Pros Blown Away at Honda Classic

As my great friend Patty would say, "It's very blowy out today". Such were the conditions that greeted the professionals at the Honda Classic at PGA National. The field average was an astounding 3.7 strokes over the designated par 70. Spencer Levin grabbed the 1st round lead with a -3, 67. Five golfers were at -2, two at -1, those eight being the only ones under par. Notables that fell victim to the 30 mph winds were led by defending champ Camilo Villegas' +9, 79. Mike Weir, 77, Adam Scott, 77, Rickie Fowler, 76, Ernie Els, 75, and Ian Poulter, 74, all felt the fulls effects of Mother Nature. Els particularly experienced the gale as a ball on the green rolled away with the wind, making his putt about 12 feet longer. Fortunately he hadn't addressed it or he's have added an additional stroke due to the idiotic and archaic rule governing moving balls. Nick Price, who happens to be my age, shot a beautiful 70 to hang a score for the older set. Thanks for the ray of hope Nick. Full First Round Scores  

The 15th hole, the entrance to the three hole gauntlet called The Bear Trap, was the focus of attention by The Golf Channel.  179 yards with a three club headwind saw everything thrown at it from 5 irons to hybrids with varying degrees of loft. Lots of splashes with none louder than Heath Slocum's dead shank into the drink. It wasn't that they couldn't get there, but rather the wind in their faces and the threat of water in their heads increased the pressure. See, pros have pressure too. 

It's supposed to be similar weather tomorrow for round two. The cut line may very well be at +4 or +5ish. More fun.       






Swing hard, look up,