Brian Gay led the field in Driving Accuracy at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida. He hit 49 of 56 fairways (87.50 percent). He was T30 in GIR with 43 of 72 (59.72 percent).
The golf course was brutal. At 7,207 yards, it normally plays to a par of 72, but for the tournament two par 5s were converted to par 4s and it played to a par of 70. Plus, the fairways were heavily watered each day, assuring very little roll. The wind and chilly morning conditions were also very real factors. To say the course played long is an understatement.
And when you missed the fairway, you were in deep ka-ka. If you were in the primary rough a couple of yards off the fairway, your only option normally was just to wedge out.
Once on the green, things didn't get much better. By the weekend, they were brick-hard and lightning fast. Machevelian pin placements added to the fun. Many well-struck iron shots failed to hold the green. In fact, more than one player failed to hold the green on their first
putt!
As a result of all this, in a field of the best players in the world, only 16 subpar rounds were recorded on the weekend. And this elite group's average score on Sunday was 75,
five-over. Tiger Woods finished bogey, double-bogey, triple-bogey for his 76. He was not a happy camper: Perhaps for the first time in his career, he walked by the press corps without stopping.
Brian opened with 68-70 and a T19. His final tally of 288 was good for T49. He has now made the cut in 6 of 8 tournaments this year and earned $332,184.
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