Fowler's tee shot on 17th

[Oddsocks]

So given the length of the hole was he stupid to hit the big stick given the lead he had? Other than one chunky wedge in that position he could have hit 4i/ wedge to secure par and put all the pressure on the OP.

Or was it just an unlucky bounce?, either way the kids on form for this season for sure.

 

[UlyssesSky]

I don't get it as well.

If I remember correctly, he had about 280 yards to the front of the green, with the pin right in the front left corner, so let's say it was maybe 290 yards to the pin.. The distance to the water behind the green was about 330 yards. He hit his tee shot on 15 to 344 yards...

To make this work he would have had to take up to 50 yards off of his normal driver distance. Or hit 3 wood. Or 4i/wedge. Even 9i/9i would have been the better choice..

 

[chrisd]

In the circumstances a poor decision imo. Surely knew he could go in the water and absolutely ridiculous to take it on with a 2 shot lead.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

He didn't need to hit driver but without that kick forward off of the slope I don't think, and I don't think he thought, there was any way he would reach the water so in that sense he was unlucky.

That said, with the pin at the front, 3W to where everyone was hitting it had to be the sensible play as it's pretty much a nailed on birdie from there.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I don't get it as well.

If I remember correctly, he had about 280 yards to the front of the green, with the pin right in the front left corner, so let's say it was maybe 290 yards to the pin.. The distance to the water behind the green was about 330 yards. He hit his tee shot on 15 to 344 yards...

To make this work he would have had to take up to 50 yards off of his normal driver distance. Or hit 3 wood. Or 4i/wedge. Even 9i/9i would have been the better choice..

It was about 360 to the water apparently

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Hadn't he used driver there before ?

Maybe it was the wrong shot but then again fair play to having a go at it - it's one of the reasons I think he liked but will also hold him back in the majors

 

[HomerJSimpson]

He didn't need to hit driver but without that kick forward off of the slope I don't think, and I don't think he thought, there was any way he would reach the water so in that sense he was unlucky.

That said, with the pin at the front, 3W to where everyone was hitting it had to be the sensible play as it's pretty much a nailed on birdie from there.

Seemed strange given a three wood and a good chip/pitch on was a nailed on par at worse and with his short game highly likely to be birdie.

 

[FairwayDodger]

It was a bit of both. I was surprised to see him pull driver out but he hit it perfectly and was unlucky he got a bad bounce that shot it miles forward.

That tee shot is in his head though, apparently he has hit it in the water there 9 times. His 3w on the playoff was a much worse shot with similar result.

 

[Oddsocks]

So it's general agreement that it was bad course management.

In that situation 2 pars was enough to put all the pressure elsewhere but there we go.

Learning day for sure

 

[freddielong]

Seemed strange given a three wood and a good chip/pitch on was a nailed on par at worse and with his short game highly likely to be birdie.

He seems to hit a draw with his 3 wood maybe he was more comfortable hitting the fade with his driver.

The putt on 16 felt like a turning point, if that goes in its all over.

 

[UlyssesSky]

It was about 360 to the water apparently

Could be the distances I have in my mind are in meters.

Anyways, that's still just 300 yards to the pin. He had to factor in he will get more roll on the green than on the fairway, and that there's a slope towards the water at the back of the green. The best he could have hoped for would probably have been to have the ball stop somewhere in the middle of the green and have something between a 60 and a 90 footer for eagle, instead of a relatively easy up and down for birdie from the front edge of the green had he hit 3 wood.

Still doesn't seem to make sense...

 

[Dan2501]

He played safe during the playoff and used a 5 wood, and look how that worked out. He was seriously unlucky to end up in the water. Just caught the exact point of the fairway he needed it to avoid, and it shot forward. A foot front or back and it'd have been perfect.

Rickie is not the sort of player that's going to try and contain or hold a lead. He's going to try and extend that lead and continue to play aggressive. It's what's made him so successful in recent months, he just got unlucky here. He'll certainly be back though, I think he has the best all-round game of anyone in the world.

As a general point though, it does seem baffling to me that Pros wouldn't just lay up with a 4 iron or a 5 iron to the right of the water, leave themselves between an 80 and 90 yard pitch, which they are all incredible at. So many guys went for it and ended up in the water left, or ended up with monster putts on Saturday.

 

[One Planer]

His caddy should have left the 3 wood on the tee box and started walking toward the green with the bag before Rickie arrived on the tee.

Caddy was very weak in my view in allowing him to hit driver.

Yes, ultimately, it's the player choice but I feel a strong caddy would have had him see sense and play lesser club.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I think it's a bit too simplistic to put it like that. We know what happened when he hit 3w (or 5w?) in the play off. I sometimes hit driver when conventional course management says I shouldn't but sometimes I just feel more able to hit the fairway with driver than 3w - I can really hook that 3w if I'm not careful!

 

[Fish]

Same could have been said for Andy yesterday, did he need to take driver on a few of those closing holes, he found himself dropping out the water after a huge drive, chipping out the trees and off the desert sand, had he taken a 3w he could have been putting for birdies instead of some amazing scrambled pars, if's & buts, the game is riddled with them.

 

[garyinderry]

He tried to close the deal there and then. two pars coming in would have left the door open for someone to slip home with two birdies.

I still think it was the wrong play.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It was a big Phil play. Nick Faldo would have taken an iron, played the percentages and walked off with the trophy. Big Phil would take the driver. It is what makes Ricky and others exciting to watch but it will cost him titles, as it has Phil. The hard bit was tv had spent ages bigging up about his family being there, particularly his grandad who had never seen him win. Having them there, having it in the bag and then muffing it will hurt him. Great start to the season for him though and he will surely be pushing for a major this year.

This tournament plus the one in Dubai which also had a great finish, showcased a great weekend of golf. The good thing for golf, showing its depth, is that none of the big 3 really threatened yet they were still great to watch.

 

[UlyssesSky]

His caddy should have left the 3 wood on the tee box and started walking toward the green with the bag before Rickie arrived on the tee.

Caddy was very weak in my view in allowing him to hit driver.

Yes, ultimately, it's the player choice but I feel a strong caddy would have had him see sense and play lesser club.

It actually seems like the caddy had his share in making the decision to hit driver. You could clearly hear him talking to Rickie about the shot, asking him "are you with me on this?".

So not only didn't he stop Rickie, he at least reaffirmed him to hit driver if he wasn't actually the driving force behind the decision...

 

[apj0524]

I wondered if the atmospherics and being so far above sea level played are part, as I am sure there was a graphic earlier showing his drive distances on the day had jumped by about 40 yrds?

 

[Curls]

I guess it's a birdie hole, so if you lay up and don't nail your approach (which they don't do all the time) then you're looking at dropping a shot to the opposition. I agree it was a poor choice but as someone above said he plays aggressively and when it works he shuts everyone out. Plenty guys have played like that, they go hard and win by comfortable margins.

When it doesn't work...