Finishing holes played tougher than usual

KAPALUA, Maui » North by northwest was a good combination for Alfred Hitchcock’s famed 1950s movie thriller. But the two closing holes at the Plantation Course? Well, not so much.

The unusual breezes that swept across West Maui on Friday left Nos. 17 and 18 dead into an unusual northwest wind that brought a little rain in the opening round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and some chagrin for the 30 golfers in this winners-only field.

The par-4 17th plays 545 yards, leaving a little lump in your throat on your second shot as you try to clear a deep gorge that guards the front of the green. The par-5 18th sets up as a 672-yard downhill monster that can be driver, 2–iron when the blustery northeast trades are at your back.

But when it swung around to the northwest on Friday, that hole suddenly played driver, 3-wood, 9-iron. It did not yield a single eagle and only 12 birdies over the opening 18.

In a normal round, the average drives off 17 and 18 are in the 300-yard-plus category, particularly the 18th, where 350-yard bombs off the tee are not unusual. But in Friday’s first round, the average drive off the 17th and 18th tees barely cleared 290, a good indicator of how tricky those closing holes were, particularly for those who have swung through here before.

"The wind today was different than any wind I’ve played here with," past U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson said. "Seventeen and 18 being into the wind was strange. So 18 was a lot different. It was pretty tricky."

Despite that fact, Simpson birdied the final two to draw even with fellow first-round leaders Jordan Spieth, Chris Kirk and Michael Thompson, all of whom commented on the two closing holes. This is Simpson’s third tour of duty here and the second for Kirk. But for Spieth and Thompson, this is their first time through the hilly Kapalua course.

Thompson described his play at the 17th with a bit of trepidation in his voice. Like his fellow leaders, he birdied the final two, but it wasn’t standard fare.

"Seventeen was incredibly hard today," Thompson said. "It was 550, playing dead into the wind. I had 250 raw to the front and hit probably the best 3-wood of my life to about 4 feet and made the putt for birdie. So, if there were a skin game today, I think I would win that one."

Kevin Streelman wouldn’t argue with him. For most of the day, he sat atop the leaderboard, going as low as 8 under for his round. But two bogeys on the final two holes dropped him into a tie for fifth at 6-under 67. He didn’t want to dwell on that negative, preferring to talk about the 16 holes he managed much better.

"As a professional golfer, you try to be mature about that and look at the positives and what I did well today," Streelman said. "I hit some awesome shots and putted the ball really well."

So did Kirk and Spieth, who like Simpson and Thompson birdied the closing holes despite the unusual conditions.

"Yeah, 17 and 18 being into the wind was different," Kirk said. "It was forecast to be north going to northeast and actually went northwest a little bit. Instead of being kind of off to the right a little bit, they were pretty much straight into the wind, which I had never seen before."

Fortunately for Kirk, he overcame an uncomfortable drive that he blocked out to the right at 17 with a remarkable 3-wood he just put into his bag.

"I had 265 to the front edge and about 290 or so to the hole," Kirk said. "I put in one of Callaway’s new models and just smashed it and drew it in there to about 30 feet, middle of the green. It was probably the shot of the day to get it up there pin high."

Spieth tried to muscle his drive into the 18th and somehow missed the fairway that is as wide as a football field is long. No matter, he made birdie and proved his rookie-of-the-year status was no fluke.

"I just tried too hard," Spieth said of his drive at the closing hole that he yanked into the junk.

"I just overcooked it and tried to kill it and it went in the rough and punched a hybrid and it came down the hill in No Man’s Land in the little swale still 155 yards out, and I hit a 9-iron to about 10, 12 feet and made it, so got to four somehow."