Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions Presented by IOA

[Awsi Dooger]

A few other things from Friday:

While Inbee's group was on the 4th green there was a huge prolonged roar from the nearby 5th tee 30 yards away. That was definitely a hole-on-one roar. Justin Verlander started running in that direction. "Was that Josh! Did Josh do it!" I yelled out, "I'm betting on the pro." I didn't even know who the pro was in that group, but give me the LPGA pro above Josh Donaldson. I'll take my chances. Sure enough, it was Celine Boutier. When we reached that tee we saw Celine fixing her ball mark only a few feet from the hole. Later the greenside marshall said the shot hit softly just in front of the holeAfter fixing the situation on 5 and 6 the organizers of this event somehow brainstormed to create even greater gallery difficulties on 11 through 13. Those two greens are very close to each other with a severe mound in between. Last year you could walk atop the mound and circle around the back of 11th green to reach the 12th tee. No big deal. This year on Thursday I noted there was one single gallery rope left of 11 green, instead of two last year...one each closest to 11th green and then maybe a 10 yard gap to the rope alongside the 13th green. No big deal. On Thursday I ducked under the rope and walked around to 12th tee, just like last year. This time on Friday they weren't allowing that. Instead they stationed their most forceful marshall there and forbid anyone from doing it. To his credit, he wasn't shy about speaking and trying to rationalize. They knew darn well it would be nothing but dismay and complaints. Once they blocked off that route, it meant there was no way to reach the 12th hole unless you walked all the way back alongside the par 4 11th and circled at the tee box, or walked all the way around the par 5 13th. Ridiculous. There was no warning about this anywhere, including back at the 11th tee where it should have been. I complained and dozens of others complained. We were stuck, forced to miss 2 holes of action for seemingly no reason. The marshall said that LPGA players had complained about spectators walking on that mound, that it was disrupting play on both 11 green and 13 green. If so, that's asinine. We're talking dozens of people...at most...who are ever in that area. Just block if off briefly when there is play on a green. Then allow spectators to proceed. I told the marshall that this tournament was providing lots of little reasons to convince spectators not to return. Within minutes of my comment another guy encountered the situation and was even more livid. He said he had directed pro golf tournaments before. He said this was a little problem that had unnecessarily been turned into a big problem. Our language was so similar the marshall asked if we were related. Hardly, other than bonded by common sense. I asked the marshall why the gallery rope couldn't be further down the slope on 11, which is the more gentle side. That way it creates a corridor behind 11 and toward the 12th tee, without disturbing action on the 13th green. He said, "Yes, I agree. We have requested that. I'm not sure it will get done this year." Unbelievable. This is moving a gallery rope 5 yards and somehow it requires an offseason review. For the remainder of this event spectators were stalled on the left side of that 11th green. The marshall told he he had to fend off 40 furious Canadians from Brooke Henderson's gallery who tried to stampede him when they were told they could not proceed to #12That guy with tournament director experience was a friend of John Smoltz and there to support Smoltz. He and his friend said they had been very impressed with Brooke Henderson on Thursday when Smoltz had been paired with her. The friend said that Brooke shot 4 under but it could have been considerably better than that. "Brooke hit the ball great...better than John. She gave herself chances on every hole but didn't take advantage of many of them." I told him he just described every round Brooke Henderson has ever played.

[Awsi Dooger]

