Time for a letdown after The Masters?
Tim Clark didn't mean to say that he wouldn't put all of his efforts into winning for the first time on the PGA Tour at this week's Verizon Heritage.
But after finishing second to Phil Mickelson on Sunday at The Masters, Clark talked about how the major championships seem to bring out the best in him.
If you read between the lines, he suggests that a regular event doesn't bring out the best in him.
So after a grueling week in Augusta, does he even have a chance this week in Hilton Head, S.C.?
"I really do feel I play my best golf in the majors," said the South African who has three wins on the European Tour, but none on the PGA Tour despite three top-threes in major championships. "I don't know what it is. I guess I get a little bit more geared up for them. I pride myself on being up there on the leaderboard with those guys, and when I'm there, I'm going to try my best to beat them."
No doubt, Clark will give it another go this week.
But if things don't go his way, well, it would only be human nature if the same fire were not there.
It's the week after The Masters, a tournament filled with physical and mental strain. The Heritage has always prided itself on being the exact opposite, trying its best to be a low-key affair. The players who show up obviously love it.
That doesn't mean their best comes out, especially if they were in contention last week. A letdown, for many, is inevitable.
"If I had to play Hilton Head … I just couldn't do it," Fred Couples said after finishing tied for third at The Masters. "There is just so much going into [The Masters]. I spend a lot of energy getting ready."
So do many of the other players.
Jose Maria Olazabal shot the round of the tournament at The Masters, a final-round 66 that at one point had him 1 shot off the lead. He tied for third and is at Hilton Head this week. So is Ernie Els, who had a disappointing finish at The Masters. So are Chad Campbell and Darren Clarke, who were also in the hunt.
So is Bernhard Langer, who way back in 1985 won The Masters, then came to Hilton Head the next week and won again. He remains the last player to do so.
All of them will tell you that contending at a major championship and then getting up to play again the next week is quite difficult.
But it has been done. Rod Pampling had top-10s at both last year. Vijay Singh was in the top 10 at the Barclays Classic last year after a top-10 at the U.S. Open. Kenny Perry had a top-10 in Milwaukee last year, a week after a top-10 at the British Open, which is really impressive when you consider the travel. And after tying for fourth, just 2 shots behind Mickelson at last summer's PGA Championship, Tiger Woods won the NEC Invitational.
But The Masters might be the toughest of all to follow. The course is long and extremely undulating. The greens require the utmost respect. It is a stressful tournament.
Those playing in Hilton Head this week know all about it.
In recent years, we have seen the expansion of television coverage to all 18 holes on Sunday. This year, a Webcast of Amen Corner was added for all four tournament rounds. And when the third round of The Masters had to be postponed to Sunday morning, Augusta officials had the USA Network broadcast it to conclusion on Sunday morning. Good stuff. Now, however, Augusta needs to work on early-round coverage. The tournament did not go on the air Thursday and Friday until 4 p.m. (ET) On Thursday, Tiger Woods had already completed his round by that point, relegating him to a few highlights. On Friday, tournament leader Chad Campbell was done, as were Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. The Masters has always been about less being more and had made its product unique by restricting coverage to the tournament and access in person. But the time has come to lift those burdens. Each of the other major championships provides wall-to-wall coverage, with the British Open being on all day in Great Britain on the BBC. Augusta National will certainly not be diminishing its product, only enhancing it. |
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 Got a question about the PGA Tour? Ask ESPN.com golf writer Bob Harig, who will answer your inquiries in his column each week.
Q. When players are tied heading into the third or final round of a tournament, how are the pairings determined? A. The first player to post a score goes out last the next day. So if four players complete the third round at 4 under, the first three who finished will be in the final group.
Q. I know this is a crazy question, but what if Tiger Woods didn't rank in the top 125 on the money list for the next, say, six years. At what point, if ever, would he lose his tour card?
A. Woods will never lose his card. He will be part of a little-known exemption category called "Life Members." It is for anyone who has a minimum of 15 active years on the PGA Tour and 20 PGA Tour victories. Woods still needs another five years to be eligible in this category, but his major victories from last year would bridge that gap, in case something ever happened.
Q. It has been reported that Phil Mickelson just passed Vijay Singh with his 29th career PGA Tour win. However, he's also been listed with 31 career victories. Any explanation? A. You may have seen Mickelson given credit for a couple of unofficial wins. His victory at the Masters was his 29th on the PGA Tour, which ties him with Lee Trevino, Paul Runyan and Gene Littler for 17th on the all-time PGA Tour victory list. |
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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.