Another WGC event gone by, another Tiger Woods win. His dominance is almost boring, if it wasn’t so astounding at the same time. I was very interested to see tiger go head to head with Paddy Harrington, a great golfer who you could only knock by saying he won 2 majors last year… with Woods out of commission. How would he stand up to Sunday pressure playing alongside Mr. Woods, on one of his favorite courses?

As it turned out, very well. He took a one-shot lead into the 16th hole… and, well, if you watched it, it was a bit grim. Tiger hit an unbelievable 8-iron to about a foot, while Padraig made a snowman. End of drama. I hadn’t heard this until Monday morning, but apparently the group was put on the clock on the 16th tee, and there’s some talk that this lead to Harrington’s demise.

My response to that: tough. You shouldn’t be that far behind anyway, so deal with it. I like Harrington a lot, but he does slog around the course at times, analyzing shots way too much. Hit it, find it, and hit it again. Follow Tiger’s lead. He’s not Sabbatini fast, but he picks a club and hits it. Commit, then hit. I don’t care how important the tournament is… rules are rules, and a Tour rule is pace of play.

So my question then becomes: If someone can tell 2 of the best players in the world to speed it up a bit, why are local courses afraid to maintain a decent pace of play on their own turf?

With temperatures soaring into the triple digits this weekend, our family retreated into the comfort of AC, getting projects done in the early morning and then shutting up the house so as not to let the cool out. Of course, later in the heat of the day we ran out of needed supplies (beer and ice cream), so I ran to the store, braving the desert landscape like Lawrence of Spokania.

However, as I passed Qualchan golf course, what did I see? Most holes on the front side full of golfers. Only 2 had umbrellas to at least keep the scorching sun off their skull. So here is my question… what’s going on here? I consider myself to be as hardcore of a golf nut as anyone I know. I’ve played in crazy winds, in torrential rains, even when it was briefly snowing. But 100 degrees? Isn’t that too hot? Am I a hot weather wimp, or are those folks out of their sun-lovin minds?

I’m going to say mid-90’s would be my tipping point. Plus, if that’s the forecast, don’t you wake up early and play at 5:00 AM? Or play 9 holes after sundown? If we lived in Vegas or Scottsdale and had no choice, so be it. But you know living in Spokane it won’t stay that hot that long. Of course, in a few months winter will be here, perhaps I’ll change my tune then. My advice: at least play Indian Canyon or Downriver, where you can get some shade on almost every hole. Or, like me, just watch the Buick Open and have an iced tea next to the swamp cooler. Oh, by the way, Tiger won. Go figure.