FedEx Cup Heads into the Weekend – The Course is Winning

Saturday, September 26th, 2009 at 9:10 am

eastlake_118_general At the halfway point of the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, the course appears to be winning. With the Top 30 PGA professionals competing this week you would expect low scores. After two rounds on this magnificent 7154 yard Par 70 golf course, 66 has been the best round recorded on either day.

On Wednesday, we here at World Golf Emporium questioned whether weather conditions would have an effect on the final leg of the FedEx Cup. Although, for now, the rain has held off, the temperatures on Friday made for a sweltering hot day. The temps got up in the mid 90s and with little or no wind, the players struggled to stay cool and hydrated. For Saturday, Tournament officials decided to move tee times up to try and avoid rain.

After struggling on the 14th hole on Thursday, Phil Mickelson came back strong and shot a 3 under par 67 to get back to even par. Mickelson showed no signs of surrender during the second round and is once again within striking distance of the lead.

I was absolutely amazed watching Stewart Cink play the 10th hole. Stepping up to the tee on ten, Cink was tied for the lead at 5 under par. Using a driver on the 469 yard par 4, Cink hit his tee shot left and with one bounce the ball traveled out of bounds.

Playing his next tee shot, his third stroke, Cink proceeded to hook the shot over the same fence, out of bounds. After two tee shots out of bounds, teeing up for the third time, his fifth stroke on the par 4, Cink once again chose to hit Driver. Conventional wisdom would suggest using a different club. This time he kept his drive in play and scrambled to a 4 over par 8, dropping him back to 1 under par and 4 strokes off the lead.

Who would have thought we would see two different players shoot 8 on a par four in the first two rounds of the Tour Championship?

There were some great shots on Friday like Tiger Woods second shot at the par 5, 15th hole, where he drilled a 3 wood to just over 4 feet from the hole. What should have been an eagle, ended up as a birdie. All in all though, East Lake Country Club once again proved to be up to the challenge.

Heading into the weekend there are 16 players at even par or better and within striking distance of the lead. The final 36 holes should prove to be interesting and the tournament could come down to the final hole.

Before heading out, stop by our Pro Shop to sharpen your Mental Game

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