So a bit late in this given that the afternoon matches have started, but he comes a slight preview nonetheless.
The morning session went better than the American side likely thought it would. Yesterday's stellar team of Webb Simpson & Bubba Watson suffered a down to the wire defeat in the first match of the day; it would appear this team is slightly better suited to play Four-Ball over Foursomes, which was mentioned in the preview here last night. Sometimes Johnny B knows what he's talking about.
The final score of the Mickelson & Bradley vs. Westwood & Donald match says more than a paragraph worth of words: 7 & 6. That's just a beating, no other way to spin it. How this American team has been left out of the Afternoon matches is simply unbelievable.
Jason Dufner & Zach Johnson defeated the Euro buzz saw Nicolas Colsaerts and his partner Sergio Garcia. Same as in the first match of the day, Colsaerts play in Four-Ball yesterday afternoon did not translate over to Foursomes this morning.
In the final match of the morning, Jim Furyk & Brandt Snedeker got revenge over the the Euro team of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. This had to be a victory the US side was not expecting.
So winning the morning session 3-1 and going up 8-4 overall is most certainly as good a result as could have been expected.
For the afternoon:
N. Colsaerts & P. Lawrie vs. D. Johnson & M. Kuchar
This match will likely hinge on how well Colsaerts plays. Another round like Friday afternoon and a blue flag will be on the board, almost certainly. Otherwise, this match is a toss-up with no real way to predict a winner.
J. Rose & F. Molinari vs. B. Watson & W. Simpson
This match should go to the Americans given the play of the American team yesterday. One would expect Rose to put up a solid fight but that young Molinari will be the key to that team. Ring this one up for the Americans.
S. Garcia & L. Donald vs. T. Woods & S. Stricker
Through all their struggles, Woods and Gracia are still, for the most part, the faces of golf in their respective nations. It's been 13 years now since these two squared off at the 1999 PGA Championship on this very golf course. We can only hope for this match to provide the same level of entertainment that their duel provided back then. But, sadly, safe money would be on Woods continuing his typical gruesome play in Ryder Cup team matches. A US loss is likely and a half point should certainly be considered a win here.
R. McIlroy & I. Poulter vs. J. Dufner & Z. Johnson
Hopefully Dufner can continue to channel his inner Curly and play 'dumb' in this match as well. He has performed better than expected thus far in the Ryder Cup. This will be the match that defines Rory's year in this Ryder Cup. He is currently 1-2 in team play. A win here will allow him to take it upon himself to have a winning record in the Cup. Don't forget that McIlroy is the #1 player in the world. Expect him to rise to the occasion here. Euro victory is likely.
Certainly we will all be watching to see how it turns out, but the projection here is for the Euro's to win the afternoon session 2 1/2 to 1 1/2.
Overall projection: 9 1/2 to 6 1/2 USA leading.
Friday
Cahoon Plantation Golf Club-Chesapeake, VA
This course is a very unique golf course. Being located in the Virginia Tidewater region typically means the course will have bermuda fairways. But this course was built with bent grass fairways. It is the farthest south non-mountain course that this writer knows of with such fairways. The course has also seen some substantial evolution since it's opening. Originally this facility had 27 regulation holes and a par 3 course. It is unknown why the course owners elected to close some of the holes, but the lure of money from housing almost certainly played into the decision.
On top of having bent grass fairways, the course also has very few trees, at this time anyway, to obscure the views of the hole and impede recovery shots. One thing that it would seem that the course has dropped from it's promotional material is comparing itself to the great links of Scotland. While the course is fun to play, it is most certainly not a links course, nor does it play firm and fast like links courses. But this is still a fun course and the bent grass fairways certainly makes it worth a little more effort to play.
Holes to Note
Hole #1: Par 4, 393 yards
The day starts off nicely with a reasonably short par 4. The hole features an anti-strategic bunker on the left side of the fairway that is opposite the best line into the green. This hole functions as a perfect start to the round and really describes the entire course. Very good conditioning. Wide open looks. Little strategic interest. Modest greens.
