hole, a 321-yard par four. It was playing into the wind, so not quite reachable even for them, but Hend and Holmes gave it a go with drivers in an effort to get into the right front bunker. They both hit drives that were among their straightest of the day--a good thing, considering the dicey shots that would have awaited them after errant drives--with Holmes finding that bunker and Hend the fairway just short of it. Holmes was actually even with the front of the putting surface, but much better off in the bunker where he faced a straightforward shot instead of a putt that he might not have even been able to aim at the hole. Holmes made a birdie, while Villegas, the only one of the three to lay up, knocked his second over the green and made a bogey (just what he deserved for wimping out, a fan was heard to say).
In truth, the group didn't generate a lot of heat. They didn't have stereotypical bomber rounds, with large numbers of birdies and bogeys. They made only four birdies between them, Villegas and Hend getting theirs at the reachable par-five fifth (Villegas by hitting it in two) and Holmes one of his at the short par-four sixth. They got only one birdie resulting from an approach shot from more than 20 yards off the green (Holmes at the par-three 13th).
Photo: © Sam Greenwood/Wire Image |
Camilo Villegas surveys a green on his way to shooting an opening round of 74. |
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They didn't make a lot of bogeys, though. It's an overlooked advantage for long hitters in the U.S. Open that they are less bothered by the rough than other players. Because they have shorter approach shots, and also because they are stronger, they very often have a fighting chance to get home from the deep stuff.
Hend hit only five fairways in his round, but kept himself in good shape by going one-over on the nine holes where he missed the fairway (he was also one-over on the five holes where he found the short grass). Holmes hit six fairways and was two-over on those holes; he was two-over on the eight holes where he missed the fairway. Villegas was the only one who paid much of a price (even par on the nine holes where he hit the fairway; three-over on the five he missed).
Photo: © Stephen Dunn/Getty Images |
J.B. Holmes opened up with a first round 74 at Winged Foot. |
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They also have an edge, of sorts, by being able to hit a 3-wood, long iron, or hybrid on holes where others might need to hit driver, and thus, in theory, having a better chance to hit the fairway.
There weren't many drivers hit on the back nine (which the group played first). The 11th and 15th are layup holes for everybody because of bunkers or water, and there's not much point for a long knocker hitting driver on the 12th when it plays to its full 640 yards because there's no payoff (it will be different when it is set up at 571 yards, which it may be today).
Even on the finishing stretch of 16, 17, and 18, once considered fearsomely long (remember Hale Irwin's 2-iron to the 18th in 1974?), the only drivers used by the trio came on 17. With all three holes playing downwind, they had to worry about going through the fairway on the 478-yard 16th and reaching a downslope on the 450-yard 18th.
The front nine, however, saw a lot of drivers being used. The opening holes were into the wind, the middle holes had the short par five fifth and par four sixth where long drives could provide a benefit, and the closing downwind holes have configurations that allowed for a driver.
The bashers did make Winged Foot look rather small. On the 449-yard 17th, Holmes had 75 yards for his second shot (it was downwind but not blowing THAT hard). On 18, Villegas hit a three-wood off the tee but had only 130 yards for his second shot. On the first hole, playing into the wind, Holmes hit a measured drive 316 yards, leaving about 130 to the hole. On the other hole where drives were measured, the downwind, somewhat downhill 514-yard par-four ninth, Hend blasted one 354 yards.
It's interesting to note, however, that none of those approach shots finished inside 20 feet. That's what makes Winged Foot so resistant to scoring--the approach shots aren't easy from any distance, especially with the greens at U.S. Open firmness.
The pairing did give us a chance to see the three to go head-to-head off the tee, and there was a clear-cut winner. The statistics say that Holmes is second on the PGA Tour this year (to Bubba Watson, who is not playing in the Open) at 311.4 yards per drive and Villegas fifth at 306.8, while Hend led last year at 318.9 and is tops on the Nationwide Tour this year at 312.1.
On Thursday, Holmes was the longest on four of the five holes where all hit driver--by at least 15 yards over the other two on each occasion. Hend got the long drive on the other hole and was a clear second overall, though he did claim the statistical nod on the two holes that were officially measured. As for Villegas--well, he did look good in his snappy yellow belt (not to mention that he leads the other two in earnings this year).
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