Many people compare what Kevin Na is doing to what Sergio Garcia did with his re-grips during the 2002 U.S. Open. The most amazing thing about what Na is doing is the fact that he is seemingly battling himself and it is possible that that may actually be helping him. Garcia was also battling himself back in 2002 and he had to deal with the New York crowds while Na has not had to deal with loud crowds in that same way.
The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is not a bomber’s course and it is a course that rewards great ball-striking. Sergio Garcia is a great ball-striker and not surprisingly he has played well at TPC Sawgrass including winning in 2008. Garcia shot 68 on Saturday but he is still 8 shots back entering the final round so although he has played well in the past and is playing well this week, it may be just a little too late to win.
Rickie Fowler is very popular in the United States and he made his name known in Europe at the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor as well as the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s when he finished in the top 5. Fowler may be America’s star but he is also a man for all continents as he is someone who has played well all over the world and he is someone who is liked by people all over the world. The European Tour would love to see Fowler play more events on their tour.
Luke Donald and Lee Westwood have been grouped together the first three days and neither have played well this week. Both of them are very consistent but they cannot perform at that high level all of the time and proof of that is this week. Schofield also thinks that playing together for three days did not exactly help either play and may have actually hurt their chances to succeed this week.
Rory’s 2011 U.S. Open win may be the biggest thing to happen to European golf in his lifetime. His next start after missing the cut this week is the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth which has been remodeled a number of times. McIlroy does not have a great record at Wentworth so it will be interesting to see if he can adapt his game to that course. It is especially interesting right now because both Luke Donald and Lee Westwood have good records at Wentworth and World #1 could change hands again in a couple weeks at the European Tour’s flagship event.
