PGA CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
running the length of the fairway on the left and continuing along the edge of the green. When original architect George Cobb built the course in 1960, he constructed the large reservoir and routed holes 14 through 17 around it. The greens at 14, 16 and 17, however, were lo- cated on higher ground, away from the water. When Fazio’s team remodelled the course in 1996, they pushed the 14th and 17th greens tight against the lake, making it much more of a threat (they did the same to the 16th green in 2013). Shifting the green changed the calculus
demand caution, though the sand save percentage during the last five Wells Fargo Championships is 60 percent, close to the tour’s year-to-year average. No matter where the hole is cut, the middle of the green is a good target for a low-stress par or chance to roll in a putt for two. The 13th played to a respectable scoring average of 3.19 during the 2017 PGA, but since then the average score is 3.08. The fun begins with the par-4 14th, one of the PGA Tour’s best short par 4s tilting slightly downhill with water
If 16 through 18 are the Green Mile, holes 13 through 15 are the prisoner’s last meal, a chance to fatten up before the gallows.
88 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 2025
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