84 Lumber Classic
DiMarco not crazy with No. 12 FARMINGTON – By now, Chris DiMarco is used to change. His last five PGA Tour stops in Pennsylvania have been played on three different courses, and even with the stability Joe Hardy has brought to the 84 Lumber Classic, Mystic Rock has still been revamped each of the past three years.
DiMarco got a look at some of the latest changes when he practiced on Mystic Rock’s back nine Tuesday. He liked some of what he saw, but had little good to say about the par-3, 155-yard hole No. 12, which received more attention last off-season than any other hole.
“I think (No.) 12 is terrible personally,” DiMarco said. “That’s just my opinion. It’s probably the smallest green on the whole golf course, and with the greens being as hard as they are, you’re almost being crazy to land it on the front of the green and bounce it back to the pin because if you miss left, you’re done.
“If you miss right, you’re in the water. Really, the (smart) play now is long, and just try to chip it back.”
Shortly after the conclusion of last year’s tournament, Vijay Singh and John Daly “strongly suggested” No. 12 and its three-tiered green be altered. Course designer Pete Dye was brought in, and he decided to bring water into play on three sides of the green and drastically reduce the area of the putting surface.
Part of the old green has been left in place, with a new, but much smaller green, built to the left. A rock wall has also been placed in front of the green.
The hole should ideally play between 160 and 180 yards, giving the golfer an opportunity to drop a 7- or an 8-iron onto the putting surface.
“”I liked the hole before,” DiMarco said. “It gave you a whole bunch of different pin positions. This one, you don’t have that now. If anything, I think they should play the right green and make it a short hole, where left you’re in the water, short you’re in the water and you bail (it out) right.
“That’s the problem with the (new) hole, there’s no bailout other than long. Any time you see a birdie there, I think it’s going to be a chip-in or a long putt. But I don’t think you’re going to see too many six- or five-footers on that hole. If they move the tee up where we get a 8-iron in our hand, that’s fine, but if you’re going to be hitting a 5- and 6-iron onto that green, it’s going to be hard.”
The par-4, 394-yard hole No. 13 features a new pro tee 25 yards behind the previous one and a narrowed fairway, which makes the landing area about 27 yards wide.
“I think they made the hole even a little easier than it used to be by putting it (tee) back,” DiMarco said. “Now, it’s just a driver straightaway. Before, I had to try to work it around a corner.”
The par-5, 525-yard hole No. 16 also underwent extensive work. The fairway was narrowed on the right side past the right-side fairway bunker in the second-shot landing area, and the large green-side bunker was removed from the front left of the green.
A lake was also moved to the edge of the fairway and a rock wall reconstructed, with water now sitting at the front edge of the green.
“I love what they did to No. 16,” DiMarco said. “It is so much better now. Before, all you tried to do was hit it 10 yards short of the green, and hopefully it kicked onto the green somewhere. Now, you’re bringing the water back into play. Now, you can make birdie if you have to, where before you’re hitting 3- or 4-iron and bouncing it up somehow and hoping you can get in on there.”
Five previous stops in Pennsylvania have netted DiMarco, the world’s ninth-ranked player, one victory, two other top-10 finishes and nearly $1 million dollars in earnings.
Mickelson pledges support for Katrina
Phil Mickelson, the world’s third-ranked golfer and No. 3 on the PGA Tour’s money list, pledged his 84 Lumber Classic earnings or $250,000, whichever is greater, to the U.S. Golf Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, a direct conduit to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.
“The devastation left by Katrina is unimaginable,” Mickelson said. “Thousands of families in the Gulf Coast area will never be the same. The tsunami relief efforts of presidents Bush and Clinton last year did so much to aid Asian Countries and my wife, Amy, and I want to do what we can to help achieve far greater success in this campaign.
“Just having our hearts go out to these victims wasn’t nearly enough.”
Mickelson is also involved in raising funds for Homes for Our Troops, an organization that retrofits or builds new homes for severely injured veterans.
An early glimpse
Today’s Neighborhood Ford Store Classic Pro-Am will feature most of the 84 Lumber Classic’s top names, giving fans an extra day to see their favorite golfers.
Crowd favorite and two-time major winner John Daly will tee off at 7:10 a.m. on tee No. 1, while Jim Furyk, who spent part of his childhood in Uniontown, starts on the No. 10 tee at 8 a.m.
Mickelson tees off on No. 1 at 8:30 a.m., with DiMarco starting his round on tee No. 1 as well a half-hour later. Singh will tee it up 10 minutes after DiMarco on the first tee.
In the afternoon round, Stewart Cink begins at 12:10 p.m. on tee No. 1, with Fred Couples beginning on No. 1 also at 1:10 p.m.
Other notables in the afternoon round include PGA Tour rookie Sean O’Hair (1 p.m., No. 10 tee), David Duval (12:30 p.m., tee No. 1), Jason Gore (1:30 p.m., No. 1 tee) and Justin Rose (1:50 p.m., No. 1 tee).
Field changes
There were a handful of changes Tuesday to the 84 Lumber Classic field, with four players withdrawing, including sponsor’s exemption Paul Azinger. Also out are Tommy Armour III, Hank Kuehne and Arjun Atwal.
Michael Putnam will replace Azinger, with Trip Isenhour subbing for Kuehne. Bob Heinz replaces Atwal, while John Maginnes replaces Armour.