SPIETH’S IRON Dougherty: Jordan has drive GRIP THE KEY
TIGERWOODS set the blueprint for Southern Hills – and the player who follows it will win the US PGA this week. That’s the view from the venue as former pro Nick Dougherty cast his eye over the revamped Tulsa course that has been described as one of the toughest on the circuit.
Dougherty was part of the field himself whenwoods stormed to victory back in 2007 and says that although
$11million worth of alterations have increased the difficulty, the road to glory remains the same.
He said: “What
Tiger showed back in ’07 is that you cannot just get away with hitting it where you want off the tee, which is quite often the case at these PGA tour events.
“The name of the game is hit it as far as you can, as often as you can.
Here, you must put it in the right place. If you don’t, you will struggle.
“The blueprint is clear: Put the ball into play off the tee and those with the strongest iron game will come to the fore. That’s exactly what Tiger did.
“He was hitting the right parts of the fairway. He was making the right parts of the green with his irons.and he made what was a tough test, well, look as easy as it ever is.
“Tiger’s game obviously was of the highest class. But what gave him the edge was that he was head and shoulders above the rest in his iron play.
“No-one was better. He wasn’t the most accurate driver but he was one of the longest. So he was closer
to the green, hitting less club and he was so far ahead of everyone else with his irons.
“When you add that he had a very tidy short game, it was no surprise he won at places such as Southern Hills. It is a relentless task of putting the ball in the right place.and that week, Tiger mastered it.”
Sky Sports pundit Dougherty is therefore favouring those with the game who can do similar – with accuracy from tee to green the principal factor in his assessment of potential winners.
He said: “Scott Scheffler is in great form. He’s teeing off in his home town this week in Dallas at the Byron Nelson – excellent preparation. I can’t see a world where he’s not in contention.
“Jon Rahm has done everything but win. He’s been good without being brilliant. I wouldn’t say he’s in full flow but he has a big chance.
“Of the rest, Dustin Johnson is in
a good place. He’s just got married. He’s had some time out and he played pretty well at the Masters. He’s always going to be a threat where prowess with the long game is going to be pivotal.”
Defending champion Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from the event and that has opened the door even further.
Dougherty added: “One guy I’m looking at closely is Jordan Spieth. And it would be a monumental story because if he triumphs, he’s beaten Rory Mcilroy to the Grand Slam.why? He’s just won the Heritage and he did that putting poorly. His driving has improved so
much. He’s gone from being arguably the best with the putter – remember those he was making at Birkdale in 2017 – to being the guy who misses four-footers.
“He’s streaky but he’s now longer than he was, he’s more accurate than he was and, from looking at the numbers, he’s now 39th off the tee.that is incredible because in the last few years he’s been 135th, 165th and 176th. He’s 33rd with his iron play.
“That makes a difference because we all think it’s those who dominate with the flat stick who prosper. But the figures don’t bear scrutiny. Dustin
Johnson is the 91st best putter, Justin Thomas is the 104th,
Hideki Matsuyama is the 154th, Spieth is 186th.
“What does that tell us? That driving and iron play is important.”