Sixth has a bark and a bite

“A POTENTIAL momentum breaker” is what Killarney pro David Keating calls Killeen’s par-three sixth hole.

“The pro tee is exposed, always a breeze coming at you from some direction, but when you look down the tunnel of trees to the sheltered green there will be no movement of the flag, no indicator. There’s no bailout here either, a stream front and right, trouble on the left. It’s not just the yardage, it’s the confusion.”

So we set up camp there early yesterday, waiting for the master of disaster. First group out were Scott Strange, Martin Wiegele and Graeme Storm, and of the three only Scott had anything going for him at that stage, on one under. Playing 205 yards yesterday, into a very slight breeze, the pin right-centre of the green, on a slight slope. Daunting. Scott had no problem with it though, four iron safely on, putt up to a foot or so, simple tap-in for par — his partners did likewise.

Next up a pair of Swedes, Michael Jonzon and Patrik Sjoland, and a Spaniard, Alvaro Velasco, and again, no problem, all three on the green, Sjoland with a beauty just beyond the hole. First real birdie opportunity of the day. “And he needs it!” drolly remarked his marker, ‘He’s two over!” Patrik duly drains the putt but to just a smattering of applause — the few early morning marshals and your intrepid correspondent.

Through the trees, however, off in the distance and swarming up to the fourth green — a sign of the day that was going to be in it — the massive gallery following Rory McIlroy. Rorymania would be with us shortly.

Jonzon and Velasco both parred and we were beginning to wonder — is this the way it’s going to go today, is the sixth going to be a patsy? This was the hole that ranked number one for difficulty last year, with a 3.49 stroke average.

“I can remember a guy taking an 11 here last year,” said one marshal, he popped into the water three times!” That was the unfortunate Martin Erlandsson on his way to a final day 79, but this year? Sjoland had hit in just a five iron, and some were even going with a six — all too easy, we were beginning to think.

And then, the bite, left and right; only the third group out and almost exactly as predicted by Keating — uncertainty over club selection, trouble everywhere, and no bailout. Our attention had turned briefly to the seventh tee-box, watching Patrik Sjoland immediately gave back what he had just got after hooking his tee shot at the par-five seventh, when there’s the sound of a splash — first ball of the day in the water on the right, England’s Gary Boyd. There’s a rather generous drop zone, Gary gets a good drop but his chip comes up well short — two putts, double bogey. Meanwhile, from the difficult left side of the green and more trouble, Scotland’s Gary Boyd fails to get up and down.

So there it is; only three groups gone and we’ve had a birdie, a bogey and a double bogey.

Colm Moriarty and his group followed, then Rory, and wouldn’t you know — two birdies, one greeted with a louder roar than the other by the gallery, now standing four or five deep around the hole.

As the day progressed the sixth began to trouble more and more players — more double and triple bogeys combined (19+5) than mere bogeys (19). Most eventful of the triples was the unfortunately named (for a golfer) Shiv Shankar Prassad Chowrasia; his tee shot ended in the water but rather than take the penalty drop Shiv decided to go for it; off with the shoes and socks, into the drink only for his chip to hit the bank and return to him.

By day’s end the sixth had her teeth back — 3.39 average, second only to the brutal par-four 11th. And the sixth is only warming up.