The statistical madness of Tiger Woods at Doral

Take out two benign par three holes, and Tiger Woods is leading the Ford tourney by five strokes. Without the bogey on Friday and the double on Saturday, the artist formerly known as Eldrick has a clean slate for the week. The lethal combination of birdies (t1) and greens in regulation (t2) is offset by his being tied for sixth in double bogeys (LOL).

What Tiger and others are doing to Doral is evidence that the Florida mainstay is outdated. Face it, what can you do to a flat golf course…fill in the fairways with sand, and dot the noveau-Sahara with grass bunkers? Doral is a type of course that is irreparable when faced with the onslaught of player fitness (seen Camilo read greens?) and modern technology (Verplank averages 283, while Toms averages 277…please!!)

With flat greens, flat fairways, trees that are too short to prevent being carried, and low-lipped bunkers, the only other option is to bring the water all the way in around all 18 greens, replicating the penultimate hole at Sawgrass TPC.