From this location, the green is located on a line extending from the third teeing area. The bunker on the far left is the anti-strategic fairway bunker and the next bunker visibile is a greenside bunker. The best play is to keep the ball away from that bunker and into the right side of the fairway.
Even though this tee shot nearly found the rough, it provides the player with a perfect line to the green. From here, the green is accessible at it's longest part. The green is shaped and angled like a Redan, but as you can see in this image, the run-up nature of the Redan is not allowed here.
This substantial par 5 must be played over water twice for those players playing from the back tees. From the tee the player should play his tee shot as far right as he can in order to allow for even a slight chance at going for the green. On the second shot, the player is left to determine if he feels like he can carry the second hazard on his shot or not. In order to carry the hazard on the second shot, the player will likely be looking at a carry of 260 yards or more.
From the tee the player is confronted with this view. The safe line is to play on a line towards the point where the tallest trees fall down to the shorter ones in the distance. The more aggressive line is to play over the taller of the scrub trees in the foreground.
The second shot has little of interest. The player either chooses to go for the green in two shots or he picks his lay-up yardage. This player laid back to around 100 yards, leaving a relatively easy shot to the green.
This hole is of note for all the wrong reasons. This is one of the holes added to the property when it was decided to turn part of the old course into housing. From the tee the player is faced with a forced lay-up shot. There is a hazard that is blind in the first image, though barely visible from the far left portion of the tee, that takes driver out of the player's hands. There is also another pond running down the entire left side of the fairway with a long beach bunker running right into the water. The fairway is then squeezed further by a row of houses down the right side. Once in the fairway the player is left facing a virtual forced carry (it is possible to bunt the ball around the hazard, but not a likely choice for most players) to the green that is not only fronted by a pond, but also fronted by a bunker. And on top of all this, the cart path, perfectly maintained portland concrete by the way, goes directly across the fairway. This hole is just a train wreck.
The tee shot should be played towards the bunker that can be seen in the center of the image. There simply is no bailout area here. If the player hits a shot more than sightly off line, he's looking at a drop in the bunker by the pond or a re-tee. Not the best situation.
This is the tornado-in-a-trailerpark approach shot that awaits the player. Just look at it and ponder.
This short par 3 over water might be the best par 3 on the course. The hole is simple and understated. The pond is a necessity given the low-lying nature of the course but with the short shot it should not come into play. The green is well defended, having the run-off to the pond short and the three bunkers to the rear. Even with all the defenses, the player is given a solid opportunity to make a birdie before a difficult closing stretch.
Hole #17: Par 4, 411 yards
This dogleg left is complicated somewhat by the fact that it typically plays with a helping breeze. Long players must be careful as they may well run out of fairway beyond the dogleg. Being off the fairway here is no bargain as this fairway has more containment mounding than most on the course. The player will certainly have nothing close to a level lie.
From the tee the player should aim for the tree that is nearest the fairway on the left. This will leave the longer player with plenty of room to hit the fairway. The shorter the player is off the tee, the further right he should aim.
From around 125 yards, the large and deep grass bunker that directly fronts the green is an imposing hazard to the player. This used to be a sand bunker and it is not known why the configuration was changed, though it is not the only one that has been changed.
Hole #18: Par 5, 561 yards
It is never ideal when a tee shot is played over a street of any kind. This one plays directly over one of the major streets coming into the neighborhood. Certainly the view from the tee is very 'busy' because of that. This is also a very difficult tee shot. Though it is not evident in the below image, the fairway plays as a peninsula from the tee. The inlet can be seen just above the cross-walk and the pond runs significantly down the fairway on the right. The entire left side is pond. The bunkers that are visible work in two ways. First they are saving bunkers, keeping the player from hitting into the water, ideally. Second, they are strategic targets because any player wishing to go for the green in two shots must play close to them. The second shot is merely a number and target shot because there are no bunkers or other hazards of that nature, beyond the fronting pond, on the second shot. To the green, the player looks at a shot over water to a green heavily defended by bunkers. This is certainly a solid closing hole due to the risk/reward nature of the hole.
