January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Players look to master Mid Ocean
Club Pro Keith Pearman, who has been playing the Mid Ocean for more than 30 years, believes this could be the year that one of the elite field masters the short, but tricky, par 70 course.
Padraig Harrington, who won back-to-back Open Championships, U.S. Masters winner Trevor Immelman and previous major winners Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen fly into Bermuda this weekend for the 36-hole tournament.
Furyk and Harrington took part in last year's event with the Irishman losing out to burly cigar-puffing Argentine Angel Cabrera after a play-off.
But Pearman believes the course was the winner in 2007 with nobody really taming its undulating windswept fairways and super fast greens.
It could be a different story this time though.
"The wind direction and wind conditions are going to play a big part. If we get two beautiful Bermuda days we could see some real low numbers.
"If the wind doesn't blow then the course will be at the mercy of those guys. Nobody really tore it up last year. The course won the battle.
"But if the putter gets hot any one of these guys could reel off six or seven birdies. I think we could see a winning score of eight or nine under."
Pearman said the course (and grounds) was looking beautiful as it prepared to welcome the world's elite.
But the pro, whose personal record for the course is 68, is hoping the wind will pick up over the weekend to give the Mid Ocean some teeth.
"I would like to see it picking up a bit because if it is a flat calm day they're not going to miss a shot. I'd like to see it blowing hard from the south west to make for a real tough back nine."[[In-content Ad]]
Comments:
You must login to comment.