Cink eyes off a different jacket

BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2008 Verizon Heritage | Preview | 16 Apr 2008

The traditional follow up event to The Masters, the Verizon Heritage, will be again played this week at the famed Harbour Town Links course at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, although for many of those who featured in the heat of the battle last Sunday at Augusta National they will be elsewhere, licking their wounds and recharging the batteries for the weeks ahead.

Only three players from the top ten last week, Stewart Cink, Brandt Snedeker and Steve Flesch will look to carry over their fine form from Augusta to this week’s event with Cink well placed to secure a winning jacket this week although the jacket for victory this week is tartan rather than green.

Cink has won this event on two occasions and has recorded two further top ten finishes at the Pete and Alice Dye designed layout and is in a rare vein of form at present with four top three placings in his last seven tournaments. He was also disqualified from one of those tournaments making his record even better than it appears.

The favourite in most people’s eyes is likely to be Ernie Els who, although still looking for his first victory at this venue, has an outstanding level of consistency around the Harbour Town links. Els has been outside the top ten on only two occasions in nine visits to Hilton Head but if there is a concern about his capacity to do well this week it is in his current form.

A win earlier in the season at the Honda Classic and some good weeks earlier in the season in the Middle East have been followed by several very ordinary tournaments by his standards. He missed the cut narrowly last week but interestingly he did the same last year before finishing runner up to Boo Weekley so perhaps there is a chance for a turnaround. A recent change of coach may perhaps yet take further time to yield results.

Jim Furyk disintegrated over the closing stages at Augusta and his form generally in 2008 has been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride. This though is a golf course that should suit Furyk’s game and in fact two runner-up placed finishes back up this argument.

Justin Rose led early at Augusta and this week’s layout should in theory suit the 27 year old who is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory. Rose finished 7th in his first visit to this event four years ago and has made the cut in his other two attempts. Despite a poor finish to the Masters, he is playing solidly at present and stands a chance of securing that first victory.

Two years ago this was the scene of Aaron Baddeley’s first PGA Tour victory and clearly he is a more accomplished and credentialed player now than was the case then. Prior to his missed cut last week at Augusta he was playing well enough to be considered a chance this week and he still is.

Zach Johnson seems to save his best for this time of the year and having made the cut in each of his last 13 starts on the PGA Tour, he seems to be warming to his task. Johnson finished 6th in this event last year and this is the style of golf course that should suit the short but accurate hitter. This is after all one of the shorter but more testing layouts on Tour.

Much will depend on how he has recovered from the mental fatigue of last week if Brandt Snedeker is to do well but he is one of the most exciting young prospects in the game, has made the cut on both occasions he has played the event and is generally in very good form in 2008.

Boo Weekley is the defending champion and his form last week at Augusta and even earlier in the year his form was not far below that it was in 2007. If that is the case then a repeat of his heroics last year is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Others who might be considered chances are Stephen Ames, Heath Slocum and Tim Clark but there are several Australians who could add to the list of Australians who have this title on their resume. Graham Marsh, Greg Norman, Peter Lonard and Aaron Baddeley have all been winners of the event and both Lonard and Baddeley have claims in 2008.

Baddeley we have spoken about already. Lonard failed again at Augusta after a good start but he was playing well prior and it should be remembered that Lonard’s victory in 2005 came after a missed cut at Augusta the week before.

Nick O’Hern has a game that should suit Harbour Town and a 9th place finish in 2005 is an indication of such. On the right golf course O’Hern is capable of winning in the US and this is the right style of golf course for him.

John Senden, Rod Pampling, the improving Jason Day, Nathan Green, Mathew Goggin, Nick Flanagan, Matt Jones, Stephen Leaney, Mark Hensby and New Zealander Tim Wilkinson all get their chance.