Saturday played out as I expected. I've seen the weaknesses in Brooke's game over the years to believe she would press and be exposed somewhat while paired with robotic Inbee. Brooke got off to a good start then the hinges came off when both players found the front greenside bunker on the par 3 third hole. Inbee got up and down while Brooke airmailed the green with her blast and went partially down the back slope. A mediocre pitch and poor putt resulted in a double bogey and 2 shot swing. That third hole ended up costing Brooke the event. On Sunday she was left of the tucked pin then tried to get too cute on her chip shot, fluffing it short of the green. She did save bogey but that was +3 on the hole over the final 2 daysChad Pfeifer is a huge fan favorite in this event. I gained even more respect for him on the par 3 fifth hole. Chad had two early birdies and was leading the celebrity event at that stage. Then he hit an awful tee shot on the 5th that never threatened to clear land and found water at right. Chad properly started to drop along the hazard just beyond the tee box. That indeed was where his ball was last over land. Then both LPGA players and especially the two LPGA caddies waved Chad more than 100 yards forward, telling him to use the drop area alongside the green and just right of the greenside bunker. I was livid. This had all the makings of the typical professional cheat, the one I've seen so dependably throughout my golf viewing lifespan. Pro players and caddies give themselves the most favorable interpretation imaginable of where that ball crossed. It is blatant cheating and cannot be described as anything but that. I have described it on this site countless times. Fortunately Chad Pfeifer wasn't having any of it. He called for a rules official. When that rules official pulled up he stopped his cart smack next to where I was standing alongside the gallery ropes left of the green. I told the official, "That ball never crossed land. I saw it from the tee box." The rules official hustled to the drop area where Chad was standing. After a brief conversation the rules official pointed Chad back toward the tee box. Chad walked back there and played from his original intended spot. Once the rules official returned I said, "Good job. That is the correct spot. It never came close to crossing up here." He said, "Chad agreed. The players were telling him to use the drop area. But that's only when the ball crosses beyond the bunker. The players didn't realize that." Let's just say I was satisfied but skeptical. If the same shot had been hit by an LPGA pro I guarantee there would have been no rules official. They would have played from the improper forward spot. Chad Pfeifer got a double bogey but it was what he earned.Inbee was playing great and methodically pulling away from the field. The Canadian fans, while enthusiastic and loyal, aren't exactly the most sportsmanlike. They have come from long distances and want their girl Brooke to win. Very frequently in the gallery I'll hear them describing flying in from Ottawa and all the transfers it required, plus the specifics of what the temperature was and how much snow on the ground. Consequently it leads to comments like these alongside the 11th green, "We need Inbee to miss this one" and "Does Inbee have a bogey yet? No? Good...she's due, she's due for lots of them."I'll continue to insist that Brooke should either read putts on her own, or have her sister caddie read them from the same side she does. When Brittany is reading the putts from behind the cup and pointing out the spot to Brooke, there are so many glaring moments of partial disagreement. Brooke will pause and ask if she is sure. Brittany will again point to the same spot. So often it turns into a tentative pathetic strokeBy middle of the back nine Inbee was hitting it tight and also making putts. Then Sei Young Kim started creeping up the leaderboard. Dave and Jeannie were well aware of her propensity to get hot. Jeannie said, "They aren't going to give it to her. This is going to be a dog fight. She (Sei Young KIm) is the threat." We were rooting for Inbee to gain as much separation as possible. The final three holes of Saturday ended up being so pivotal to the outcome. Inbee was -14 with a 3 shot lead and had short birdie putts on all 3 holes. Along with not making any of them she actually played those holes in +1. The tee shot on 18 was fantastic but ended up atop a prominent knob on the green. I'm not sure television could depict that. It was a very quick downhill 10 footer. Inbee knocked it 3 feet past. She seemed stunned. I don't think she was prepared for that type of test coming back. I don't think she realized it was possible on that length of putt. Merely by the expression when she went to mark the ball I had a bad feeling the second putt would be tentative and very well could miss. I wasn't surprised at all by the result. When I relayed those thoughts to Dave her former high school coach the next day he said he was thinking almost exactly the same thing. Then throughout Sunday that one missing shot always seemed so major to where we were as opposed to where we should be.

[Awsi Dooger]

