Couple of quick points concerning Ridgewood after having attended this years event ...
1). While the course drew strong praise for its set-up and architectural pedigree the size of the crowds was quite small -- the capacity was set for 25,000 but it never approached that number with actual bodies on the course at anytime. In the first two days the bulk of the crowd steered towards the threesome of Lefty, Kenny Perry and Padraig.
2). Ridgewood benefited from the smaller sized crowds since its overall logistics would make it much more difficult to host a major event with the likes of Tiger being on board. No doubt the course is helped by the fact that Bergen County has "blue laws" in effect which effectively closes down all shopping in the Borough of Paramus on Sundays. Still, the sheer density of the area would make matters quite demanding -- keep in mind the course benefited from hosting the event during the last days of August -- prime time for people to go on vacation and therefore not be in town.
3). The set-up by the PGA Tour was exceptional. One of the best I have personally witnessed in over 30 years. Ridgewood allowed for scoring when exceptional play happened (witness Mahan's opening round and Stricker's in the 2nd round) but the course was not going to allow a progression of low scores without the required level of high execution. The rough was fair but not so penal as to only require lob shots out back to the fairway.
4). The course design demonstrates that working the ball off the tee is what is needed in order to place a healthy balance between the need for power and accuracy. Ridgewood's leaderboard featured the likes of Mike Weir and Bubba Watson and a range of different players types in-between. The top tier players were notably present on the leaderboard with the likes of Vijay and Sergio, to name just two.
5). Tillinghast's secret at Ridgewood, like Winged Foot, is making sure you have fairway turning points where shaping tee shots to ideal landing areas is needed. You just can't grip and rip -- and you simply can't shape shots without sufficient distance. More than most other courses -- Ridgewood is a welcome throw-back to shotmaking starting off at the tee.
6). For those who need to know which holes played the toughest the top nine are listed below.
The 5 + Dime hole rated #16. The easiet hole was the 1st.
Toughest ...
#1 12th (converted par-4 usually plays as a par-5 on #2 Center Nine)
#2 8th (par-3) *Very hard for the pros to figure out -- green design was especially tough if yu missed left of hole
#3 11th (par-4)
#4 10th (par-3) *plays as the 6th hole on the East Nine
#5 18th (par-4) *fantastic play by Veej and Serge for bidies as the 1st playoff hole.
#6 9th (par-4) *uphill slight dog-leg plays as the 5th on the East normally.
#7 7th (par-4) *converted from normal par-5 4th hole on Center.
#8 14th (par-4) *generally the 5th hole on the West - tough green proved hard to figure out.
#9 6th (par-4) *plays as the 3rd on the Center Nine and was a tough driving hole throughout the event
Leftovers ...
Hard to figure out why Streelman putted first on #18 since he was inside of Veej. Waiting to have Vejj putt first would have given him the opportunity to know that his putt would be for a tie if Veej did miss.
There was confusion as to who was away then and when the players played the 18th a few minutes later during the 1st playoff hole.
Regarding the ruling on the "gopher" hole at #17 for Sergio. Slugger White was most gracious in giving Sergio relief in that situation. It was a stretch from my vantage point in looking at the area after play has finished. Almost similar to the gracious ruling that Els received from the Masters Will Nicholson a few years ago.
All in all, kudos to Ridgewood for coming out of the shadows -- likely the event may not come back there for a few years -- if at all. The Tour would like to see Liberty National and possibly even Trump National enter the rota of courses. Ridgewood deserves high marks for a grand week blessed with superb weather and a tremendously exciting climax.