From the tee, a very busy sight confronts the player. Water must be carried off the tee, then avoided both left and right. On top of that, bunkers must be avoided if the player wishes to go to the green in two.
From around 260 yards, the player is confronted by this. Pond running down the entire left side and then crossing over in front of the green. If going to the green in two from here, the line is between the two trees in the left-center foreground, just beyond the fairway. Players laying up should aim between the clubhouse and condo's more to the right.
If the player chose to lay-up, this is the approach that he must play. No easy shot here.
Overall, this is not a bad course. Some of the holes are good, some are fair, and, of course, as noted, at least one is just an absolute train wreck. But this course is certainly worth the rate they charge, especially for the oddity of being able to play a wall-to-wall bent grass course this far south near the coast. For equal parts architectural quality and novelty, 4 out of 10.
Ryder Cup- Day 2 Pairings and Thoughts
The matches for the Saturday morning session have been released and perhaps the most shocking thing about them is that Tiger Woods has been left off the pairings for the first time in his career. Though given his play during day 1, this is not surprising. Now, on to the matches.
Webb Simpson & Bubba Watson vs. Justin Rose & Ian Poulter
This has potential to be another blow out from the team of Simpson/Watson or a tough match between two teams that both won on Friday. Conventional wisdom would suggest that Bubba Watson might not be the best golfer for Foursomes given his ability to hit the ball from one side of the course to another, but Capt. Love obviously has confidence in him. The Americans would be well served to get off to a strong start here to keep the good momentum from Day 1 on their side.
Keegan Bradley & Phil Mickelson vs. Lee Westwood & Luke Donald
The Americans are certainly hoping this team keeps up it's solid play and can pull out another point in this competition. Westwood should be riding high after today's play, getting a win over Tiger Woods. If Bradley and Mickelson can maintain their solid play this should be a point for the American side.
Jason Dufner & Zach Johnson vs. Nicolas Colsaerts & Sergio Garcia
Given Colsaerts world beating play Friday afternoon, this one will likely have the Americans sweating it out, possibly for a loss. Dufner & Johnson won their Friday morning match but that was against players not nearly as hot as Colsaerts and Garcia.
Jim Furyk & Brandt Snedeker vs. Rory McIlroy & Graeme McDowell
One has to suspect the Northern Irelend pairing will not be changed out for Saturday afternoon either, given their fair results on Friday. Expect this match to turn out the same as it did on Friday morning.
Projected Saturday Morning session results: 2-2
Projected Overall: 7-5 USA leading
Have to wait and see what the actual matches bring and then on into the afternoon.
Webb Simpson & Bubba Watson vs. Justin Rose & Ian Poulter
This has potential to be another blow out from the team of Simpson/Watson or a tough match between two teams that both won on Friday. Conventional wisdom would suggest that Bubba Watson might not be the best golfer for Foursomes given his ability to hit the ball from one side of the course to another, but Capt. Love obviously has confidence in him. The Americans would be well served to get off to a strong start here to keep the good momentum from Day 1 on their side.
Keegan Bradley & Phil Mickelson vs. Lee Westwood & Luke Donald
The Americans are certainly hoping this team keeps up it's solid play and can pull out another point in this competition. Westwood should be riding high after today's play, getting a win over Tiger Woods. If Bradley and Mickelson can maintain their solid play this should be a point for the American side.
Jason Dufner & Zach Johnson vs. Nicolas Colsaerts & Sergio Garcia
Given Colsaerts world beating play Friday afternoon, this one will likely have the Americans sweating it out, possibly for a loss. Dufner & Johnson won their Friday morning match but that was against players not nearly as hot as Colsaerts and Garcia.
Jim Furyk & Brandt Snedeker vs. Rory McIlroy & Graeme McDowell
One has to suspect the Northern Irelend pairing will not be changed out for Saturday afternoon either, given their fair results on Friday. Expect this match to turn out the same as it did on Friday morning.
Projected Saturday Morning session results: 2-2
Projected Overall: 7-5 USA leading
Have to wait and see what the actual matches bring and then on into the afternoon.
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