Saturday was a comparatively tremendous crowd size by standards for this young event. First time I've seen required use of the adjacent Disney parking lot along with the primary. Sunday was not nearly as large. So I guess by that standard they have managed to mirror Phoenix. As the week progressed I kept going back to how rowdy last year was with Jeremy Roenick's influence all over the course, while this year it was mostly quiet normalcy other than the grandstands at 17th green and throughout 18Now that Gaby has won the event I'm thinking to how unlikely that seemed early on Sunday. Her opening tee shot was miserable. It was mishit left into the rough and not far removed from major trouble within the trees. For reference, Blair in the same group outdrove her by considerable margin. Gaby did hit a decent recovery shot just left of the green, and saved par. Then routine 2-putt pars on 2 and 3. I stopped following the group at that point. Gaby trailed by 5 at -8 and seemingly was going nowhere. Also, on Saturday I was following Inbee's group but briefly walked ahead on 10 to watch Gaby's group hit into that green. It is an interesting par 5 alongside the water. Gaby had to lay up. She pulled it. But it didn't look like much of anything...no trouble at all. There isn't much trouble between fairways on this course. We were stunned at greenside when the third shot was taking so long. Then we found out the ball had been lost, and not found until 10-20 seconds beyond the time limit. Smoltz' caddie Greg Olson said he could have gone over there to look but it didn't seem necessary. I said the same thing. Smoltz said he was there when the ball was found in the straw, that it was unplayable and almost looked like it had been stepped on. Gaby went back to the site of the second shot and hit two three very brave shots in a row. She barely cleared the water on her fourth, taking an aggressive angle. Then her wedge was within 6 feet to a back left pin with water not far beyond the green. Chad Pfeifer round that water with a pitch shot in Inbee's group. Gaby sank the bogey putt. She and her young caddie reacted with aggression, knowing how crucial it was.Inbee didn't have much all day on Sunday. Never hit it close. Another relatively short birdie miss on 1, followed by bogey mistakes at 2 and 3. She was among a large contingent of players who pulled the tee shot on 3 into the sticky rough. Derek Lowe in Gaby's group took it to new level by hitting the cart path and ending up 35 yards left of that green. These greens are unlike the Naples event in that it is mostly mid length Bermuda around the green instead of tightly cropped areas allowing a decision of chip or puttSmoltz hits some clunky shots and is not nearly as long as I remember him in pro ams from a decade or more ago. He doesn't overswing and he doesn't make the big error. He knows how to scoreSei Young Kim wasn't doing much either. Once both failed to birdie the gettable par 5 7th hole I expected the cavalry to charge on by. It was somewhat surprising that didn't happen. The conditions were not difficult. MJ Hur and Annie Park from well back were shooting final round scores that I thought would be within reach of at least one of the leaders. Inbee made an uphill 20 footer on 8 for her first birdie of the day. I said to Dave and Jeannie that Inbee will win if she birdies 2 of the remaining par 5s -- 10, 13 and 17. She didn't birdie any of them. All week I had been amazed at Inbee's layup shots on the par 5s. It is one of the absolute strengths of her game. So often she'd be furthest away and first to hit after the tee shot, then hitting last and from the best spot while hitting her third. This time she shockingly missed the fairway on 10 then pulled her second shot into light sidehill rough. Another parI don't know much about Hataoka. Once she seemed to be Inbee's chief threat I walked forward every hole to watch her finish before seeing Inbee hit into the green. The pace of play was allowing that perfectly. She made excellent up and downs for birdie on 13 and par on 15. I thought she was very conservative on the short par 4 16th. Once she parred there it allowed Inbee opportunity to draw level on the same hole. That uphill birdie putt from Inbee was hit aggressively but seemed to be sliding right. Fortunately the cup barely caught it on the right side. I have to say it's kind of fun to stand there under the thin trees right of the green on 16, knowing the males will aim in that direction and are very prone to thumping those trees. I saw Smoltz' tee shot start smack at me and the marshall wave the paddle in that direction. It was exciting. I was anticipating a splattering above my head. Unfortunately it hit the trees about 10 yards forward, spoiling the fun. Tonight I watched the replay and saw myself gesturing forward in disgust at the ball that never arrived. Meanwhile Grant Boone and Karen Stupples were stumped toward where Smoltz' shot ended up. We saw that Gaby birdied 18 to finish -13. Good for her. If not Inbee I wanted it to be Gaby. I hustled along 17 to see Hataoka narrowly miss her birdie putt. Now this is Inbee's opportunity. If she birdies 17 then the modest final round won't matter. And I have to say I have no idea what Inbee was thinking on that third shot. She rushed it far beyond her norm or than anything else I saw all week. Why is she hitting so early? I was shocked. Both Smoltz and Sei Young Kim had waited until the green cleared to hit their second shots. They are only beginning to walk forward yet Inbee is already at her ball and firing away. What a misfire it was. Wide left smack off the clubface. Just get it on the upper tier and there's a reasonable birdie opportunity. Instead it's scooting down the hill to 3 putt territory. Inbee avoided that fate but now she's going to have to either birdie 18 or survive a playoff. Lotsa luck. I know applied odds. Inbee just threw away favorite status for pot luckAs others have emphasized in this thread, 18 is a lousy playoff hole. I remember thinking that last year, even though there was no playoff. We could be here for a long time. This is a par hole for players of this caliber. The three players weren't exactly using any sense of urgency. That stood out. We were apparently more aware of impending stoppage than they were. The men are much better at recognizing the need to finish on Sunday, for television and organizers and everyone involved. Inbee had the opening chance but then backed off. It was the only time I saw her back off a putt all week. Then the putt itself was always low. Dave and Jeannie departed once Inbee found the water on the third playoff hole. The organizers brought in two standards of temporary lighting. It was still plenty bright enough once Gaby and Hataoka decided to quit after 5 holes. After seeing one of these in person I'll never again believe the golf announcer malarkey that the wide open lenses are making it appear much brighter than it actually is. What a crock. There were scattered boos when play was halted. Rightfully it should have been a chorus of catcalls. I could have been out there swinging away for another hour. Even after we traipsed 600+ yards all the way back to the shuttle bus area, then waited a long time for a shuttle back to the Disney parking lot, and then arrived at the parking lot, it was still light enough to play once I reached my car.

[fredogolfer]

You’re absolutely right, turns out I had blocked her account. Instagram probably kept suggesting it and there was no way I was going to start following her.