Watching McIlroy et al play Congressional has made me like the course more, far more, than I did a few days ago. With respect to those of you watching on TV and unfamiliiar with the course, the course presents challenges these top players to come up with some extraordinary shots. On some holes, the demands of the shot are obvious -- anybody happen to see Ooosthuizen hit that 4-iron onto the 18th green? Off a downhill lie, he hit an approach well over 200 yards, just a touch of draw, chased it on and made the birdie, a rare birdie on that hole.
The holes that have been mentioned in previous posts -- the 10th, 18th, 6th -- present obvious challenges, but some of the lesser holes have obviously got the guys thnking and trying out different strategies. The 8th, for instance, might be one of the weakest holes out there, a 354 yard par 4, slight dogleg left. When the McIlroy-Johnson-Mickelson group played it, DJ hit driver and almost drove the green -- he right in the throat. Dont know what Rory hit (hybrid?) but he was in the fairway about 70 yards back. Mickelson did what he does and was WAY left. McIlroy could have played a couple of different kinds of shots to get at a hole location behind a bunker, went with a low-ish pitch that he nipped. Ran about 1 feet past the hole. Likewsie, DJ had several options from his perfect position in the throat of the green, and threw it in low -- and it checked up faster than he wanted. Neither of them were able to convert the birdie, though they had good looks. As for Phil, he damn near saved par.
The point is that this short hole, a cupcake on the card, was able to be played in such different ways. Earlier, I watched the Spanish trio play the 8th, and they too had different strategies -- Jimenez laid back, Quiros damn near drove the green on the fly. The 8th isn't supposed to be reachable, but somebody will get there. In any case, it was fun to watch as the players tried to peel this particular onion. I'd even say the same for the short 7th, a 9iron shot for most of the field, where they had fits with the front pin position, most going long. To hold the front of the green, you had to spin the bejesus out of the shot -- as Sergio did, taking a divot the size of shoe.
Most boring hole I watched was the par 5 9th -- drive, layup, wedge. Straight ahead 3 shotter.
I wouldn't call Congressional an aesthetic delight, but I wouldn't call it dull and formulaic, either. Not by a long shot. I've been seeing lots of different club selections off the tees, and players attempting many different kinds of shots, both long and short. The bunkers might be cookie cutter, but pay attention to the way these guys are trying to get at the hole . . .