Interesting writeup on how #2 is playing the day before the tournament.
Funk's caddy below:
Just thought I'd share with you all...
2nd day of practice on No.2.
It is HOT here...we'd heard the rough was sparse, but they dumped the
fertilizer and it is thick. I haven't seen Vij or Erkl hit out of it
yet, but I don't think they can hit too many greens from the
cabbage...so that bodes well for Fred.
Course isn't playing too long, either. So good for Fred again.
Chatted with Tom Meeks (USGA set-up guy) for a while Monday. He wants
the greens at 11.6, rough topped at 3.5". Rough right now is higher
than that...if they cut it, Tiger and Phil and Vij chances go way up.
Let's hope for Funky's sake they keep it brutal.
With few exceptions, caddies and players think NO ONE finishes under par
for the week. Unless it rains, of course. It is just very difficult to
get it close enough to make more than three birdies a round...and
everyone will make more than a few bogeys.
Conditions are OK...a little sparse around the greens (cold spring, no
growth). It will probably look worse on TV than it plays, though.
Greens are absolutely perfect.
Played with DiMarco, JL Lewis, Len Mattiace, Zach Johnson, Stewart
Cink. JL is striping it. DiMarco looked very good today...quite a bit
sharper than at Augusta, so who knows what that means. He did pretty
well at Augusta...I think he has a great shot here. His cut shot will
be very good into these greens, and he can make more 10 footers than anyone.
Requirements for the week---gotta hit fairways....gotta hit a lot of
greens...gotta be solid on 10 foot putts. I'd bet the top 10 finishers
are right in the top 20 in GIR's this week. And gotta be up there in
driving accuracy, UNLESS they trim that rough tomorrow.
Fred played great after the first round at Congo last week. Frame of
mind is good right now...hitiing it well....his big hurdle is to hit
solid irons into the greens and to handle the emotions that pop up when
you hit a good shot and it rolls off into brutality...hopefully he can
pull in that Player's Championship state-of-mind. Nothing bothered him
that week...
I was a little here and there on the chances, hearing about sparse
rough...but after Mon/Tues, I'm thinking he has a great chance this
week. Course doesn't fit him as well as Shinnecock did, but it fits a
lot better than I thought before we played it.
Who wins Pinehurst? If no rain, the guy needs to be pretty
conservative. Gotta be able to play middle of the green golf...stuff
that suits guys like Langer, Furyk, Leonard....might be tough for a guy
like Vijay to cut away from his super aggressive style....
Luke Donald should do well. I really like Fred's chances...DiMarco
should do well...
Will be interesting to see how aggressive Tiger and Lefty are off the
tee. I think they could have fared much better at TPC by hitting few
drivers, but they didn't take that route...
We play late Thursday with Spencer Levin (if you haven't heard of him,
you will. One of the best amateurs...played well at Shinnecock) and
Allenby.
-Mark