Woods has work to do at Sawgrass
But life goes on and this is a big week given that the Players Championship, beginning at its traditional home at Sawgrass on Thursday, has long since been regarded as the fifth major.
Tiger Woods, today an unimaginably high number eight in the world rankings, returns after injury for his 14th successive appearance in the event. Oddly enough, he has captured the title only once, in 2001, when he holed a monster 60ft putt on the final day for a birdie on the famous island 17th green.
Phil Mickelson, who spoke so movingly and sincerely about Ballesteros in weekend interviews, will also be expected to add to his lone success in 2007.
Pádraig Harrington at last showed the kind of form we know he is capable of in tying for ninth at Quail Hollow over the weekend. Even then, though, he had good reason to be very disappointed by a poor finish to his final round.
A splendid six under par for the day and 12 under overall playing the long but reachable 15th, he did well to make a par five after driving into a water hazard. The momentum gone, Harrington three-putted the 17th and also bogeyed the last to finish ten under and in a share of ninth position with, among others, playing partner Mickelson.
The performance only improves Harrington’s world ranking by one spot, 42nd to 41st, but puts him in a far more positive frame of mind heading for Sawgrass. He finished runner-up to Davis Love III in the TPC in 2003 and to Adam Scott in 2004, but has not fared particularly well in more recent times.
Quite understandably, most will be bemused at the absence of last year’s Quail Hollow champion and the game’s sixth ranked player Rory McIlroy. Even though he declined to become a member of the PGA US Tour this year, McIlroy was fully qualified to play but decided not to, a remark that also applies to the game’s current number one, Lee Westwood.
Having won each of his last two tournaments, Westwood doesn’t need to apologise or explain his actions to anyone. But McIlroy’s decision to miss out on such a significant tournament after a couple of highly publicised missed opportunities at the Masters and Malaysia, followed by a missed cut in his defence at Quail Hollow, is difficult to fathom.
He didn’t do well at Sawgrass last year and seems to be using that as part reason for missing out this time. But one is reminded of the remark of manager Chubby Chandler after Rory’s collapse in the Masters.
Chandler mused that perhaps his client doesn’t play enough tournaments and passing up on the TPC lends considerable weight to that point of view.
Graeme McDowell will be in Sawgrass although he, too, has ground to make up after poor results in his last three tournaments: Masters (missed cut), Heritage tournament (tied 61st) and New Orleans (missed cut).
MEANWHILE, Westwood’s absence means his hold on the number one spot in the world will be vulnerable to attack from his nearest rivals, Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald, while you wonder how long more Woods will settle for being rated only the eighth best player on the planet.
Emotions will still be running very high when the European Tour moves to Pula, Majorca, this week for the Iberdrola Open. Jose-Maria Olazabal, Seve’s great friend and famous Ryder Cup partner, plays again over a course he recently redesigned although with the funeral taking place only 24 hours prior to the first round, it is impossible to believe he will have his mind entirely on the task.
The hug between Olazabal and Miguel-Angel Jimenez in Saturday’s minute of silence in Seve’s memory during the third round of the Spanish Open will remain a vivid and heart-rending memory for some time to come. It was in Majorca that Olazabal achieved his 23rd and last victory on the European Tour, back in 2005.
South African Thomas Aiken, winner of the Spanish title on Sunday, is also in the field for the €1m event along with the strong Irish contingent of Shane Lowry, Gary Murphy, Darren Clarke, Damien McGrane, Paul McGinley and Colm Moriarty.
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