The Course Report
Liberty National
About Liberty National G.C.
The FedEx playoffs beging with the Northern Trust, and the golfer’s will get to face Liberty National for the first leg of the Tour playoffs. The course was build on a landfill, and plenty have said when this course plays dry it plays incredibly difficult.
The Northern Trust operates with a course rotation on the east coast. While we have seen Liberty National only two years ago, it still is limited in the amount of data that would be determined reliable.
The biggest issues that the golfer’s could face this week would be the length of the rough. In 2009, the rough was prepped at nearly 4 inches and caused plenty of headaches as the course ranked in the top-10 in difficulty that year. Since then, greens keepers and tournament officials have laid off the length of the rough and allowed it to play a lot shorter. Yet, you never know what could be in store for the players this week so keep a keen eye out on any course previews, photos or player interviews.
In addition, players will have to avoid the water. The double bogey rate is high at Liberty National, and it is easy to compare it to tournaments like the PLAYERS, The Honda Classic and The Memorial.
Being on the coast, players are going to have to navigate through some wind, but how much has yet to be determined. Make sure to keep an eye on the weather as the tournament gets closer.
Plenty of players have made different claims as to how this course plays. MIckelson says it reminds him of Augusta, while Webb Simpson feels that a lot of the greens remind him of Donald Ross Designs. These are going to be fast greens, and appraoch shots are going to be difficult based on pin position. The green complexes are just that…complex. A Tour pro might hit what appears to be a perfect shot just to roll off into a bunker.
The challenges are abundant, and it probably explains why we’ve seen so many of the top golfer’s on PGA Tour win this event. You need to bring an elite game every for rounds and it just isn’t something those less talented can accomplish at the Northern Trust.
The FedEx playoffs will allow the top 70 to advance to the BMW Championship. While some will look at the “bubble” narrative this week, there really is not correlation to the principle that a player just outside the top-70 is going to be a better play.
Architect: Robert Cupp and Tom Kite
Greens: Bent Grass
Green Size: average size
Stimpmeter: 12 to 13 – Average to Fast
Length: 7,353 – Par 71
Water Hazards: 13, come into play on almost every hole
Weather Forecast
Past Winners
Johnson looked flawless as he dominated Sunday with an 8-under 63. TPC Boston lacked any challenge for Johnson, as he outscored runner-up Harris English by 11 strokes. Storms might have delayed the win, but there was just no way Johnson would be beaten this weekend.
This was the 22nd win on Tour for DJ, but what was just nasty was the fact that he finished the tournament at -30.
Reed was dialed in, and Liberty National played a little easier than expected thanks to the damp conditions in rounds 1 and 2.
Reed edged out ANcer by one shot, and finished two shots ahead of Jon Rahm and Varner III. This was the second win in 4 years at the Northern Trust.
This was DeChambeau’s third win on the PGA Tour, and this win was in part to his dominate approach and accuracy.
DeChambeau started his round Sunday with very few challengers as his scorching pace never seemed to end. After shooting a dominating 63 in round 3, his final round 69 was plenty to finsih four shots ahead of Tony Finau.
Stenson led from beginning to end, and simply was just too good all weekend long.
He shot a 4-under 64 on Sunday to win the Wyndham by one stroke over Ollie Schniederjans. Stenson made three straight birdies down the stretch to help him secure the victory.
It took a 3-man playoff, but Johnson beat Louis Ossthuizen and Marc Leishman by shooting a 15, 1 under in a four hole playoff.
Johnson was a surprise win as just the week before his prep came in Illinois at the John Deere Classic. This was Johnson’s second major win, and his first Claret Jug.
Entering with a six-stroke lead over the field, McIIroy went from dominant to just hanging on. Still, no golfer ever got withing two strokes the entire day, and he held his composure despite struggles off the tee and on the greens.
In winning, McIIroy became the seventh wire-to-wire winner in Open Championship history.
After winning the Scottish Open the week prior, Mickelson birdied four of the last six holes and became the Open Champion.
To this point, Phil had come close to winning, but had often doubted his abilites on links style courses.
Els began Sunday 6 shots back, but still clinched the vicotry after Adam Scott imploded.
Els’ 68 was a comeback of epic proportions when you consider the fact that Scott was still winning by 4 strokes on the 15th tee.