A great week ends in a great way. Going into this past week’s EDS Byron Nelson Championship, there were loads of outstanding questions concerning all the parties involved with the tournament…
From the players – Would the course actually be better? Will it be more difficult? Will the greens roll and the fairways have grass? After last year, you couldn’t give a “plugged nickel” to get players to return to this event. All year, JJ Henry and Harrison Frazar - the tour players who consulted DA Weibring and Golf Resources in the redesign of the TPC at Los Colinas - tried to convince Tour players to return for the Tournament that has raised more money for charity than any other tour event.
From the Salesmanship Club – Could they get the players they wanted to return to Byron’s Tournament? Did they do the right thing in allowing beer on the golf course? They were the last event (even The Masters allows this) to make alcohol available to viewers walking the course. Would attendance continue to rise in the wake of the attending players? Would the spectators make hole 17, “the best place to hang?”
From EDS (The Title Sponsor) - Would this be a success? Could they get some guarantee from the tour office and Commissioner Finchem about changing the date?
From the spectators – Did we really want to attend? Would the new Pavilion be as good as years passed? Do we really care about the level of players coming?
From the media – Would the tournament with a field on the level of a Fall Series event be entertaining? Would we get to spend more time writing about the tournament and the players rather then the conditions?
As you can see, loads of questions; unknown answers heading into last Wednesday. Answers to the questions started flying in on Monday and Tuesday as the players began walking the course for the first time.
I spent most of those two days also walking the course and hanging in the Players Locker room. As I walked the new design (something I’ve done at least 15 times over the last few months), I knew that Weibring had done a very good job in taking an outdated facility and making it a course that would excite the players. He made greens that, until the players learn the proper places to hit the ball, will be extremely exciting to watch. There will be plenty of three putting. Weibring designed greens with tremors sectioning. Most greens have four very distinct areas for pin placements, each being harder than the last. He created fairways tighter than any other TPC and tighter than many of the other tour events.
The answer to question one… very positive. Almost all the players like the new course. The only negative I continued to hear was the slowness of the greens. That really comes from new greens; not enough root to make them tour speed.
The best part of the course… the highest ranking player in the field won the event, Adam Scott. And he won at a number that will cause other Top players in the world to think about returning to the event.
For the fans, the 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship was a huge success. A terrific three hole play-off between Ryan Moore and Adam Scott. These are two players that for a number of years have dealt with the “high expectation” emblem on their logoed shirts.
The Salesmanship Club could not have been happier: loads of positive responses; a winner with a big name; fans that enjoyed the changes. All seems good for the future of the EDS.
Speaking of EDS… their CEO, Ron Rittenmeyer, signed an extension with the tournament as their title sponsor. He got what he wanted, a commitment from the tour that they will work on moving the date. With the improvement of the course; with the improvements to “the entertainment value” of the vent; the only thing left is the date. Mr. Rittenmeyer has worked very hard with the tour to get a later date… and it is coming.
Let’s review- the players were happy with the new course; the Salesmanship Club was happy that the players were happy; the crowds were happy with the changes; the media room seemed positive that many players will return.
So, what is the downside? Here I go… No one was happy with the set-up. And I mean no one. Explanation – each day, two representatives of the PGA Tour placed the tee boxes and the hole locations for the tournament. And they were bad… They were really bad on Sunday, and not real good on the first three days either.
How do I know? Two reasons: 5 ½ hours to play 18 holes… 5 ½ hours. Can you imagine if any of us played with our friends and it took 5 ½ hours. We would never play together again. Now some of this is just the PGA Tour. They have been fighting slow play for years, but most of this was caused by the set-up of the course.
The tour expected plenty of rain on Saturday night; it never came. Rain causes soft greens. Instead of the 3 inches everyone expected, the course got exactly two tenths. But the pins were set assuming the rain. They were put in positions that were completely hidden. They could have, and should have, been changed on Sunday morning. When the officials saw a north wind of 15-25 with bursts to 30 and cold weather, they could have moved tee boxes to different locations, but they didn’t. And the players were not happy. And, I’m pretty sure CBS was not happy going over 40 minutes into 60 minutes.
What made this worse for me were the pin placements at number 17. All parties involved in the Nelson were trying to make this wonderful Par 3 more like 16 in Phoenix. A fun hole with the crowd involved in every shot. THAT NEVER HAPPENED! Why? On Saturday, the tour placed the pin just over the bunker on the left side… no one shot at it. On Sunday, the tour placed the pin just over the water on the right… few shot at it. It was as quiet as church. How about using pin placements in the center of the green… cause the excitement everyone wanted?
All in all, it was a great win for Adam Scott; all in all it was a great win for the parties involved in the tournament. Now it’s up to the tour… fix the date and they WILL come. Well, at least most of them.