Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els headline the field for the PGA Tour’s Memorial, where many in the star-studded cast will already have one eye on the upcoming US Open.
Phil Mickelson decided to skip the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial to practise at the US Open venue of Pinehurst.
But world number one Singh, three-time champion Woods and defending champion Els are hoping to build momentum here heading into the second major championship of the season.
”I’m here to try and win and hopefully come out of this week positively, so I’ll be in good standing going into the US Open,” Woods said.
”You have to hit every single shot on this course, and the majority of winners here are major championship winners too.”
Only one winner of the Memorial in the past 12 years, Kenny Perry in 2003, does not also have a major on his resume.
This week’s tournament marks Woods’ first start since he missed the cut at the Byron Nelson Championship last month, and it will be his only appearance before Pinehurst, because he will follow his usual schedule of taking the week off before a major.
Els will play next week to ensure he is tournament fit by time he gets to Pinehurst. Last year he overdid it, playing five weeks in a row before the US Open, and a final round 80 at Shinnecock suggested he ran out of gas.
”I love playing this time of the year. It becomes warmer,” said Els, who this year is playing three successive events leading into the Open.
”A lot of the tournaments running up to the US Open are good preparation.”
As for Singh, he is coming off a rare two-week break, during which he returned to his native Fiji to check out a golf course he is designing.
”I’m not going to prepare specifically for Pinehurst this week,” Singh said.
”I’m going to show up at Pinehurst and deal with the elements as they come. When you prepare too much, or too early, and it doesn’t happen, you get disappointed.
”If I’m not playing my best, I can deal with the bad shots much better than I used to. I think experienced players are able to fix their swing as the round goes on. If I make a mistake early, I can figure out what I need to do to fix it, and I think that’s very important mentally.”
One player hoping to build some momentum heading into Pinehurst is US veteran Davis Love.
Love’s only major title came at the 1997 PGA Championship.
”The second one hasn’t come yet,” he continued. ”They seem harder to get now, but I know experience-wise, length-wise, swing-wise, I can do it. I’ve just got to get in the right frame of mind and healthy.”
The health part has been a problem for Love, who was hurt for much of the last year. He finished third on the 2003 PGA Tour money list, but slipped to 10th last year and is currently 24th.
”I’ve had a bad disc in my neck since 2000,” he said. ”I’ve let it progressively get weaker, and I’ve had a lack of strength in my shoulder and arm,” he said. ”But in the last month I’ve gotten to where I’m feeling really good, and can start to see signs of some real golf shots under tough conditions.” – Sapa-AFP