Big Play
Adam Scott gambled by going for the 13th green from a sidehill
lie, but the risk paid off, and his easy par sealed his victory
at the Booz Allen
ANALYSIS
Leading by three strokes on the par-5 13th hole, Scott hit a
high-risk shot that could have cost him the title. With his drive
in the right rough and well above his feet--an angle that favors
a draw--Scott should have played out to the left. But he tried to
slice a five-iron 200 yards around some trees to a green guarded
on the left by a stream. "The ball could've gone anywhere," Scott
admitted, but even though it glanced off a branch, it didn't lose
any steam and reached the green. Taking such risks usually leads
to disaster. Scott got lucky.
THE TIP
Let the Slope Shape the Shot
It's hard to hit a cut when the ball is above your feet because
you have to be very strong to keep your hands ahead of the
clubhead (top inset) during the follow-through. The more prudent
play is to hit a draw because that's the shot the lie will
naturally produce. With a stance aligned to the right, swing so
the clubhead travels up the slope, and release your hands at
impact so that the clubhead passes them (bottom inset).
AND ANOTHER THING ...
"Whistling straits, the site of the PGA, could play harder than
Shinnecock Hills. The fairways are narrow, the rough is nasty,
and the lake-effect wind is brutal."
******
"Butch Harmon has lost me when he says Tiger Woods is working on
the wrong things, but he says that he doesn't know what those
wrong things are."
******
"Annika Sorenstam is my pick at the U.S. Women's Open. She has
the best overall game of anyone in the field."
COLOR PHOTO: ERICK W. RASCO
COLOR PHOTO: COURTESY OF ABC (SCOTT)
COLOR PHOTOMONTAGE: ERICK W. RASCO/JIM GUND AND AL TIELEMANS (BACKGROUND)
COLOR PHOTOMONTAGE: ERICK W. RASCO/JIM GUND AND AL TIELEMANS (BACKGROUND) CUT
COLOR PHOTOMONTAGE: ERICK W. RASCO/JIM GUND AND AL TIELEMANS (BACKGROUND) DRAW
Peter Krause teaches at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids,
Minn., and is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher.