Hideki Matsuyama takes a minimize from the tough alongside the 18th gap Friday at Le Golf Nationwide.
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SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — It was such an harmless thought I had, as a bystander watching golf from the media middle, wayyy outdoors the ropes. Man, that ending gap positive appears troublesome.
You actually wouldn’t wish to want a birdie 3 on that gap to make the rostrum, would you? I wished to ask a participant. The one one in entrance of me was Sami Valimaki, the 26-year-old Finnish lad. He rapidly took it in a special route.
“It’s going to be powerful to even make a 4 from there for those who’re main,” Valimaki stated. Ain’t that the reality.
No gap at Le Golf Nationwide is enjoying as troublesome as its ending gap this week, an ominous component for the sector of gamers in pursuit of a medal this weekend. A birdie might convey heroics. A par might maintain on for glory. However all types of bogeys await. All types of bogeys is what we’ve seen.
The 18th is a 471-yard par-4, with a water hazard that cuts throughout the entrance of the inexperienced. It could possibly be a cut-driver off the tee for anybody who’s assured. These pulling 3-wood are telling you one thing — they’re not fully snug with the water hazard creeping in.
Throughout a apply spherical match, teammates Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark each discovered the drink and misplaced their match in opposition to Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele just some minutes later.
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The rationale that water comes into play is as a result of the tough up the appropriate aspect is especially thick. So thick that balls that discover it find yourself burrowing into the grass and making it troublesome to advance to the inexperienced, over the water. We’ve seen loads of gamers pressured to layup from the tough, accepting they’ll be certain for bogey. Or a lot worse.
Matthieu Pavon is aware of this course — and that gap — in addition to anybody. The Frenchman has competed in six French Opens right here, and now one Olympics. It’s not going nicely, due to the 18th gap, which he has performed three over this week after triple-bogeying it Saturday.
“That is virtually perhaps the hardest gap I’ve ever performed as a result of you will have two very demanding pictures to hit,” Pavon stated. “First, just like the tee shot, it’s fairly tight — for those who miss within the tough you’re going to be in a difficult place — after which the second shot, relying the place is the pin, it’s a troublesome one, too.”
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Tapio Pulkkanen positive is aware of that. The Finnish man was in nice place by way of 35 holes, six below and prepared for a late tee time. When he discovered the tough off the tee, he hacked it ahead, nonetheless within the tough. His third shot landed within the middle of the hazard. After taking a drop, his fifth shot didn’t clear the hazard once more. One other drop, then pitching on along with his seventh stroke. Two putts for a quintuple-bogey 9 and a a lot earlier tee time.
It isn’t simply that the opening is enjoying powerful, it’s that it actually has no comparability on your entire course. The 18th is enjoying a full quarter-stroke more durable than any of the others, practically 4.5 strokes on common. Viktor Hovland has doubled it twice. Jason Day has doubled it as soon as. Hideki Matsuyama is by some means contending after doubling it Friday. Coming into the third spherical, solely 12 birdies had been made, in comparison with 45 bogeys or worse.
All of which units us up for Sunday’s medal dash. The course has been extraordinarily scoreable by way of three days, and it’s setting as much as be comparable on Sunday. At the least by way of 71 holes, when gamers will flip round to see the one grandstand on the property, and the Olympic rings beneath it. Below all that, after all, is the 40-yard-wide fairway. Hit it first. Then you can begin serious about the rostrum.
