The final major championship of 2005 is just one week away, but many of the top-ranked golfers are making one last stop in Colorado before heading to Baltusrol for the PGA Championship. Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh battled it out last week at the Buick Open, and Vijay eventually pulled out the victory. Both Singh and Woods will be taking this week off in preparation for Baltusrol, and Ernie Els is out for the season due to knee surgery. That being said, the rest of the big guns on the PGA Tour will be teeing it up at Castle Pines in what should be a very exciting event.
Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen headline the stellar field this week. At the Battle at the Bridges last week, Goosen and Mickelson teamed up and defeated Tiger Woods and John Daly in a match-play event. This week, however, “Goose” and “Lefty” will be battling each other in hopes of winning The International.
Mickelson has three victories on the PGA Tour this season, but the last one was way back in early April. He has struggled with his game since that win. Goosen had an awful final-round at the U.S. Open in June, but he bounced back nicely and finished in a tie for fifth at the British Open. Both golfers will be heavy favorites this week as well as next week at Baltusrol.
The International is known for two key things. The first is the modified Stableford scoring system. Most weeks, -10 is a decent score. This week, however, -10 will get the players a missed cut in the history books. The Stableford scoring system rewards players for gambling so-to-speak. Pars are worth zero points, birdies are worth two points, eagles are worth five points, and double eagles are worth an astounding eight points. And yes, double eagles have landed at this tournament in the past! On the other side of things, bogeys will cause the score to be subtracted by one point. Double bogeys and worse will cause a subtraction of three points.
The modified Stableford scoring system has been implemented in this tournament for twenty years now, and the golfers and fans have really grown fond of the idea for the most part. The second thing The International is known for is the wonderful milkshakes in the clubhouse. There is usually a milkshake-eating contest annually at the tournament. Golfers never like rain delays, but Castle Pines is definitely the place to be if a rain delay does take place.
Ok, back to golf. Mickelson and Goosen will not be the only stars playing this week. Sergio Garcia, Chris DiMarco, and David Toms will all be teeing it up as well. Garcia and Toms have one win apiece on the PGA Tour this season, and both have runner-up finishes as well. DiMarco has not tasted victory on the PGA Tour in over three years, but he has come very close on numerous occasions in 2005. DiMarco will surely be one to keep an eye on this week because he has contended in three of the last four years at The International.
Luke Donald, Davis Love III, Fred Couples, Tim Clark, and Stewart Cink round out the top 20 who will be playing at Castle Pines. Couples has played great golf lately and has moved his way back into the top 20 in the world. Donald has also been very consistent so far in 2005, but he has yet to taste victory on the PGA Tour. DL3 has struggled with inconsistency for some time now, but he has won The International twice before and will be a favorite this week.
Last year at The International, Rod Pampling survived the final-round to edge out Alex Cejka by two points and Tom Pernice Jr. by four points. Pampling finished with 31 points last year, which was the lowest winning total in quite some time. The swirling winds caused the course to play much tougher than usual. The victory for Pampling was the first of his PGA Tour career.
Castle Pines Golf Club is a beautiful course that usually yields great scores. The course has been lengthened since 2004, making it an amazing 7,619 yards overall. The par at Castle Pines still remains 72, although that’s not as big of a deal with the modified Stableford scoring system. The length of the course makes it sound impossible, but the elevation in Colorado allows the ball to go much farther than usual. It all equals out in the end.
The 17th hole is definitely a birdie hole for the players when the winds are down. It is a 492-yard par 5 that is easily reachable for all the golfers. The professionals will need to stick the drive in the right side of the fairway and play an iron into the green. There will be a lot of eagles at this hole and even more birdies. But for the players who go over the green, they will face a very tough up-and-down.
The 18th hole at Castle Pines is a very solid finishing hole. It is a 480-yard par 4 that requires an accurate tee shot to get things started. A good drive on this hole will allow players to have a good angle into the green for their approach shot. The green is heavily surrounded by bunkers and is very difficult to read. It’s imperative for golfers to put their approach shots on the correct level of the putting surface.
Last week, I picked Chris DiMarco to win the Buick Open. He finished in a tie for 15th, but it could have been even better. I’m going to do something I haven’t done this season and pick DiMarco again this week. He didn’t win last week, but he has contended at The International on numerous occasions in the past. DiMarco had a commanding lead at the halfway point last year but blew it on the weekend. I think he will find the winner’s circle this week in Colorado. For my “sleeper” pick, I’m going with Sean O’Hair. This guy has been on fire as of late, and I think he has a good chance at winning this week.
The weather forecast for The International calls for a little rain on Thursday and Friday. The weekend looks pretty clear, but the tournament may be backed up if thunderstorms stop play the first two days. Let’s hope everyone gets finished by Sunday and heads out safely to the PGA Championship next week. The highs for this week will be anywhere from the high-60s to the mid-80s. The field will be playing for a total purse of $5 million, with $900,000 going to the winner.
With one week to go before the PGA Championship, The International should be a very exciting setting for golf fans. The top golfers will be trying to get one last tune-up for Baltusrol, and this alone should make the tournament worthwhile. There are a lot of great golfers teeing it up, and I know I will definitely be tuning in to watch as much as I can. The International can be seen this week on USA and CBS at the following times:
Thu 4-6pm ET USA Fri 4-6pm ET USA Sat 3-6pm ET CBS Sun 3-6pm ET CBS
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