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From the PGA Tour: WGC-Cadillac C'ship leaves a last man standing
âBrutally difficult, tough, horrendousâ these are the printable words the players employed to describe the conditions after the first two rounds of the exclusive WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral
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'Brutally difficult, tough, horrendous' these are the printable words the players employed to describe the conditions after the first two rounds of the exclusive WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral.
68 of the world's absolute best took a beating so severe it was as if they had been in the ring with Mike Tyson.
Only four men were under par and tied for the lead at -1. Tiger Woods stood at 5 over par. With scores of +11, +11 and +14, respectively, after 2 rounds Doral's Blue Monster Course was making former Major Champions Martin Kaymer, Jim Furyk and Webb Simpson feel like rank amateurs.
The Spaniard Sergio Garcia was handed a quadruple bogey 9 to start his second round on the par 5, 10th hole. Sergio's only response to the howling winds of the Blue Monster was: 'It's never a nice way to start a round, a 9. But that can happen without hitting too many bad shots.'
Leading the pack at this point were four Americans, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed at -1.
The Irish duo Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy leading the chase at even par, while Tiger Woods, who is still struggling with his back problems at 5 over par was a full 6 strokes back after 2 rounds.
The Blue Monster course must have taken a brief nap during the third round as Woods managed to sneak in a 6 under par 66 in the third round to put himself in a tie for fourth place.
'I figured, hey, I'm only six back, that's definitely doable, especially with the conditions and how difficult this golf course is playing,' Woods said when asked about getting back in the tournament.
The 23rd year old Patrick Reed shot a 3 under par 69 to seize the lead at 4 under par. Americans Jason Dufner and Mahan were now both at 2 under par and only 2 shots off the pace.
The pundits felt that Woods was still the odds on favorite on Sunday having won the event five times. Reed had won two events in the last 8 months without Woods in the field.
For Sunday's final round, Reed wore a red shirt and black pants, the same colors that Woods wears on Sundays. The men in red were only a few meters apart warming up on the driving range. Woods drew first blood though when his tee shot on the first hole hit a spectator on the head causing him to bleed.
A clearly embarrassed Woods walked over to offer the injured man a signed glove as an apology. The victim accepted the glove with one hand while holding a white handkerchief over his bleeding scalp with the other.
That was all the red that Tiger needed to see this Sunday. His game was lacking as he missed 2 birdie putts on the first four holes. He then tweaked his back as he hit a bunker shot on the par 4, sixth hole.
By the ninth hole he was 3 over par for the day, 2 over for the event and already 8 strokes behind an unsuspecting Reed at 6 under par. Reed kept his nerves in check but confidence in high gear to go 2 under par after nine holes.
By day's end the young Reed finished at 4 under par to hold off Welchman Jamie Donaldson and America's Bubba Watson who were tied for 2nd at 3 under par. Reed went into the record books to be the youngest man to win a World Golf Championship event, eclipsing Woods's previous record by 24 days.
Reed's putting had once again reigned supreme to pave the way to his third PGA victory in 14 starts. Reed was ranked a staggering 586th in the world in 2012 and moved up to 20th with his win on Sunday.
However, Reed's comment that he felt that he was one of the top five players in the world, did not exactly endear him to many players. He was asked to comment on his attire to which he said: 'Well, the best player ever to live [Woods] when I was growing up wore black pants, a red shirt. I was growing up watching him, I always thought, you know, it would be cool to wear black and red come down Sunday.'
He was asked to comment on who he thought were the other four top players who would be joining him in the top 5. 'Tiger Woods, of course. You know, good question. I said top five, I didn't know where I was going to be in the top five.'
Reed certainly demonstrated the game to back his bluster with a stellar performance. Woods's injury however raised further doubts. Not surprisingly, 12 out of the 13 questions he was asked after finishing 5 over par for the event related to his chronic back.
