Beefed-up Magnolia Course making Disney trip a nightmare
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- This week represents merely Justin Leonard's second trip to Disney World, so he doesn't have the benefit of the beefy before-and-after comparison.
It's sort of like those Charles Atlas pictures from the comic books, wherein a 98-pound weakling become a muscle-bound gargantuan capable of ripping a phone book in half with his bare hands.
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| The Magnolia finish isn't kind to Brett Wetterich, who incurs a two-shot penalty. (Getty Images) |
Until the course was stretched two years ago to 7,516 yards, Disney always favored the player who had the most holes left to play, because there were birdies in abundance. Not just because the place is designated an Audubon sanctuary, either.
Now leaders are trying to get off the course without tipping over -- as evidenced by Stephen Ames and Brett Wetterich, clearly victims of the Mag's closing stretch. Leonard hit 4-iron approaches into each of the last three holes, all lengthy par-4s with blustery winds.
"That finish will get your attention, that's for sure," said Leonard, who is tied for third. Without getting overly wistful, Disney used to provide a breezy break near the end of a long season, but since the course was lengthened by 300 yards, it's no longer a walk in the theme park. Take it from Scott Verplank, a tournament fixture who has made the past 12 Disney cuts in succession.
"The way they screwed up 16, 17 and 18, those are hard holes," Verplank said. "I guess, not that there's anything wrong with that, but they don't fit the rest of the course."
Verplank, it should be noted, is a 54-hole co-leader, along with Ames, who bogeyed two of the last three holes coming home. The closing stretch has become the resort's golfing Tower of Terror, with barf bags at the ready.
Since the tournament began using its current two-course rotation a decade ago, the highest winning score was John Huston's 16-under total in 1998. Verplank and Ames are tied at 13 under, and based on Saturday's numbers, Huston's mark might stand. The scoring average in the third round was exactly 72.0, or 1.5 shots higher than its historical average.
The low score on Saturday was a rather tame 5-under 67, which not long ago would have gotten a guy run over at Disney.
With the fairways wet from rain early in the week, the course is playing insufferably long in spots. The victims over the last three holes were plentiful.
Ames had the outright lead and bogeyed two of the final three holes letting about a dozen other players into the mix in Sunday's final round.
Wetterich was 13 under and one shot off the lead as he stepped onto the 18th tee, then jacked his ball into the hazard down the left side. After he unintentionally committed a two-shot penalty while taking a stance inside the hazard, he made a triple-bogey and toppled into a tie for ninth.
