Players: Design at Cog Hill is dreadful - Chicago Sun-Times
BY LEN ZIEHM Special to Sun-Times Media September 14, 2011 10:14PM
Phil Mickelson
Updated: September 14, 2011 11:33PM
Last year's BMW Championship was dominated by complaints about the condition of Cog Hill's Dubsdread course. That hasn't been the case this year. But course design remains an issue.
The 70 players left in the FedEx Cup playoffs made their final preparations for Thursday's first round by participating in the new Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am on Tuesday, and course conditioning wasn't an issue. The future of the Lemont course as a PGA tournament site was, though.
Phil Mickelson, in reiterating his disdain for the architectural efforts of Rees Jones, said the tourney's departure from its home since 1991 is a done deal — even though the Western Golf Association has made no such declaration yet.
The tournament will be played at Crooked Stick near Indianapolis next year to avoid a conflict with the Ryder Cup matches at Medinah and will be at Cherry Hills in Denver in 2014. No site has been set for 2013 or after 2014, but this week's event apparently marks the end of an era at Cog Hill.
"This is the last year here, so we'll make the most of it, and hopefully they'll find a course more suitable for this tournament,'' Mickelson said.
Jones supervised a $5 million renovation in 2008, a move approved by Cog Hill owner Frank Jemsek in his bid to land a U.S. Open and fulfill a dream of his late father, Joe. Frank Jemsek has supported Jones' work, though many top players haven't, and Jones has consistently refused comment.
"It's unfortunate,'' said Mickelson, a longtime critic of Jones' work. "We all feel the Jemsek family has done a lot for the game of golf. We all wish it could have turned out differently.''
"They should get their money back,'' said Steve Stricker, ranked eighth in the FedEx standings.
"From an architectural standpoint, I'm not a huge fan of Rees Jones, either,'' world No. 1 Luke Donald said. "I'm not sure what's happening in '13. I think they're looking at some sites in Chicago.''
One is Conway Farms in Lake Forest. Donald is a member of that private club.
"I'd love to see it go there,'' he said. "It's a great course, and it's very capable of holding a BMW Championship.''
The Jemsek family, still holding out hope for the tourney's return to Cog Hill, hired a new superintendent after players howled about the condition of the greens and a variety of other issues. The new superintendent, Scott Pavalko, said he hasn't heard many complaints.
After declaring the conditioning "much improved,'' Donald went a step further and called it "phenomenal.''
Better playing conditions didn't make up for perceived course-design deficiencies, though. Mickelson cited a litany of shortcomings, and Stricker, while conceding that Jones improved the look of the course from the tees, found fault with the designs of the putting surfaces.
"It is what it is,'' Stricker said. "You can dislike something, but we all still have to play it, so you'd better not go out there with a negative attitude toward the course. Everybody has got to play it, and you just play it as hard as you can and as best you can.''
The rewards of playing it well are sizable. A purse of $8 million will be distributed this weekend, and the 30 who advance to next week's Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta will vie for a $10 million bonus.
15 Sep, 2011--
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