2013 Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club Discussion Thread including Inside the Ropes Pics and Video!

[KrazyTrain18]

Good for Merrick, I was hoping for Scott at the beginning of the week then Simpson and in the playoff Beljan, talk about loyalty

[phan52]

Originally Posted by Rick Martin

anyone hear the crowd cheer for Beljan's putt on 18 like 3-4 minutes before CBS showed it - it happened while Schwartel was hitting his 2nd shot to 17th....only thing is that CBS didn't mention that Beljan's putt was from a few minutes ago and showed it as being "live"......there's something not so truthful about that in the telecast. It wasn't live.

Glad to see Merrick win.

They do that ALL the time.

Beljan deserved to lose after that knuckleheaded decision to hit driver on #10. Maybe if the pin was up, but not where it was. the Sunday pin on that hole might make it the most interesting hole in the entire golf season. It was like it was on the hood of a car.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by phan52

Beljan deserved to lose after that knuckleheaded decision to hit driver on #10. Maybe if the pin was up, but not where it was. the Sunday pin on that hole might make it the most interesting hole in the entire golf season. It was like it was on the hood of a car.

I disagree.  I was almost having serious deja vu during that playoff because if he simply hits a better pitch shot (4 yds further) and then drains the putt (easier said than done) then he would have won the thing EXACTLY how Bill Haas won it last year.

From what I've seen lately (and to be fair I didn't see much of yesterday's telecast so maybe something was different) you're taking a huge gamble when you don't hit driver there.  Merrick landed his 80 yard (or whatever it was) approach on the front fringe and it barely held the green.  4 feet shorter and its in the front bunker, 4 feet longer and its in the back bunker.  That was simply a fantastic shot.  If he only hits a good shot, but not a fantastic one, then people are on here today saying "Merrick deserved to lose after that knuckleheaded decision to lay back with his tee shot on #10." ;)

Beljan lost, in my opinion, because he hit a poor drive and a poorer pitch, and because Merrick hit a great shot.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

I disagree.  I was almost having serious deja vu during that playoff because if he simply hits a better pitch shot (4 yds further) and then drains the putt (easier said than done) then he would have won the thing EXACTLY how Bill Haas won it last year.

From what I've seen lately (and to be fair I didn't see much of yesterday's telecast so maybe something was different) you're taking a huge gamble when you don't hit driver there.  Merrick landed his 80 yard (or whatever it was) approach on the front fringe and it barely held the green.  4 feet shorter and its in the front bunker, 4 feet longer and its in the back bunker.  That was simply a fantastic shot.  If he only hits a good shot, but not a fantastic one, then people are on here today saying "Merrick deserved to lose after that knuckleheaded decision to lay back with his tee shot on #10." ;)

Beljan lost, in my opinion, because he hit a poor drive and a poorer pitch, and because Merrick hit a great shot.

Wrong, Merrick had the right idea but he didn't hit his drive where he intended. Most people who laid up hit it well left of where Merrick did, short of the fairway bunker, about 90 yards out. That angle gives you a really good look at the pin. In fact, Merrick birdied the hole earlier in the day with that approach. Merrick had the right idea, he just hit a poor drive too far to his right and had to hit his approach over that greenside bunker. Beljan just screwed the pooch altogether because he ended up with nothing, just as anybody who hit it on either side of the green ended up. Short of the green was the ticket.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by phan52

Wrong, ...

Says you.

Why can Merrick's mistake be chalked up to physical, yet Beljan's has to be mental?  If Beljan's faded slightly like (I'm assuming) he planned, he's probably sitting just left of the front of the green with a simple pitch shot.

[clubchamp]

Originally Posted by phan52

Wrong, Merrick had the right idea but he didn't hit his drive where he intended. Most people who laid up hit it well left of where Merrick did, short of the fairway bunker, about 90 yards out. That angle gives you a really good look at the pin. In fact, Merrick birdied the hole earlier in the day with that approach. Merrick had the right idea, he just hit a poor drive too far to his right and had to hit his approach over that greenside bunker. Beljan just screwed the pooch altogether because he ended up with nothing, just as anybody who hit it on either side of the green ended up. Short of the green was the ticket.

Have you ever been there or are just basing your assumption off TV? I can tell you that even if Merrick hit it to the left he still doesn't have a really good look at the pin and he would have still had to go over the trap. Merrick hit an amazing second shot there because it would not have taken much for him to end up in the back bunker. Beljan ended up a little bit too long so he didn't have a great look but his botched chip is what killed him not the tee shot. The neat thing about that hole is you're not going to get out of it with birdie or par without hitting a really good shot whether it be a perfect driver or a great wedge from 90 yards.

[Blitz28179]

Beljan lost because he 3 putted that par 5.He had a 5-6 footer for birdie and missed it.Hole #11 i think?

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by clubchamp

Have you ever been there or are just basing your assumption off TV? I can tell you that even if Merrick hit it to the left he still doesn't have a really good look at the pin and he would have still had to go over the trap. Merrick hit an amazing second shot there because it would not have taken much for him to end up in the back bunker. Beljan ended up a little bit too long so he didn't have a great look but his botched chip is what killed him not the tee shot. The neat thing about that hole is you're not going to get out of it with birdie or par without hitting a really good shot whether it be a perfect driver or a great wedge from 90 yards.

Bingo.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by clubchamp

Have you ever been there or are just basing your assumption off TV? I can tell you that even if Merrick hit it to the left he still doesn't have a really good look at the pin and he would have still had to go over the trap. Merrick hit an amazing second shot there because it would not have taken much for him to end up in the back bunker. Beljan ended up a little bit too long so he didn't have a great look but his botched chip is what killed him not the tee shot. The neat thing about that hole is you're not going to get out of it with birdie or par without hitting a really good shot whether it be a perfect driver or a great wedge from 90 yards.

Both. Not that I play it like they can. But if you hit your drive short and to the left behind the fairway bunker, you DO NOT have to hit over a greenside bunker. You have a straight sight line to that back pin. Merrick did it earlier in the day. And I'm not saying it's easy. He pushed the approach just a little and it almost ran into the greenside bunker, but not because he had to hit over it. He stayed in the fringe and made the putt for birdie. Check out this video and it clearly shows the look you get at that pin from the left side of the fairway.

http://www.pgatour.com/content/pgatour/video.html/2013/02/17/merrick-birdies-no--10-in-round-4-of-northern-trust

Bingo, indeed.