Doral losing its luster in PGA Tour's modern era
MIAMI -- The traditional start to the golf season is upon us, the Florida swing of tournaments, the march to The Masters. It all sounds so good. Problem is, it's no longer really true.
Once considered among the top events outside of the four major championships, what is now called the Ford Championship at Doral finds itself in the unusual position of having to fight for status among the elite tournaments.
That's what happens when there is no Tiger Woods, no Ernie Els, no Phil Mickelson. The tournament that begins Thursday at the Doral Resort and Spa's famed Blue Course doesn't have any of the top five players in the world, a first for any PGA Tour event this year.
That doesn't mean it won't be an excellent tournament. Leading money winner Mike Weir is here, as is Pebble Beach winner Davis Love III. David Toms, who finished runner-up to Woods at the Match Play, is also playing. Plenty of big names dot the field. But the usual excitement about the tour coming to Florida is missing, simply because the excitement started building weeks ago.
| Where they're playing | |
 This week: Ford Championship at Doral Site: Miami Course: Blue Course (7,125 yards, par 72) Television: Thursday: 4-6 pm ET (USA) Friday: 4-6 pm ET (USA) Saturday: 3-6 pm ET (NBC) Sunday: 3-6 pm ET (NBC) Defending champ: Ernie Els (not defending his title)
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The recently concluded Accenture Match Play Championship has something to do with it. Before it began in 1999, a good number of players skipped the West Coast events. Some complained about the pro-am formats at several events. Others didn't care for dicey weather conditions. Florida was a good time to get cranked up.
"Doral used to be the start of the tour, my first tournament in the U.S.,'' South African Nick Price said. "It used to be the first event for a lot of international players. Most of us, when we sit down to make a schedule, look at the four majors and the Players (Championship). Now there are three others (World Championship events) you have to play, you want to play, because they are going to determine a lot of points in the World Rankings, which mean so much. Then you look at the rest. It's hard to schedule, there's so much golf now.''
And it was bound to have an effect on someone, somewhere. Who would have ever thought it would be Doral?
For years, this tournament has been among the top draws in the game. In 1987, it became the first to offer a $1 million purse. No less than Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman declared Doral as their launching point to The Masters.
Now, 19 tournaments -- including majors and World Golf Championship events -- offer purses of $5 million or more, including Doral. Purses are so big that the increase from $4.7 million to $5 million this year meant nothing. There is plenty to be made week after week.
For some, that means this is a good week to take off.
The Big Question
Who will take advantage this week while the best are away?
Woods isn't at Doral. Neither is defending champion Els, nor Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen. The highest-ranked player in the field is No. 6 David Toms.
Five Things to Watch
1. There have been no first-time winners on the PGA Tour this year, and Doral has not traditionally yielded any. Rocco Mediate in 1991 was the last player to make this tournament his first victory.
2. Florida residency or familiarity also helps at Doral. Since 1990, Steve Elkington (1997 and 1999) has been the only player to win the tournament who either wasn't from or residing in Florida.
3. Rookies haven't been getting much attention, but perhaps this could be a week to shine. Aaron Barber and Dean Wilson had their first career top-10 finishes last week in Tucson.
4. Jack Nicklaus is playing in his first PGA Tour event since last year's Memorial, a sign that he might play The Masters. Nicklaus has competed in three Champions Tour events to this point and said he needed a regular tour event on his schedule if he wants to play at Augusta. Nicklaus has played this tournament every year but two since 1962.
5. For the first time in its history, Doral's defending champion is not in the tournament. Ernie Els won Doral last year by two strokes over Tiger Woods, then went to the United Arab Emirates and won the Dubai Desert Classic the following week. This year, the two events are the same week, and Els decided to defend his European tour title.
| THE COURSE: THE BLUE MONSTER | |||||||||
| Once among the most-feared courses on the PGA Tour, Doral's Blue Course is no longer the "Monster'' despite the nickname. Unless the wind howls on the 7,125-yard, par-72 layout, today's PGA Tour players have their way at a venue that has been home to this event since 1962. The par-4 18th was once among the most treacherous in the game, with a scary second shot over water. Now a 443-yard, par-4, it is considered routine, although last year it did rank as the 37th most difficult hole on the PGA Tour. Raymond Floyd once recalled his reaction after playing Doral for the first time in 1963: "I thought I had just played the hardest golf course in the world.'' You won't find anyone saying that this week. PGA Tour players in 2003 have metal woods, titanium shafts and bionic bodies. And they have made the Monster meek. At least, sometimes. The course-record 61 was shot in recent years, with a smattering of 62s and 63s as well. Typically, those came on calm days. The Monster still has teeth when the wind blows, and plenty of bunkers penalize wayward shots. |
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Bob Harig covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com
