The Starter, Round 2: Travelers Championship
The second round of the Travelers Championship is set to begin Friday. Here's a preview:
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EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR NETWORK on-site correspondent Bob Stevens previews Round 2:
Could Friday be the Revenge of the Young Guns? When I mentioned to Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin after his opening-round 65 that Kenny Perry was the defending champ and that Peter Jacobsen and Brad Faxon won here after not winning for a long time, he took the bait and called the TPC River Highlands an "old man's course", which was why he was playing here instead of on the Champions Tour this week. This is Pavin's 18th Travelers -- and he finished in the top 10 as recently as 2008. Don't expect him to go away on a course where he's been a consistent contender.
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I'll also be watching a guy who couldn't be more different from Pavin in the 2nd round. I've always thought Bubba Watson could treat the TPC River Highlands like Dustin Johnson treats Pebble Beach (except for last Sunday). He could play the entire course with a 3-wood, a wedge and a putter - -and has two top-15 finishes in his last two Travelers.
He told me the mounding beside the fairways gives him a great feel for the course, a tunnel-vision that keeps his sometimes wayward drives closer to center. He began his opening round by missing a 5-footer to save par, but came back to birdie 2 and then run off 5 birdies on the back side, ending with a 7-footer that made him forget the way he started.
Mathew Goggin will have a lot more time for bad swing thoughts to creep into his head today than he did Thursday. He was in one of the last pro-am groups Wednesday, not finishing until after 7 p.m., then had to be at the course at 5:30 a.m. for his 7 a.m. tee time Thursday. Some clubhouse sleeping space, like is available at venerable venues like Firestone or Riviera or Augusta would have been welcome, or just a quiet spot in the corner of the locker room. He won't tee off till after noon Friday, after finishing before noon Thursday.
INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER: Bill Masching, head instructor at TOUR Academy New York, analyzes the playing conditions this week:
Padraig Harrington played the last four holes at 2 under par helping him shoot a 64 in the opening round at beautiful TPC River Highlands. Let's break down his round and point out some keys to his successful Round 1.
Padraig averaged 280 yards off the tee today and hit 11 fairways to keep his golf ball out of the rough. You do not have to hit the ball over 300 yards to score well, but it helps to be accurate. Hitting from the fairway allowed him to get aggressive and hit 14 greens in regulation. Mix in 7 two putts and 11 one putts to equal 25 putts for his round and a great round of golf. They make it look so easy don't they!!
A great way to improve your scores is to track your rounds of golf. Count the fairways you hit, greens in regulation and putts per round. Keep track of your stats and you will start seeing some patterns. Now we will be able to work on something very specific to improve your game. That is when you will really start lowering your scores. I have overheard many golfers trying to help their friends or family on the practice tee here at Centennial golf club. One person told another golfer to "keep your legs straight and locked" while hitting the driver, which caused a bunch more problems for that player and even made my eyes bleed. The point here is to track your game, talk to your Tour Academy Pro about your weakness and have your coach set up a specific game plan for improvement.
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