Sports

[pupwhipped]

WOW! Webb Simpson is beatin the pants off of everyone else. My goodness! Be interesting to see if it holds up for him on Sunday. With this kind of lead, I can't imagine it wouldn't...but stranger things have happened.....I guess?

Anyone else a "watching golf on TV nut" like I am? Probably not. HA!  

[gardenman]

One bad hole can eat the biggest lead, and that Players' course has lots of holes that can ambush you. Hit a drive too far left or right, and you're in the trees. Get unlucky hitting it out and hit a tree solidly, and you can end up behind where you were. Hit another tree on your next shot and you can easily be looking at a seven or eight on a par three hole. I saw a pro shoot an eleven on a par three a few years back, when he did just that. His tee shot went into the woods and it took him forever to get back out. Every line he tried ended up hitting another tree. It's hard to hit a tree intentionally, but he managed to hit tree after tree before finally getting it back in a serviceable lie.

Kevin Na shot a 16 on a par four hole in the 2011 Valero Texas Open. A big lead is better than being behind, but one bad shot, followed by some bad luck, can eat up the biggest lead. Na lost twelve strokes on one hole. The guy I saw a few years back lost seven. The all time worst was Tommy Armour (before my time) who shot a 23 on a par five at the 1927 Shawnee Open. Tommy lost eighteen strokes on a single hole. There's no such thing as a safe lead in golf. The easiest hole on the course can jump up and bite you, given the chance.

[pupwhipped]

@gardenman, thanks for your reply. Yep, anything can happen because it is just a game. I can't help but recall the meltdown Jordan Spieth had at the Masters a couple years ago. That one was pretty epic. Ha! It will be interesting to see how it all "plays out" at the Players today. I will be watching!

Thanks again. 

[gardenman]

@pupwhipped

I'll be watching too. That psychological part of having a big lead can drive you a bit crazy. Play too conservatively, and your lead can melt away. Play too aggressively, and you can make the big mistake that will kill you. I'd almost rather be behind by a stroke or two than ahead by seven. You know what you have to do then. When you're ahead by seven, it's a lot iffier. You have a lot of options and none of them are a sure thing.

[Catty2]

I've always enjoyed watching golf.  I enjoyed seeing Tiger Woods back and having such a good round.  Many years ago I went to the Western Open which is held outside of Chicago and it was such a fun experience.  I also used to golf many years ago.   Even though I never was very good, it was fun and I had a group of friends who were about the same level as I was. 

[pupwhipped]

@gardenman  @Catty2, going out of a limb here, but with two holes to play, I think Webb Simpson will prevail. LOL!!! 

Hope I don't jinx him.  

[gardenman]

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@pupwhipped wrote:

@gardenman  @Catty2, going out of a limb here, but with two holes to play, I think Webb Simpson will prevail. LOL!!! 

Hope I don't jinx him.  

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@pupwhipped

When the lead got down to four around the halfway mark, I got worried a bit, but Webb Simpson rallied back and got the win. I was happy to see Tiger playing so well again.