Instead of saying “Aloha from Maui,” it felt more appropriate to go with “Cheers from Carnoustie.”
There was sideways rain, gray sky for most of the day and the winds were howling. Forget the Mai Tai and grab a Guinness.
You don’t expect calm conditions when you tee it up in Hawaii, but the first two rounds of the Mercedes Championship at the par-73 Plantation Course were ridiculous. Friday, the winds blew consistently at 25 m.p.h., with gusts knocking over the flags at 40 m.p.h.
Yet despite the obstacles, Vijay Singh managed to shot a 69 to take the lead at 8-under 138 after the second round. Trevor Immelman (68) and Will MacKenzie (70) were one shot back.
The last two days once again underscored the true talent of these players. Davis Love III said he would have opted out for another activity if he had to play “vacation golf” in these conditions.
“When we got to the turn, you almost could have called it (because of the wind velocity),” Singh said.
The wind, though, provided some interesting moments on the par-5 18th. The dramatic downhill 663-yard hole was playing downwind. J.B. Holmes, a long hitter without wind, benefited from the jet stream by hitting his drive 400-plus yards and then reaching the green on his second shot with a 5-iron from 255 yards.
Think about that: driver-5-iron covering 663 yards. But Holmes couldn’t relax when he grabbed his putter.
“The wind was blowing so hard on that last putt, I was worried about keeping it on the green,” Holmes said.
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esherman@tribune.com
