Tiger heads Cialis Western Open field

BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2005 Cialis Western Open | Preview | 28 Jun 2005

The USPGA Tour heads west this week and continues its recent run of high quality golf course layouts when it takes to the fairways of the Cog Hill Country Club in Lemont, Illinois, on the southern outskirts of Chicago.

In recent weeks the PGA Tour have played events at Muirfield Village, Congressional, Pinehurst # 2, and Westchester, all courses of the highest quality and this week Cog Hill loses little, if anything, in comparison.

The Cialis Western Open is one of the most historic events in US golf both at the professional and amateur level. It was first played back in 1899 when Willie Smith beat Laurie Auchterlonie at the nearby Glen View Golf Club. It was not played the following year but in 1901 Auchterlonie got his revenge and the event, apart from three occasions during World War II, has been played every year since. This will be the 102nd version of the event. Back all those 106 years ago the tournament was worth a total purse of US$150. This year, that figure is US$5 million.

Dubsdread forms one of the four courses at the multi golf course, public access, Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, just south of Chicago. The course was opened in 1964 and designed by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee. Wilson also received recognition for such courses as the Blue Monster at Doral, Laurel Valley, La Costa and Bay Hill. He died just a year after the opening of this, the fourth course at Cog Hill.

The course measures 7320 yards and features bent greens and as you would expect with a course of this age, fairways lined by tall mature vegetation. It is heavily bunkered and possesses large undulating greens and tight landing areas.

As a consequence of the event’s standing, the quality of the course and perhaps its place in the schedule of events leading into the British Open in two weeks time, a field befitting such an event has assembled for this week’s tournament.

Three time winner Tiger Woods is here and playing well. His caddy Steve Williams enthused over Tiger’s tee to green game after the US Open.

“I believe his swing changes are final and that he is hitting the ball as good as ever and when he gets his short game together he will back to his best. He has perhaps neglected his short game a little as he seeks perfection with the longer game and it showed at Pinehurst but he can turn that around.” Tiger comes off that runner up placing to Michael Campbell in last week’s Open and appears set for another good week on a golf course that clearly ’fits his eye’.

Vijay Singh has not won this tournament but has had a run of good finishes here. Seven top twenties in ten starts including two top fives indicate that, like Tiger, he has a good feeling for this quality course and the Tour’s leading money winner is obviously in good form currently. Top tens in each of his last two starts has him close to his peak for this.

Jim Furyk is back after his near miss last week at Westchester and his form here indicates he will continue his run of top finishes. Five top tens in his last six starts at Cog Hill and three runner up placings in his last eight starts this season point to something having to give way and that might just be Furyk winning for the first time since August 2003.

Luke Donald has played well when he has been at thsi course. One missed cut as an amateur in 2000 but in three starts as a professional he has been 20th, 13th and last year 3rd. He was perhaps a little disappointing at the US Open on a golf course that should have suited him but he was not alone there and given a week to get over that, he will line up here with better memories of the good form prior to Pinehurst.

Scott Verplank has won this event in 1985 when the event was at Butler National but he has regularly played well in recent years. His missed cut at the US Open can be ignored but his form prior can’t. It was impressive, with a series of good finishes. Verplank will likely feature in final calculations.

Billy Mayfair has won around this course previously and there is something about the way he is beginning to play that suggests that a repeat performance would not be a great shock. His recent runner up at the Colonial and the 7th place two weeks ago at the Booz Allen indicates where he is at with his game right now. He has no battle scars from Pinehurst as he was not there and will come in here with a good chance.

A week before wining his first event on the PGA Tour last year, Mark Hensby finished third here on a golf course he knows well. When he first moved the US in the early 1990’s, Hensby based himself in this area with friends from Australia who lived in Chicago. When they left to go back to Australia, Hensby would often sleep in his car in the car park and while the story has no doubt grown and grown, his familiarity with the golf course and its surrounds were obviously of benefit last year.

In my own caddying days, especially in Britain, there was always the story of the caddy who, when introducing himself to a potential boss for a tournament, was asked if he knew the course and responded, “I should do, I sleep under a hedge alongside the 6th hole.” Hensby may have not stooped to that level but he no doubt has fond memories of a time he can look back on now and reflect as to just how far he has come since. With a third placing at the US Open and fifth at the Masters, he is one of the more credentialed players in the game right now.

Stuart Appleby has a good record here as does Robert Allenby and although both missed the cut at Pinehurst, they both played well at the Booz Allen a week earlier. This might just be an event to get their respective seasons back on track.

Peter Lonard played well here on debut in 2002 when 5th. He has had reasonable weeks in subsequent starts. His form is a little hard to pick at present with a missed cut at the Booz Allen and a midfield finish last week at Pinehurst after driving it badly.

Other Australasians in the field are Aaron Baddeley, Gavin Coles, Paul Gow, Scott Hend buoyed buy his British Open start, Brendan Jones, Stephen Leaney, Geoff Ogilvy, Craig Parry, Craig Perks and John Senden.