Round 4: What a finish?!

Well my week at Firestone has come to an end
and what a fantastic week this has been. I was lucky enough to see Shane Lowry
close out his victory this afternoon and didn’t he do it in style.

I watched as he fist pumped his 12 footer on
14 into the hole for par and then again as he made a clutch putt for par on
hole 17 but it was his heroics on 18 that made him a worthy champion.

I sat with fellow officials right of 18
planning the strategy of a play off after he pulled his tee shot under the left
hand trees but could only marvel at the recovery shot that left him a 12 foot
birdie putt which he converted to win by two strokes.

This morning, like every other, I had set out
early to check the golf course in terms of set up and then headed out to my
perch on 4, 5, 6 and 7 to follow speed of play and, on the chance of someone
missing a fairway, be available for a possible ruling. Today my biggest task
was to move a TV cart that was perched over Lee Westwood’s golf ball. The early
starters had somewhere else to be and consequently ran around the course while
the challengers went about their business well within their time par.

I did catch up with Andrew Dodt post round
and it was great to hear his impressions of playing in a WGC tournament. An
event like this is the pinnacle for a player other than the Majors and he
certainly savoured every minute of it. I am certain that Nick Cullen felt
exactly the same having qualified for the field as our own 2014 Australian
Masters Champion. This is just an example of the benefits that our Members gain
from playing well on our Tour.

This is a sensational venue for a
Championship that does not need any trickery to make it a great test for the
world’s best. As Dodty said today, the key to scoring well is hitting fairways
and greens – the basic premise to golf itself! The course is not excessively
long by modern standards but it has little idiosyncrasies that makes both
player and caddie think hard before selecting a club.

The greens offer great pin selections and it
is essential that Tour and course staff  get
the combinations right to ensure a true test for the players. Hole seven was a
great example today with a pin tucked over the right hand bunker. Those who
went right at it invariably found the right bunker while the smart guys went
for the middle of the green, took two putts and headed to the ninth with a three
on their card! Who says you have to be able to make two? It says three on the
score card!

Jason Day continues to show why he is one of
the best players around at the moment and Bowdo and Danny Lee both continued to
reinforce that they are players on the Tour to be reckoned with.

Tomorrow I fly to Whistling Straits and can’t
wait to see both the course and our guys who will be contesting the PGA
Championship. It has been an absolute privilege representing the PGA of
Australia at Firestone and I can’t wait to get to Milwaukee for the next leg of
my trip.

Related Links

19th Blog / Scotty on Tour: Bridgestone Invitational Day 1
19th Blog / Scotty on Tour: Bridgestone Invitational Day 2
19th Blog / Scotty on Tour: Bridgestone Invitational Round 1
19th Blog / Scotty on Tour: Bridgestone Invitational Round 2
19th Blog / Scotty on Tour: Bridgestone Invitational Round 3