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TULSA, Okla. — Phil Mickelson was just off the course Tuesday when he was asked if Southern Hills, site of the 89th PGA Championship this week, reminded him of Colonial Country Club, the cozy little track in Ft. Worth, Texas, that also features more doglegs than the Westminster Kennel Club.
"That's the first thing I said when I got out here and started my preparation," said Mickelson, who will play this week without getting a shot to numb his left wrist, a precaution he's taken since injuring himself in late May. "This course reminds me a lot of Colonial. The grasses on the greens are identical. And the grass around the greens (is) identical. There's a lot of similarities in the looks, the way the wind blows around the tops of the trees."
Southern Hills isn't a bomber's paradise. Arnold Palmer went winless in three major starts here. True to its name, the course is more hilly than Colonial. It's also longer, with the 653-yard, par-5 5th hole and the 507-yard, par-4 16th. Both courses require liberal use of fairway woods and long irons off the tees lest players knock their drives right through the doglegs. The shots had better be shaped correctly, too, in order to hold the tight fairways.
Balls driven into the rough often come out like a wet sock and usually don't find the green in regulation. Darren Clarke, Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood had trouble finding fairways during their practice round Tuesday, most notably on the 451-yard, par-4 3rd hole, when none of them hit the short grass. Then again, none of those three have won at Colonial.
Here are the players with the best record in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, as that historic tournament is now called, and how their chances stack up this week:
Rory Sabbatini
He won at Colonial in May and tied for second at the WGC-Bridgestone in Akron, Ohio, last weekend. He's got no history with Southern Hills, having missed the 2001 U.S. Open at the Perry Maxwell-designed, 71-year-old club, but Sabo should contend this week.
Steve Flesch
Flesch, 40, picked up his fourth Tour title at the Reno-Tahoe Open last weekend. He won at Colonial in 2004 and has a fair record in the PGA Championship, with five top-25 finishes in nine starts. One disturbing caveat: Flesch shot 81-69 to miss the cut at the 2001 Open, recalling Jack Nicklaus's first-round 79 at the 1994 PGA at Southern Hills. When a child asked for a ball afterward, Nicklaus replied, "Son, I don't think I have any left."
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