WGC Cadillac Championship, Round 1, Go Low or Go Home

Not a tower day.

Today at the WGC Cadillac Championship it was the "calm after the storm". After a possible mini-hurricane knocked down TV towers at holes 8 and 9 and a two and a half hour delay as a result, moist conditions and benign winds prevailed making for perfect scoring conditions. It was a fortunate result that no one was injured during the tempest. 52 of 66 starters were at even par or better led by Hunter Mahan at -7 through just 11 holes. Seven golfers were at -5 with an additional eight at -4 in a round that will be completed tomorrow morning because of the weather delay.   

In one of the predetermined marquee grouping Phil Mickelson was -2, Tiger Woods and Graeme McDowell both -1 through fifteen holes. Woods hit some Captain Kirk shots, his inability to make a putt inside of fifteen feet was what prevented him from threatening the leaders. In the premier pairing of the world's top three players #1 Martin Kaymer was at -5, #2 Lee Westwood -4, and #3 Luke Donald was 5 under, all through 10 holes.  Full Field Partial Round 1 Scores

The course was there for the taking with greens stimping at about 11. That's Doral's only real defense other than wind. Greens at 11 have pros chomping at the bit with no fear of running by the hole and having to make a longish comebacker.  

If the course grows any teeth at all it will tough to make up having passed on the gift scores given today. With so many guys under par it's not just a question of going low later in the tourney, it's the herculean task of climbing over so many players. You can't rely on 30 pros puking on their FootJoys.Word to Mr, Woods, Mickelson, and McDowell..... Start making birdies when you climb out of bed tomorrow.






Swing hard, look up,

WGC Cadillac Championship - Expert Picks

The WGC-Cadillac Championship being held this week at Doral should be renamed the Peoples' Championship. Por que? Because your tax dollars bailed out General Motors and allowed them back into the golf tournament sponsorship game after their incongruous wedding of Tiger Woods and Buick.Tiger Woods really drove a Buick. And Dolly Parton sleeps on her stomach.

There's a lot going on this week in what may prove to be the most compelling event so far this year. The top ten in all categories are signed up, specifically OWGR, PGA Tour money list, and the FedUp Cup. The first two day pairings feature Woods/Mickelson and Bubba Watson/Dustin Johnson. FYI, Johnson leads the Tour in driving distance at 308.8, Bubba's second at 308.4. Just those two pairings alone are enough to catch my interest. Full Field. Fully 45 players in the field are from countries other than the ole' US of A. Anyone still questioning the international game? In the last four years that this event has been held at Doral the winners have been Els, Mickelson, Ogilvy and Woods. None of their games are in any way approaching hot as they head into this week. Kaymer, McDowell, Westwood and Kuchar are playing better and as a result demand more consideration.   

What to look for....    

Expect Woods' game to be improved, but still not seamless enough to win here. Phil's lack of consistency off the tee rules him out. Els may very well contend with the putter telling the story, as with everyone to be frank. Ogilvy's getting back to where he was, but not quite there. Now that I've identified who's not going to win it begs the question.... 

Average Golfer Picks

1. Graeme McDowell - Coming off a final round 66 last week on a ridiculously difficult track.
2. Matt Kuchar - 4 top 10s in his last 5.
3. Martin Kaymer - Deadly, just deadly.

Others to watch...   

Ryan Moore, Ian Poulter, Vijay Singh, Jeff Overton.   

Bet early and often.

Swing hard, look up,