The top-ranked golfer in the world won?t be playing at this weekend?s PGA Tour event in Dublin, Ohio, but no Tiger Woods should be the least of the field?s worries.
A Jack Nicklaus designed course, the Muirfield Village Golf Club figures to provide plenty of challenges for the 120 golfers at the Memorial Tournament who are vying for the largest chunk of a $6 million purse.
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“This year the rough around the greens is two times longer than what it was last year,” K.J. Choi, the defending champion, said. “It?s going to be very tough if you miss the green.”
The thick grass surrounding the greens and fairways has been made even more difficult this week from occasional showers which soaked the growth. And with showers in the forecast for this weekend, the 7,366-yards could play even tougher.
“The course has wide fairways so the penalty will be stiff if you miss,” Mike Weir said.
But Choi has had success playing on the fringe. In last year?s win, he managed to save par on the 17th hole when he put his approach shot 30 feet behind the green into high grass. Choi responded by chipping out with his sand wedge to place the ball just 15 feet from the hole on a green that slopped downhill. The South Korean saved par and the world-class shot served as a catalyst for his win.
“We kind of joked and [my caddie] said, ?We definitely can?t be doing that again,”? Choi said.
The Players Championship winner Sergio Garcia, who took the past two weeks off in his native Spain, saidhe is well aware of the unique troubles the course offers.
“You know that if you miss the fairway, it?s going to be a little bit of a struggle because (the course) is set up like a major,” he said. “The rough is thick. Unless you get quite lucky, it?s difficult to get it to the green with more than a 7 iron or 6 iron.”
Another story line to watch this week is if any other golfer can make serious strides toward closing on the leads of Woods and Phil Mickelson in the world rankings. Woods has nearly twice as many points as Mickelson at No. 2, but Lefty?s gap between himself and the rest of the world is also growing. Mickelson?s lead over No. 3 Ernie Els is about the same number of points as the difference between Else and Ben Curtis at No. 80.
“Originally, this week was going to be a gap in my schedule,” Els said. “But I?ve changed my mind and decided to play in the Memorial.”
The AP contributed to this story.
